Climate Change Adds 26 Extreme Heat Days Globally on Average, Impacting 78% of World’s Population: Report

On Tuesday, May 28, a collaborative report by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, World Weather Attribution, and Climate Central revealed alarming findings about the impact of climate change on global temperatures. The report, which analyzed the role of climate change in the increase of extreme heat days over the past year, underscores the critical influence of human activities on global weather patterns.

2023 was already recognized as the hottest year on record. The new report highlights that nearly the entire global population experienced extreme heat days directly attributed to human-induced climate change. On average, each region around the world saw an additional 26 days of extreme heat that would likely not have occurred without climate change.

Climate Central's analysis covered the period from 1991 to 2020 to establish what constituted the top 10% of peak temperatures for each country. They then compared these historical benchmarks to the number of extreme heat days between May 15, 2023, and May 15, 2024. Using their Climate Shift Index (CSI), which employs a peer-reviewed methodology to assess the influence of climate change on daily temperatures, they identified days where climate change made extreme heat at least twice as likely. These days were classified as excess heat days due to climate change.

The report emphasizes that heat is the leading cause of climate-related death. The findings also spotlight the broader implications of global warming, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events worldwide. By comparing recent year's temperatures with hypothetical temperatures that would have occurred without human-caused climate change, researchers quantified the impact. They found that in the absence of human activities, the excess extreme heat days would have been significantly fewer.

The report concludes that over the past year, human-induced climate change resulted in an average of 26 more extreme heat days globally. This phenomenon affected 6.8 billion people, or 78% of the world’s population, who experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat. This data underscores the urgent need for comprehensive climate action. The increasing number of extreme heat days poses significant risks to human health, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

As the planet continues to warm, the frequency of such days is likely to rise, highlighting the critical importance of mitigating climate change through sustained global efforts and policy interventions.