Heatwave in the Mediterranean Region Was 'Practically Impossible' Without Climate Change

A group of scientists and climate experts announced on Wednesday, August 1, that the heatwave that engulfed the Mediterranean region in July was 'practically impossible' without global warming. In recent weeks, temperatures in many parts of Southern Europe and North Africa exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. Such heat, which was unprecedented in this region a decade ago, has become more frequent in recent years. Due to the extreme heat in Morocco, more than 20 people died from heatstroke in just one day. The number and extent of wildfires in Greece and the Balkan countries increased, and athletes participating in the Paris Summer Olympics competed in weather hotter than usual for this time of year. The 'World Weather Attribution' group, composed of academics and climate scientists, stated that if humanity had not caused global warming by burning fossil fuels, the unprecedented rise in temperatures in the Mediterranean region would have been impossible. This group's new report is the result of research by five university professors on the factors influencing the increase in temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere in July this year, particularly in Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. Experts in this study compared the temperature of this month with the weather conditions before the rapid growth in fossil fuel consumption, coal, oil, and gas, using all available data on July temperatures and other climate indicators. They concluded that due to atmospheric warming beyond the Mediterranean region, the average summer temperature across Europe has increased by about 3.3 degrees Celsius. Athletes at the Paris Olympics had to compete on days when temperatures reached around 35 degrees. Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and one of the authors of this research report, stated: 'The extreme heat in July is no longer a rare phenomenon, and given the current climate situation, extreme heat in this month will occur at least once every decade.' Scientists have concluded for years that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, have increased due to climate change. Under the influence of extreme heat in large parts of the United States, Europe, and Russia, the average surface temperature set a new record, and four days in July were the hottest recorded in history. The temperature over the past 13 months has been the warmest recorded period without interruption and has exceeded the threshold set for limiting global warming, which is 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Scientists believe that the precise measurement of this threshold should consider a 10-year period, but the persistence of unprecedented heat over the past 13 months should be regarded as a serious warning.