As global temperatures rise, people in the tropics, including
places like India and Africa’s Sahel region, will likely face
dangerously hot conditions almost daily by the end of the century – even
as the world reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, a new study shows.
The mid-latitudes, including the U.S., will also face increasing
risks. There, the number of dangerously hot days, marked by temperatures
and humidity high enough to cause heat exhaustion, is projected to
double by the 2050s and continue to rise.
In the study, scientists looked at population growth, economic
development patterns, energy choices and climate models to project how
heat index levels – the combination of heat and humidity – will change
over time. We asked University of Washington atmospheric scientist David Battisti, a co-author of the study, published Aug. 25, 2022, to explain the findings and what they mean for humans around the world.
If you thought this summer’s heat waves were bad, a new study has some disturbing news about dangerous heat in the future: As global temperatures rise, people in the tropics, including
places like India and Africa’s Sahel region, will likely face
dangerously hot conditions almost daily by the end of the century – even
as the world reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, a new study shows.The mid-latitudes, including the U.S., will also face increasing
risks. There, the number of dangerously hot days, marked by temperatures
and humidity high enough to cause heat exhaustion, is projected to
double by the 2050s and continue to rise.In the study, scientists looked at population growth, economic
development patterns, energy choices and climate models to project how
heat index levels – the combination of heat and humidity – will change
over time. We asked University of Washington atmospheric scientist David Battisti, a co-author of the study, published Aug. 25, 2022, to explain the findings and what they mean for humans around the world.Read More