4 extreme facts that show the magnitude of the heat waves that hit the United States, China and Europe

What has been warned by scientists for decades is already happening: the world is increasingly suffering from the effects of extreme heat waves.

Experts say that the temperature records that have been broken these past weeks during the boreal summer, although they had been projected, arrive faster than expected, keeping governments throughout the northern hemisphere on alert.

“We are entering uncharted territory,” the agency said last week. World Meteorological Organizationafter the first week of July became the hottest on record, after this June was the warmest on record.

According to Hannah Cloke, a climate change researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, "it's very scary."

He says it because he extreme heat does not let up in the northern hemisphere and it could have deadly consequences if the population does not take the appropriate protection measures. In Europe alone, some 61,000 people died from the heat wave that occurred last year, the expert said in an interview with the BBC.

Currently there are heat alerts in across Europe, Asia and the US for tens of millions of people.

The present situation, Cloke notes, would appear to be "getting out of hand."

The heat waves, which are attributed to climate change as well as the El Niño phenomenon unfolding in the Pacific, are likely to continue to worsen.

In this note, we give you four extreme data related to heat waves that hit part of the planet.

1. China records its highest temperature

Just a few months ago several regions in northern China were battling extreme cold, with temperatures falling below -50°C.

On Sunday the picture was totally different. In Xinjiang, in the remote and arid northeast of the Asian giant, temperatures of 52°C were recorded, which, according to state media, is the highest temperature on record.

Extreme heat is expected to extend for at least another five days in this region.

The previous record in China, recorded in 2015, was 50.3°C.

2. The American South is drowning

Nearly a quarter of the US population is under extreme heat advisories across the country.

In El Paso, Texas, temperatures were kept above 38°C for 32 consecutive dayswhich surpasses the previous record of 26 days.

Also, scientists are concerned that temperatures in Arizona will not even drop overnight. In the state it is predicted that the thermometer will not drop below 32 ° C when the sun goes down.

The average July temperature for the last century in Arizona at night was 18.5°C.

In Death Valley, California, the heat record ever recorded on Earth could be broken. This Sunday there the mercury reached 53°C, which generated a huge wave of tourists, expecting that the 56°C milestone of 1913 would be broken.

The National Weather Service is also forecasting bouts of "unstable weather" earlier this week, including excessive rainfall that can lead to flash flooding in parts of southern Louisiana and Arizona, the Ohio Valley and northeastern states.

3. The heat in Italy could break continental records

Spain, Italy and Greece have been suffering from extreme temperatures for several days.

But this week a new heat wave is expected that the Italian weather agencies named Charon, after the monster from Greek mythology that was the ferryman of the dead in Hades.

It moves to the country from North Africa from this Sunday.

On the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, for example, temperatures of about 46°C are projectedaccording to meteorological agencies.

The highest temperature recorded in Europe was 48.8°C, precisely in Sicily, in August 2021.

The heat wave affecting the Mediterranean is forecast to intensify in the middle of this week and is likely to continue into next month in parts of Europe.

North Africa is also experiencing high temperatures, with up to 49°C forecast in Morocco.

4. Thousands are evacuated in Greece

Some 1,200 children were evacuated from a summer camp in the Greek coastal town of Loutraki after a Forest fire enhanced by dry weather.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a man suspected of starting another fire in Kouvaris, southeast of Athens.

The Greek meteorological service warned that the risk of new fires is still high.

Dozens of people have had to leave their homes, assisted by emergency services teams.

The Greek government said those whose homes had been affected by the fires were eligible for accommodation at local hotels.

The owner of a house in Kouvaras, Anna Vlachou, told the Reuters news agency that while her house had not yet burned down, there were "many fronts" of fires and still no sign of firefighters.

The wildfires were fanned by high winds, with hundreds of firefighters struggling to contain the spread of the flames.

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See original article on BBC