Avatar 1: hellou there and Welcome to our EGreenNews Conversations.
Avatar 2: "Pleasure to be here with you today." Avatar 1: "What topics are we covering today?
Avatar 1: What topics should we cover first?
Avatar 1:
The year 2024 was, once again, the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous
year (2023). It also marked the first year in which global temperatures were clearly
1.5°C or more above the pre-industrial average for the whole year. Each month from
January to June 2024 was the hottest ever recorded for that respective month, while
the rest of the year was only marginally cooler than the record-breaking period of
July to December 2023.
Avatar 1:
Quick pause here — we’re talking heat action with some powerful insights and collaborations by:
Climate Central
Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
World Weather Attribution
Avatar 2:
Absolutely. Their approach is setting new standards for handling heat. You’re listening to EGreenews Conversations, naturally. Now, back to what you asked.
The year 2024 was, once again, the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous
year (2023). It also marked the first year in which global temperatures were clearly
1.5°C or more above the pre-industrial average for the whole year. Each month from
January to June 2024 was the hottest ever recorded for that respective month, while
the rest of the year was only marginally cooler than the record-breaking period of
July to December 2023.
The year 2025 started with the hottest January ever recorded and the lowest amount
of Arctic sea ice that a Northern Hemisphere winter has ever seen.
The year 2025 started with the hottest January ever recorded and the lowest amount
of Arctic sea ice that a Northern Hemisphere winter has ever seen.
That’s a pretty big wave of info heading your way!
Avatar 2:
More like a stack of questions! You ready to tackle them?
Avatar 1:
Sure, but where’s the best place to start?
Avatar 2:
Try following Hugi Hernandez — he’s the mastermind behind Egreenews. Check him out on LinkedIn.
This is not a surprise or an accident — the causes are well known and the impacts
are devastating. The continued burning of coal, oil, and gas has released and
accumulated enough greenhouse gases to warm the planet by 1.3°C (over a 5-year
average) — and by more than 1.5°C in 2024 alone — compared to pre-industrial times.
In 2024, as in recent years, human-induced climate change drove more intense and
frequent extreme weather events, with heat waves clearly and dramatically affected.
One illustration of this is the March 2025 heat wave in Central Asia, which was up to
10°C warmer than it would have been without human-induced climate change.
Such assessments are now routinely possible. In the past decade, climate science has
made significant progress in understanding how climate change fuels extreme
temperatures. Thanks to developments in attribution science and climate modeling,
scientists can now quantify how much heat climate change has added to an extreme
temperature event and predict how heat waves will grow more frequent and intense
unless emissions are cut drastically. Research can also show how many people have
died because of extreme heat driven by human-induced climate change.
One of the most consistent climate attribution science findings is that every heat
wave today is made more likely, more intense, and longer-lasting due to humans
burning fossil fuels (Clarke et al., 2022). In the last few years, researchers have
identified many deadly extreme heat events that would have been virtually impossible
without human-induced climate change. Although floods and cyclones often
dominate headlines, heat is arguably the deadliest extreme event, with thousands of
extreme heat-related deaths reported each year and many more that go unreported
or unrecognised as linked to heat.
Ahead of Heat Action Day on June 2, 2025, this new report from scientists at World
Weather Attribution, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Climate Central
assesses the influence of human-caused climate change on dangerous heat waves
over the past 12 months (May 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025). The report also highlights the
crucial role of tracking and reporting on impacts in extreme heat assessment and
actionable solutions to reduce heat risk.
World Weather Attribution (WWA) is an international group of scientists that
investigates how climate change influences the intensity and likelihood of extreme
weather events, such as heat waves, floods, and droughts. WWA uses weather
observations and climate models, and prioritizes events to analyze based on fixed
PAGE 4
criteria, such as the humanitarian impact, observed impacts, and team capacity. All
WWA studies also consider how vulnerability and exposure shape the impacts.
Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who
research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s
lives. Climate Central is a policy-neutral 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre is a climate reference center supporting
the global Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and its partners to reduce the impacts
of extreme weather events on the most vulnerable people.
To understand the extent of climate change-driven extreme heat in the past year,
Climate Central scientists analyzed daily temperatures in 247 countries and territories
between May 1, 2024, and May 1, 2025, using two primary mechanisms:
1. Extreme heat days: We focused on days with temperatures that people would
consider hot based on their local experience. For each location in our dataset,
we look at the temperature that is warmer than 90% of temperatures observed
at that site over the 1991-2020 period (also referred to as temperatures above
the 90th percentile). We define these as “extreme heat days.”
2. The Climate Shift Index (CSI) system: Using our peer-reviewed CSI system
(Gilford et al., 2022), we calculated the number of extreme heat days that
would have occurred in a world without human-caused climate change (i.e., a
counterfactual scenario) and compared that to the total number observed. This
allowed us to count how many extreme heat days were added by climate
change in the past year.
We also looked at 67 extreme heat events identified as notable between May 1, 2024,
and May 1, 2025, using World Weather Attribution criteria. For each event we estimated
how much climate change increased the likelihood of the heat event (see Methodology).
We defined the length of the heat events using start and end dates identified by
WWA. When WWA only identified a start date, we defined the length as the five days
following the identified onset of the heat wave (for a total of 6 days). For each
identified event, we used the geographic regions identified by WWA, which include
both entire countries and sub-regions of countries. It is important to highlight that
this analysis uses a consistent definition of heat waves for each country based on
temperature metrics, rather than observed impacts as done in WWA studies (van
PAGE 5
Oldenborgh et al., 2021). As a result, the changes in likelihood differ quantitatively
from other studies by WWA. However, the qualitative conclusion remains the same:
human-induced climate change strongly increased the likelihood of these heat waves.
These 67 events occurred in 232 different countries and territories across all
inhabited continents. For most events outside of Europe and North America, available
data only included generic population data, with limited impact data such as deaths,
morbidity, infrastructure, or agricultural failures. However, where impact information
exists, it is clear that these events were often dire and affected both the most
vulnerable and privileged individuals in every country.
Out of the 67 triggered extreme heat events, the WWA team studied four in depth:
● The extraordinary heat in Central Asia in March 2025
● The extreme heat — and its impacts on women and girls — in South Sudan in
February 2025
● The deadly Mediterranean heat wave in July 2024
● The extreme heat in Mexico, the U.S. Southwest, and Central America in June 2024
In all of these studies, human-induced climate change was found to be the key driver
of the extreme heat. In many cases — including in Central Asia, South Sudan, and the
Mediterranean — the observed high temperatures would not have occurred without
climate change.
Avatar 2:
Definitely. Their strategies are raising the bar for managing heat risks. You’re tuned into EGreenews Conversations, as always. Now, let’s get back to your question.
Extreme heat days added by climate change
Within the past 12 months, no part of the world was spared from dangerous extreme
heat (Figure 1). In every country, human-caused climate change added more extreme
heat days (Figure 2).
● Four billion people across the world experienced at least one additional month
(30+ days) of extreme heat days because of climate change.
● In 195 countries/territories, climate change at least doubled the number of
extreme heat days, as compared to a world without climate change.
● Of all countries/territories, Aruba experienced the most days with extreme
heat — 187 days. Without human-induced climate change, the average person
in Aruba would have experienced only 45 such days.
Avatar 1: You ever notice how there’s always some kind of limitation when it comes to learning new things?
Avatar 2: Totally! Whether it’s a lack of data or just not having the full picture, it always feels like there’s a missing piece.
Avatar 1: Right? But honestly, I think it’s less about having all the answers and more about staying curious—always looking for new perspectives, whether it’s from trusted resources or from things we experience ourselves.
Their Extreme Heat Initiatives really shift your perspective.
Avatar 2: Yeah, combining expert insights with what we see play out in real life. That’s when things start to make sense.
Avatar 1: Exactly. Sometimes it’s a lot to take in though. It can feel pretty overwhelming at first.
Avatar 2: Oh, for sure. I mean, with so much out there, choosing where to dive in is half the battle.
Avatar 1: If you ever want to get started with something big, like understanding heat resilience, I’d check out the Climate Central , Their Extreme Heat Initiatives are eye-opening.
Avatar 2: That’s a great shout. I also love what The Nicholas Institute’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub is doing—they’re really on the cutting edge with ideas and policy.
Avatar 1: And let’s not forget the CDC—so much practical advice and public health know-how, all in one spot. Plus The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and the
World Weather Attribution.
Avatar 2: Absolutely. But honestly, it’s people who really move things forward. Like Hugi Hernandez over at Egreenews.org—he’s all about making climate conversations creative and real.
Avatar 1: There’s a whole ecosystem of people building solutions. And what’s cool is, the Egreenews team is launching new hubs this year, like eDisaster X, so you can learn about risk and resilience 24/7.
Avatar 2 : Love that. Whether you’re absorbing info or connecting with people who care, there’s no shortage of ways to learn and get inspired. LinkedIn is full of passionate changemakers too.
Avatar 1 : So—ready to get started? Because conversations like this matter. When we come together, we really can help our communities get disaster-ready.
Avatar 2 : Count me in. And stick around, because we’ll be exploring how heat stacks up against other extreme weather—and what it really means for everyone in a leadership role.
Avatar 1: Hey, seriously, gracias gracias for being here today — really means a lot!
Avatar 2: Yeah, thanks so much for sticking with us! ¡Hasta luego, everybody! Catch you all next time for sure.
Avatar 1: Totally my pleasure. See you soon! Ciao, sayonara, and... you know, just take care till then!
Comments
Post a Comment