Simultaneous Heatwaves Caused by Anthropogenic Climate Change

Typography

Many people will remember last summer – not only in Switzerland, but also in large swathes across the rest of Europe, as well as in North America and Asia.

Many people will remember last summer – not only in Switzerland, but also in large swathes across the rest of Europe, as well as in North America and Asia. Multiple places around the world experienced heat so severe that people died of heatstroke, power generation had to be curtailed, rails and roads started to melt, and forests went up in flames. What was truly sobering about this heatwave was that it affected not only one area, such as the Mediterranean region, but several across the temperate zones and the Arctic simultaneously.

ETH researchers have concluded that the only explanation of why heat affected so many areas over several months is anthropogenic climate change. These are the findings of the recent study that ETH climate researcher Martha Vogel presented today at the European Geosciences Union press conference in Vienna. The paper resulting from this study is currently in review for an academic publication.

Read more at ETH Zurich

Photo: Withered meadow near Kaarst, Germany at the beginning of July: The 2018 heat wave lasted from May to July and covered large parts of the northern hemisphere. (Photograph: Mimikry11, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org)