The leap in temperatures over the past 13 months has exceeded the global heating forecasts – is this just a blip or a systemic shift?

Temperatures above 50C used to be a rarity confined to two or three global hotspots, but the World Meteorological Organization noted that at least 10 countries have reported this level of searing heat in the past year: the US, Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, India and China.

In Iran, the heat index – a measure that also includes humidity – has come perilously close to 60C, far above the level considered safe for humans.

Heatwaves are now commonplace elsewhere, killing the most vulnerable, worsening inequality and threatening the wellbeing of future generations. Unicef calculates a quarter of the world’s children are already exposed to frequent heatwaves, and this will rise to almost 100% by mid-century.

  • SamvegaOP
    4·
    3 months ago

    I said that air con made global warming worse on Reddit a few years ago, got massively downvoting.

    THE TRUTH HURTS!

    • Snot FlickermanEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      I get downvoted for asking for cars with manual roll up windows because spending electricity on rolling up a car window is negligent when its easy as fuck to do by hand.

      But if you add up all the electricity used since automatic windows were invented, power used to roll up and down windows, in aggregate its no small amount. It adds up.

      But nooooo manual roll up windows is a step too far.

      • SamvegaOP
        2·
        3 months ago

        I gues convenience is more important than waste, to most people.