It’s been a sweltering, deadly hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere. On Wednesday the U.N.’s climate agency, the World Meteorological Organization, and the European climate service Copernicus reported that last month was the hottest August ever recorded with modern equipment. It was also the second hottest month measured, only behind July 2023.
By 2050, over 5 billion people– probably more thanhalfthe planet’s population – will be exposed to at least a month of health-threatening extreme heat. That’s up from 4 billion in 20-30 and 2 billion at the turn of the century.
More than 200 cities across the country, including Washington DC were under heat advisories this week. This summerthere hasbeen a rise in heat-related fatalities,andcompanies have been under pressure to protectoutdoorworkers,and officials from small townsall the way upto the White House have been scrambling to respond.
So what impact are these record-breaking temperatures having on our lives, our health and our economies, here at home and across the world? We speak to Bloomberg climate reporter Zahra Hirji.
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