The World Has Experienced Temperature No One Forecasted
The World Has Experienced Temperature No One Forecasted
Are We Ready?
A World on fire
There has been a shocking summer in the world. Record temperatures have turned out to be ordinary. It is not only a matter of some hot days. It is a paradigm experienced in our climate. Statistics do not mince words. Heat waves have broken records devastating the three continents, especially in Europe, Asia and North America. It is the wake up call the globe over. The need is to face this fact, and it should anticipate the future being warmer than anyone could ever think possible.
In West Europe June 2025 was the warmest in history. A new national high of 46.6 degrees Celsius was recorded in Portugal.
A country already accustomed to using heat. The results of this hot weather are fatal. Heat alert in Portugal was estimated to have killed 284. A heat wave in mid June in 12 cities caused about 2,300 deaths. Out of the total numbers, 65 percent of the deaths are attributed to human induced climate change. This is not merely statistics. It is loss of life.
The effects of this heat are far reaching with the health sphere of the human being. Southern Europe is fighting furious wildfires. Thousands of hectares burnt, and rampant evacuations are hallmarks being experienced in France, Spain, Greece and Turkey. The high temperatures and dryness are directly related to this environmental destruction. This has a massive burden on our society and our infrastructure. Electricity demand has increased by 14 percent minimum. Power grids are under pressure. The result is power blackouts and soaring power costs. Prices are doubled in some instances. Our organisms cannot live with this stress load.
Even those areas which are cold are also being afflicted. Finland had 22 consecutive days of more than 30 degrees Celsius.
In Sweden it was ten consecutive nights of tropical night. This is on extremes that was thought to be impossible. According to the scientists, climate change increased the likelihood of these events at least 10-fold and 2 degrees Celsius warmer.
The consequences are far reaching. There have been overcrowded hospitals. Wildlife is put under pressure. Dangerous algal blooms and hundreds of drownings have occurred. Amenable communities even include the natives.
The Unfolding Crisis
This is an international crisis. Intense heat waves are being experienced among continents due to a huge heat dome. Temperature is hovering at over 50 degrees Celsius in countries such as Israel, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Israel entered its national history at 49.7 degrees Celsius. Such humanitarian hotspots as Gaza are particularly unsafe. They are experiencing power insufficiency and shortage of cooling infrastructure. The heat waves in the sea make the situation worse. The ocean temperatures are as high as 10 degrees higher than average which makes the humidity excessively high and dangerous.
Asia is no different with the situation being equally bad. In March Central Asia recorded record highs.
A reported heat index of 53 degrees Celsius was registered in Philippines in Southeast Asia. This has caused closure of schools and an increased number of deaths which are heat related.
In Bangladesh, there was also 33 million children whose schools had to go on closure. Climate change made this heat wave more frequent. Neither is North America. Death Valley in the region recorded high temperatures of above 53 degrees Celsius. This caused more than 1,006 deaths in the US and more than 155 in Mexico. In thousands, people needed hospital care.
What is motivating all this? This has been mainly attributed to climate change. Increasingly longer and fiercer heat waves are being experienced. Climate changes caused by global warming have increased the likelihood of such events rising to 10 folds. A total of 2025 July was the third warmest July of all times. There is an all time high in the sea surface temperatures. One of the lowest levels of sea ice is in the Arctic. In the span between May 2024 and May 2025 almost 50 percent of the world population 4 billion people endured heat that was more probable due to human induced warming. We live in a world that has changed due to us. This is the perilous thing that our dependence on fossil fuel has brought about.
There is no shortage of risks. Immense pressure is being put on our health systems. Complaints of heat related illnesses are overflowing in hospitals. Countries of the world are failing at power grids. Frequent power outages are on the increase. Prices are shooting up. Wildlife is among the greatest dangers that destroy the ecosystems and put cities in danger. The social and economic disruption is enormous. Schools are closed. Foot labor has stopped. Most of the damage is inflicted to vulnerable communities.
In addition, people of the world must employ adaptation measures. Our city plans must undergo an evolution. More heatproof cities should be built. This implies that more trees should be planted and there should be more green areas to mitigate urban heat island effect. We must also improve our health framework to be able to treat more patients in case of a heat incident. Our most vulnerable people must be safeguarded. Lastly, we require coordination around the world. Extreme heat has no boundaries. Nations need to exchange information about resources and prevention strategies. This is a problem which we should work on together.
The globe is currently experiencing temperatures that would not have been achieved in the past. The blazing deserts to the tropical damp coastlines extreme heat power is rearranging our societies. It is warning days. We are nowhere ready. But we can be how. Urgent mitigation, adaptation and resilience building can see us rise to the challenge. No more arguments are left. This ought to be done now. This will be our future.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
