The worst-ever floods in sweltering Brazil have killed dozens of people and paralyzed a city of nearly 4 million. In India, voters and politicians in the world’s biggest election are fainting as heat reaches 115 degrees (46.3 degrees Celsius).
A brutal Asian heatwave has closed schools in the Philippines, killed people in Thailand and set records in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Myanmar. Record temperatures hit many parts of Africa, especially at night when the weather never cooled down. Flooding has devastated Houston and the situation of the United States as a whole has just come to light. second highest number of tornadoes For the month of April.
In a world increasingly accustomed to drastic changes in weather, the last few days and weeks have seemingly taken these environmental extremes to a new level. Some climate scientists say they have a hard time remembering that weather conditions across much of the world went into overdrive at the same time.
“Given that we have seen an unprecedented jump in global temperature over the last 11 months, it is not surprising to see climate extremes worsening so early,” said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the environment at the University of Michigan. “If this record rate of warming continues, 2024 will likely be a record year of climate disasters and human suffering.”
As the world warms, more extreme weather and climate events, including record heat and rainfall, are likely to occur, scientists say. Alvaro Silva, a climate scientist at the World Meteorological Organization, said climate change is also changing weather patterns, causing rainy and hot systems to stall in regions and jet streams to take detours.
In addition to the stronger effects of human-caused climate change, there is also the now weakening El Niño, a three-year La Nina followed by a natural warming in parts of the central Pacific that has changed weather around the world. Silva said.
Scientists also drew attention Record for 13 months straight warm oceans as a potential factor.
Various factors play a role in these extremes, but “climate change is the most important factor,” Silva said.
The problem is that the world adapted and built cities designed for the temperatures and precipitation of the 20th century, but climate change is bringing more heat and torrential rainfall, said Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University.
“We are now leaving the climate of the 20th century and we cannot recover from these events,” Dessler said. “So they’re a little more extreme, but they’re beyond our ability to deal with them.”
Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine HayhoeThe Nature Conservancy’s chief scientist said more extremes overlap in more places.
“Climate change is turning weather against us around the world,” Hayhoe said. “What this means is not only that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events is increasing, but also that the risk of compound events is increasing.”
Climate scientist Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks temperature records around the world, said 70 countries or regions broke temperature records in just the first five days of May.
Nandyala and Kadapa in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh had an all-time high temperature of 115 degrees (46.3 Celsius), Herrera said.
Federal minister Nitin Gadkari collapsed while campaigning in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
“Heat waves in India are by far the deadliest type of extreme weather events. They are also the types of extremes that are increasing most strongly in a warming world,” climate scientist Friederike Otto said earlier this week.
This week in Southeast Asia “was the hottest May night ever,” Herrera posted on X (formerly Twitter). Parts of Thailand did not drop below 87.6 degrees (30.9 Celsius).
In late April, temperatures reached 111 degrees (44 Celsius) in parts of northern Thailand, while the town of Chauk in Myanmar’s hottest region reached a record high of 118.8 degrees (48.2 Celsius).
Many African countries are also facing scorching heat. Herrera said the temperature reached 117.5 degrees (47.5 Celsius) in Kayes, Mali. While the capital of Niger experienced the hottest night in May, the capital of Burkina Faso experienced the hottest night of recent months. Temperatures in Chad, in northern Central Africa, were expected to stay above 114 degrees (45.6 Celsius) all week.
The deadly heat wave felt in West Africa last month was linked to human-caused climate change, according to scientists at the World Weather Attribution group.
Temperatures approached 115 degrees (46 Celsius) in Mexico’s Ciudad Altamirano, a record temperature anywhere in Latin America, Herrera said. While Bolivia experienced the hottest May night in history, Brazil also experienced the hottest day in May.
The record-breaking Brazilian heat that smothered major cities like Sao Paulo also prevented the rainstorm from advancing south of the country, making it deadly, according to climate scientist Francisco Aquino of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
Aquino explained that there is also a large influx of moisture from the Amazon’s so-called flying rivers, or air currents carrying water vapor. “These caused the clouds to produce excessive precipitation,” he said.
Southern Rio Grande do Sul State is facing its worst flooding in history, with at least 90 people killed, nearly 204,000 displaced and 388 municipalities affected, according to local officials.
In Porto Alegre, a metropolitan area with a population of more than 4.4 million, waters have taken over the city center, the international airport and many neighborhoods. Officials said it would take days for the water level to drop.
Houston, Texas, is still drying out after days of heavy rains that required the rescue of more than 600 people from flooding, including 233 in Houston. Just northeast of Houston, about 23 inches (58 centimeters) fell.
Meanwhile, the heaviest rains ever recorded fell on the United Arab Emirates in April; Parts of major highways in the desert kingdom were flooded, as was Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest hub for international travel.
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Borenstein and Naishadham reported from Washington, Arasu from Bengaluru, India, and Maisonnave from Brasilia, Brazil.
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Follow Seth Borenstein on X: @borenbearsSuman Naishadham @SumanNaishadham and Sibi Arasu @sibi123
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