Across the Northern Hemisphere, it is getting hot. The United Kingdom is seeing its highest temperatures every recorded, the United States is seeing a similar heatwave, and wildfires are burning across Spain, France and Portugal. This is the latest reminder that climate change is not a future threat. It is a current problem.
And these temperatures have flow on effects, especially in countries that are unprepared for such heat. Temperatures in the UK have disrupted trains and planes (as if airtravel needed more challenges), nuclear power output in France has been cut as the rivers used to cool the plants have become too hot, and Spanish authorities have reported that 500 people have already died from the heat.
What is particularly worrying is how fast the climate has changed. In 2014, French TV did a hypothetical weather report from 2050 – those predictions have come true in 2022. Similarly, the UK Met Office did the same in 2020. Those 2050 predictions have also come true this week. As the Met Office explained this week, the chances of seeing a 40 degree Celsius day in the UK is 10x more likely in the current climate than in the pre-industrial climate.
And this isn’t just a problem this week. Last year, the Pacific Northwest saw record temperatures with Canada recording its hottest day ever (49 degrees Celsius in one particular village). Earlier this year India and Pakistan experienced a record heatwave.
We need to change how we think about climate change. It is no longer “the climate will change”. It is now “the climate has changed”. The challenge for all of us now is “how much”.
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