UN Chief Warns of “Extreme Heat Epidemic” Impacting Humanity

United Nations:

Humanity is grappling with an “extreme heat epidemic,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Thursday, urging prompt actions to mitigate the effects of heat waves exacerbated by climate change.

“Billions of people are enduring an extreme heat epidemic, suffering under increasingly deadly heat waves, with global temperatures soaring past 50 degrees Celsius,” he stated. “That’s 122 degrees Fahrenheit. And halfway to boiling.”

The European Copernicus network reported that July 21, 22, and 23 were the hottest days ever recorded globally, with July 22 setting the record at 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit).

Guterres reiterated his plea for humanity to overcome its dependency on fossil fuels.

“Today, we focus on the impact of extreme heat. However, let’s not overlook the numerous other devastating symptoms of the climate crisis: increasingly fierce hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, rising sea levels, and more,” he emphasized.

“To address all these symptoms, we must tackle the underlying disease: the madness of destroying our only home. The disease is our addiction to fossil fuels. The disease is climate inaction,” he urged, particularly calling on G20 nations to take action.

While 2023 marked the hottest year on record, 2024 could surpass it, with temperatures consistently exceeding 40C (104F).

In the past year alone, the 50C threshold was surpassed at least 10 times, including in locations such as Death Valley in the United States (53.9C on July 7), Agadir in Morocco, and regions in China and India.

The extreme heat, often less visible than other climate change impacts like storms or floods, is nevertheless more lethal.

This “silent killer” accounts for approximately 489,000 deaths annually between 2000 and 2019, compared to 16,000 deaths per year from cyclones, according to the UN’s “Call to Action” document released on Thursday.

Workers at Risk

Excessive temperatures also bear economic consequences, with the UN projecting economic losses from heat stress at work to reach $2.4 trillion by 2030.

A report by the International Labor Organization published on Thursday revealed that over 70 percent of workers were exposed to extreme heat in 2020, an 8.8 percent increase since 2000.

“The good news is that we can save lives and limit its impact,” Guterres reiterated on Thursday.

The UN has called on the global community to prioritize protecting “the most vulnerable” — including young children, the elderly, and the impoverished.

In this regard, early warning systems should encompass extreme heat, alerting populations about impending heat waves and advising on necessary precautions, the document suggests.

The call to action also advocates for enhancing equitable access to and scaling up low-carbon cooling solutions.

This involves investing in passive cooling systems, which include climate-sensitive urban design, reflective surfaces, natural cooling systems, and phasing out climate-warming gases used in many cooling devices.