'Unrealistic' heat wave hits the Philippines

The climate crisis has sent temperatures soaring across Asia, from Gaza to Manila.

Scientists found that the climate crisis was the main cause of the record heat wave in the Philippines in April. Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius occurred across Asia in April, causing many deaths and many countries suffering from food shortages. water, crop failure and many schools had to close.

Scientists find that the climate crisis is the main cause of the record heat wave in the Philippines in April. (Photo: Anadolu).

Research shows that the likelihood of extreme temperatures occurring is 45 times higher than normal in India and 5 times more likely in Israel and Palestine. Scientists say high temperatures have worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Latest research results show that global warming is one of the causes of extreme weather events around the world. According to statistics, the Earth's average temperature is currently 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than in the pre-industrial period.

At the end of March, an 'unrealistic' heat wave hit West Africa and the Sahel with the highest daily temperature reaching 48.5 degrees Celsius, killing many people.

Deaths due to extreme heat are rarely recorded in many countries. However, studies over the past two decades show that millions of people have died because of extreme temperatures. In Europe, the number of deaths due to heat also increased by 25% within 10 years.

Many people go to Philippine beaches to cool off during the April heat wave. (Photo: BenarNews).

Scientists warn that worse things will happen in the future. If global temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius, devastating heat waves will repeat every 2-3 years in the Philippines and every 5 years in Israel, Palestine and neighboring countries.

Recently, hundreds of climate scientists told The Guardian that they expect global temperatures to increase by at least 2.5 degrees Celsius if the world does not act to reduce fossil energy.

'From Gaza to Manila, people are suffering from the heat. The number of people killed by heat also skyrocketed in Asia in April ,' said Dr. Friederike Otto, a member of the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group.

'Emissions from oil, gas and coal have caused temperatures to rise significantly. This problem has killed many people ,' Dr. Otto added.

'The brutal heat has worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. People here already have limited access to food, water and health care. Now, they have to squeeze into crowded, hot shelters or live in dangerous outdoor environments with extremely high temperatures ,' he analyzed.

The injustice of El Nino

WWA research examined three regions that suffered extreme heat in April. Global warming trends have caused temperatures to rise by 1.7 degrees Celsius in Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and more 1 degree Celsius in the Philippines - a country where 4,000 schools had to close due to heat.

WWA research surveyed India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Scientists used weather data and climate models to determine the likelihood that extreme heat waves could continue.

Rapid urbanization, shrinking green space, is also one of the causes of extreme weather in Asia. (Photo: Anadolu).

As a result, they determined that the El Nino phenomenon, although it increases global temperatures, has little impact on the likelihood of increasing heat waves. ' Climate change is the determining factor in the formation of extreme temperatures ,' said Dr. Otto.

'Asia has some of the largest and fastest growing cities in the world,' said researcher Pereira Marghidan. 'This rapid urbanization process has led to unplanned development, widespread concretization and shrinking green spaces in many cities.'

She said outdoor workers such as farmers and street vendors are the most vulnerable. Research shows that countries need to quickly improve social security programs and cope with extreme heat waves.

According to statistics from The Guardian , there are hundreds of studies showing that global warming is the main cause of extreme weather events occurring this year. 'If the world does not take 'big steps' to reduce emissions and keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, extremely high temperatures will send Asian countries into crisis' .