Climate Crisis: Extreme Temperatures

Climate Crisis: Extreme Temperatures

By: Grace Hyunjoo Lee

Recently, the earth has been experiencing extremely high temperatures, July 2023 being the planet’s hottest month on record. With this new record and continuous heat across the world, extreme heatwaves have become more frequent, raising concerns about the effects of climate change and the problems posed to the environment and humans. Hot weather events are becoming increasingly severe and frequent, and record-breaking temperatures are becoming the new norm. 

One of the most concerning aspects of this trend is the frequent repetition of these extreme heat events. Records that were set just a few years ago are now being broken with alarming regularity. Climate scientists warn that if we fail to curb greenhouse gas emissions soon, this upward trend in both temperatures and natural disasters will simply continue. 

The increased and unnatural amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere changes the chemical composition of the atmosphere, making it thinner and therefore more easily penetrable. This decreases the albedo effect, which means less energy or heat is reflected back into space and absorbed into Earth. 

These are some of the challenges and problems this poses:

• Health Risks: Extreme heat is a threat to human health. Especially in areas such as Arizona, heat strokes have become more frequent. Other possible illnesses are dehydration and heat exhaustion.

• Agricultural Impact: High temperatures can destroy crops and agriculture. The heatwaves can lead to soil desiccation, less water, fewer crops, and therefore increases food prices.  

• Water Scarcity: Hot weather worsens already existing water scarcity issues. Higher temperatures increase the evaporation of water, leading to reduced water levels in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. 

• Wildfires: Extreme heat and more frequent droughts cause more wildfires to spread rapidly. These fires destroy wildlife and result in worsened air quality and the destruction of human settlements.

Haddad, Mohammed. “What Is the Highest Temperature Ever Recorded in Your Country?” Infographic News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 18 July 2022, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/18/what-is-the-highest-temperature-ever-recorded-in-your-country.