What's causing the current heatwave? | Inside Story

Europe, North America, China are baking in record-breaking heatwaves.
In New Delhi it's already hit 49 degrees this year, 12 above the average.
The heat has brough wildfires.
In the UK people are bracing for temperatures to hit forty degrees celcius for the first time.
And a scorching heatwave is fueling more than 30 blazes in Spain and Portugal.
France is on its highest state of alert for extreme temperatures.
In Morocco firefighters have been sent to remote mountain forests in the north.
Is this all down to climate change?
And is it too late to do anything about it?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Stephen Cornelius, deputy practice leader for climate change and energy at World Wildlife Fund International.
Nigel Arnell, climate scientist and professor in the department of meteorology at University of Reading.
Stefan Doerr, professor for wildlife science at Swansea University.

@AljazeeraEnglish
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#News #HeatWave #Europe #NorthAmerica #China #Wildfires #ClimateChange

[pingdingdongpong]

The good news is that these fires will create more sand in which more people can bury their heads.

[kingatheist]

We've been warned about this for years and everyone is still wondering what's happening.

[peterlow]

I'm in south Africa and our winters are nothing like they used to be. It used to be freakin cold now it's pleasant and summers are hotter now by a lot.

[gardenjoy]

49 degrees Celsius in India? Twelve degrees above normal? That's horrid. And the normal is already so hot.

Interesting interview.

[chrisperkins]

There is one simple question that needs to be answered if this planet we call home is to remain habitable. That is, can we change our way of living that reduces power, fuel, and water consumption to levels not seen for the last 50 years. I live in a small village in Lao, after a life time in a number of western counties. I don't own a car, and rarely use the buses to go any where. Life is simple, and stress free, which to me makes a whole lot more sense than buying stuff that has been shipped half way round the planet. Our problem is that we are told that we need more growth in the economy, which as we all know is measured in GDP. The problem is that weather disasters increase GDP, so economists tell us all is OK. Put simple there is no future for us if we don't start to question the economic model we are presently working with.

[simonpetters]

So this has nothing to do with the CERN being turned on

[elizabethedwards]

Satellites, missiles and the other garbage man has put into the stratosphere has also contributed to climate change. Maybe we should clean up that problem as well.

[sanhitadatta]

Isn't the danger of global average temperature being above 2.5 or 3 is that we will go over the tipping point of runaway greenhouse effect from permafrost thawing? A situation where the methane release from there will keep accelerating the temp increase and even if we stop burning fossil fuels it won't have any impact. I am surprised no one brought that up as a consequence.

[yubakrarai]

The sahara desert is safe now, no trees = no wildfires, plus dry air, even if its 50 degrees, it feels like 40.

[raulaguilar]

The beginning of the end of mankind and perhaps life on earth as we know it.

[flixs]

More car. More building. More radio waves. Less tree. When the heat grow up. Other thing will be disturb. Prepare for the worse flood, storm, disease. It will be hotter day & colder night. Technology alone wont help. We need natural things just like long time ago.

[rajwanteerobinson]

This extreme spike of rising temperature above equator is abnormal especially in UK region. Moreover Atlantic Ocean 🌊 has been suffering severe complications this summer . Land infrastructure and agricultural reform to combat rising temperature

[sborton]

At least they talked about the jet stream, even though they did not give a full explanation of it. On the BBC and DW news their meteorologists did not even bring the subject up. Previously the world was circled by a number of streams of air, (or winds), which followed a pretty regular path. Now due to the accumulated effects of climate change these stream no longer follow a circular path, but instead meander up and down. What this does is bring hot air from the equator towards the poles and cold air from the poles down towards the equator. These do not balance each other out. What they tend to do is push past each other creating large pockets of either hotter than normal or colder than normal temperatures. This is why a 1 or 2 degree rise in the average temperatures can cause a 10 or 15 degree rise in local temperatures or even a decrease in local temperatures. Even if we do manage to stop the increase at 2 degrees this effect will continue for a number of years after.

[larrydugan]

A quick search of historical droughts and heart waves shows that these cycles have been going on since the 1500s.
This should have been part of the report otherwise it is just alarmism.

[Meme-zhvb]

“The heat wave that’s punishing Europe is coming from Northern Africa “ the news reporter said.


Yet it’s in Europe where air pollution happens and Africa suffer cyclones and heat waves because of Europe. The heat is just going back to punish the real culprits .

[gmork]

We're suffering from the climate burden caused 15 years ago. The pollution of 15 years ago is affecting today, which means it will only get much, much, much worse up to 15 years from now.

[madeleinebelle]

Good interview and responses. A neighbour on this Estate is pushing for many trees here to be removed due to drying out and being a fire risk. Especially for her as she parks her precious car beneath a tree. She didn't seem concerned when I reminded her that the ongoing destruction of trees will have consequences for the younger generation.

[naimulislam]

May Allah save the people of earth from any disaster.

[mikebuckley]

Not a nice legacy to leave to our future generations

[clintonokoth]

Mother nature is taking action after humans ignored all the cries.