In suffocating Brazil, the worst floods ever killed dozens of people and paralyzed a city of about 4 million people. Voters and politicians in the world’s biggest elections in India are fainting in heat that has reached 115 degrees (46.3 degrees Celsius).
A brutal Asian heatwave it closed schools in the Philippines, killed people in Thailand and broke records there and in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Myanmar. Record temperatures – especially at night, when it doesn’t cool down – have hit many parts of Africa. Floods have devastated Houston, and the United States as a whole has just had its second highest number of tornadoes for the month of April.
In a world increasingly accustomed to violent climate swings, the last few days and weeks have seemingly taken these environmental extremes to a new level. Some climate scientists say they have trouble remembering when such a large part of the world had its climate accelerate at the same time.
“Given that we have seen an unprecedented jump in global heat over the past 11 months, it is not surprising to see the worsening of climate extremes so early in the year,” said University of Michigan Environment Dean Jonathan Overpeck. “If this record pace of warming continues, 2024 will likely be a record year for climate disasters and human suffering.”
When the world is warmer, there are likely to be more extreme weather and climate events, including record heat and rainfall, scientists say. AND of Climate Change It is also changing weather patterns, leading to the stalling of rainy and warm systems in the areas and the meandering of the jet stream, said Álvaro Silva, a climate scientist at the World Meteorological Organization.
Adding to the stronger effects of human-caused climate change is a now-weakening El Nino – a natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that changes climate around the world – that came on the heels of a three-year-old La Nina, his cold counterpart, Silva said.
Scientists also pointed out 13 consecutive months of record warm oceans as a potential factor.
While several factors play a role in these extremes, “climate change is the most important,” Silva said.
The problem is that the world has adapted and built cities designed for 20th century temperatures and rainfall, but climate change brings more heat and torrential rain, said Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University.
“We are abandoning the 20th century climate at this point and we simply cannot deal with these events,” Dessler said. “So they are getting a little more extreme, but they are outpacing our ability to deal with them.”
Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoechief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, said more extremes in more places are overlapping.
“Climate change is turning the weather data against us in every part of the world,” Hayhoe said. “What this means is that not only is the frequency and severity of many weather extremes increasing, but also that the risk of compound events is increasing.”
In just the first five days of May, 70 countries or territories broke heat records, said climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks temperature records around the world.
Nandyala and Kadapa in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh reached an all-time high of 115 degrees (46.3 Celsius), Herrera said.
Nitin Gadkari, a federal minister, collapsed while campaigning in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
“Heat waves in India are by far the deadliest type of extreme weather events. At the same time, they are the type of extremes that increase most strongly in a warming world,” climate scientist Friederike Otto said in a statement earlier this week.
This week in Southeast Asia, “it was the hottest May night ever,” Herrera posted on X (formerly Twitter). Parts of Thailand did not fall below 87.6 degrees (30.9 Celsius).
In late April, parts of northern Thailand reached 111 degrees (44 Celsius), while Chauk township in Myanmar’s hottest region reached a record 118.8 degrees (48.2 Celsius).
Many African nations also face scorching heat. Herrera said it reached 117.5 degrees (47.5 Celsius) in Kayes, Mali. The capital of Niger had the hottest May night and the capital of Burkina Faso had the hottest night of any month. In Chad, in north-central Africa, temperatures were expected to remain above 114 degrees (45.6 Celsius) all week.
O deadly heat wave The weather experienced across West Africa last month was linked to human-caused climate change, according to scientists from the World Weather Attribution group.
In Ciudad Altamirano, Mexico, the temperature approached 115 degrees (46 Celsius), with record heat across Latin America, Herrera said. Bolivia had the hottest May night on record and Brazil had the hottest May day.
Brazil’s record heat that smothered major cities like São Paulo also prevented a storm from spreading across the south of the country, making it deadly, according to Francisco Aquino, a climatologist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
There was also a massive influx of moisture from the Amazon’s so-called flying rivers, or air currents that carry water vapor, Aquino explained. “This caused the clouds to generate extreme rainfall,” he said.
The south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul is suffering from the worst flood ever recorded, with at least 90 deaths, almost 204,000 homeless and 388 municipalities affected, according to local authorities
In Porto Alegre, a metropolitan region with more than 4.4 million inhabitants, waters took over the city center, the international airport and several neighborhoods. Officials said it will take days for the water level to recede.
Houston is still trying to dry out after days of heavy rain which required the rescue of more than 600 people from floodwaters across Texas, including 233 people in Houston. Northeast of Houston, about 58 centimeters fell.
Meanwhile, April brought the heaviest rain ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates, flooding parts of the desert kingdom’s main highways and Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest hub for international travel.
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Borenstein and Naishadham reported from Washington, Arasu from Bengaluru, India, and Maisonnave from Brasília, Brazil.
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