New Research: Climate Change Causes Heat Waves to Last Longer

A new study shows that climate change is causing massive heat waves around the world to move more slowly, affecting more people for longer periods and over wider areas. Since 1979, the movement of heat waves globally has slowed by 20%, leading to more prolonged heat exposure for individuals. The new research indicates that these waves occur 67% more frequently. The study has shown that the highest temperatures during these waves are warmer than they were 40 years ago, and a larger area is now under the heat dome. Wei Zhang from Utah State University and Gabriel Lau from Princeton University, the authors of the paper, told the Associated Press that previous studies indicated heat waves had become more severe, but this research is more comprehensive, focusing not only on temperature and area but also on the duration of extreme heat and its movement across continents. The study reveals that from 1979 to 1983, global heat waves lasted an average of eight days, but from 2016 to 2020, this duration increased to 12 days. According to the study, the Eurasia region was affected by longer heat waves, while heat waves in Africa slowed down, and North America and Australia experienced the most significant overall increases in temperature and area. Scientists say that just like a stove, the longer the heat remains, the more something cooks, and in this case, that something is people. Wei Zhang stated, 'Heat waves move more slowly, meaning a heat wave lingers longer in an area, which will have adverse effects on human society over the years.' The team demonstrated through computer simulations that this change is due to heat emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. The study also examines changes in weather patterns that emit heat waves. Several international scientists have praised the broader picture that Zhang and his colleagues painted of heat waves. Kathy Jacobs, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona who did not participate in the research, says this study is significant in showing how heat waves evolve in a three-dimensional manner, moving regionally across continents rather than looking at temperature in separate locations.