The heat remains inclement in much of North America. Last weekend, at least 25 people died as a result of high temperatures and strong storms. The intense heat hampered the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, on Saturday (4/7), in addition to affecting football World Cup matches.
Heat wave and storms kill at least 25 people in the US
The heat remains inclement in much of North America. Last weekend, at least 25 people died as a result of high temperatures and strong storms. The intense heat hampered the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the...
According to the Guardian, more than 20 US states recorded temperatures above 38oC during the 4th of July celebration. In New Jersey, on the east coast, authorities believe extreme heat was responsible for the deaths of 22 people. Many of the victims were found in homes without air conditioning, in outdoor areas and even in cars without refrigeration. The ages of the victims range from 30 to 80 years old. Other deaths were reported in Illinois and Mississippi.
In Wisconsin, in the north of the United States, three children died after a boat capsized during a strong storm on Lake Geneva, in the south of the state. As reported by AP, the storm knocked down trees, broke electricity transmission lines and affected road and air transport in several neighboring states.
Almost 1 million people spent US Independence Day without electricity. According to the Financial Times, the extreme weather in recent days has caused the price of electricity to skyrocket in the American market, with an increase of more than 240% in the northeast of the country.
Even Donald Trump had his 4th of July celebrations affected by the extreme weather in the capital, Washington. The US president's speech had to be postponed for a few hours due to the risk of a strong storm. Other scheduled events, such as the military parade, were canceled due to the extreme heat. Washington's emergency services treated more than 50 people with heat-related problems on Saturday alone, according to AFP.
All this heat would be virtually impossible without climate change, highlights the New York Times from an attribution study released over the weekend by the global network of climate scientists World Weather Attribution (WWA). According to the analysis, episodes like the current heat wave in North America are still extraordinary, with a probability of occurrence of just 0.5%. But they would be practically impossible under the pre-Industrial Revolution climate, before greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels affected the global climate.
"On America's 250th birthday, our study offers a clear reality check. The climate the country has today is fundamentally different from the one that existed when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence," said Theodore Keeping, climate scientist at Imperial College London and WWA contributor.
Source: ClimaInfo
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