2018's announcement as one of the hottest years in history, but it's not a surprise

"2018's announcement as one of the hottest years in history, with temperature records in many countries.This is not a surprise. heat and extreme heat we know is what we expect from climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.This is not a future scenario, it's happening now, "said Elena Manaenkova , Deputy Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization.

According to the World Health Organization, excessive exposure to heat has a wide variety of physiological effects on humans that can lead to premature death and disability.

Excessive exposure to heat for long periods of the day and night may produce cardiovascular, respiratory and renal failure, as well as diabetes.

The most vulnerable population groups are the elderly, children, pregnant women, workers who work in the open air. the poor

The climate in the world

Japan suffered the worst floods and landslides the most serious for decades with many records of daily rainfall broken between the 28th and the June 8th. July: more than 200 people lost their lives, 10,000 homes were destroyed or flooded and there was a strong heat wave, according to official government figures As part of the observation network deployed by the 39 Meteorological Agency of Japan 200 of the 927 stations recorded a maximum temperature above 35 degrees Celsius on July 15 and July 19. the Agency issued a warning of very high temperatures from July 24 to August 2.

The city of Kumagaya set a new daily maximum temperature record of 41.1 degrees Celsius, and that of Oume of 40.8 on July 23rd. The dangerously high temperatures and humidity occurred when Japan sought to recover from the worst floods and landslides in decades.

In addition, the Korean Meteorological Administration issued a stern warning for several days indicating that daily maximum temperatures exceeded 35 degrees and that several daily temperature records were broken. It is likely that warm conditions will continue until the end of July

Ouargla, in the Algerian Sahara desert, reported a maximum temperature of 51.3 degrees on the 5th of July. It is likely that this temperature is the highest ever recorded in Algeria. The Meteorological Organization's extreme weather records indicate that the city of Kebili, Tunisia, maintains the highest temperature record recorded in Africa with 55 degrees in July 1931. However, there were doubts about the reliability of records of the temperature of the colonial era.

This year, many parts of North Africa saw a heat wave from July 3 to 10. Morocco set a record of 43.4 degrees in Bouarfa on July 3rd. High temperatures are also forecast for the week that began July 23.

Furnace Creek Station in Death Valley National Park National Park of the US State of California ] recorded a temperature of 52.0 degrees on July 8th. The station holds the record for the highest temperature recorded on Earth at 56.7 degrees on July 10, 1913.

Other parts of California have also been affected by extreme heat. Downtown Los Angeles set a monthly minimum record of 26.1 degrees for the night of July 7th.

Chino, near Los Angeles, recorded a record high of 48.9 degrees. Burbank Airport set an all-time high of 45.6 degrees on July 6, surpbading the 45 recorded in 1971, and Van Nuys Airport recorded a record high of 47.2, according to the service. American weather.

In addition, this service issued an excessive heat warning for southeastern California and southwestern and south-central Arizona, and reported that the national park Death Valley recorded 53 degrees . ]

In Canada, a heat wave combined with high humidity in the province of Quebec contributed to dozens of deaths particularly among the most vulnerable and most vulnerable. the elderly

. At the same time, parts of eastern Canada experienced a brief return from winter, with snow in parts of Newfoundland and Cape Breton (Nova Scotia ) and temperatures of -1 degrees to St John's and Halifax. Winter time at the end of the year is rare. This is the first time since 1996.

The temperatures were unusually high in much of northern Siberia in June 2018. This trend continued for the first week of July.

The Western Siberia Hydrometric Center in Russia issued a storm warning due to temperatures of more than 30 degrees for more than five days. This creates high risks of forest fires, interruptions in energy supply and in utilities, such as transportation.

The Krasnoyarsk region reported daily anomalies of 7 degrees above average, with fires About 80,000 hectares of forest.

In the midst of a prolonged heat wave in Scandinavia temperatures exceeded 30 degrees in the polar circle. Norway recorded a record of 33.5 degrees at Badufoss on July 17th and reached 33.4 at Kevo, Finland

Influenced by a warm wind, the northern tip of Norway (Makkaur) recorded a record minimum night temperature of 25.2 on July 18th.

The heat wave followed an exceptionally dry and hot May in Northern Europe, which led to a constant forest fire throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic region. Sweden reported about 50 forest fires that burned in mid-July.

Fires fanned by extremely strong winds killed dozens of people near Athens on the night of July 24 in one of Greece's worst tragedies for years .

On July 23, temperatures reached about 38 degrees and there were strong westerlies. However, Greece has not experienced below-average rainfall since the beginning of summer and therefore weather conditions in Greece can not be compared to those in Scandinavia.

Ireland recorded synoptic heat waves (5 or more consecutive days with a maximum temperature of over 25 degrees) in 15 seasons and an absolute dryness in all of its seasons.

The United Kingdom recorded its first half of summer, with only 47 mm of precipitation between June 1 and July 16. Its weather services have reported that the heatwave will continue in much of England this week, with temperatures reaching 32-34 degrees in some places on July 27th or 28th.

Armenia saw a heat wave between June 29 and July 12. The average daily temperature of the air was 4 to 7 degrees above normal and up to 9 in some areas. A new record high of 42.6 degrees was also observed in Areni on July 12th.

WMO / Gonzalo Javier Bertolotto Quintana

Pieces of ice floating in the Prince Gustavo Cbad, Antarctica, where there were ice platforms more than 28 km.

Relationship with climate change

Episodes of extreme heat, precipitation and drought are increasing due to climate change. Although it is not possible to attribute the extreme events of June and July to this phenomenon, they are consistent with the general long-term trend due to the increase in gas concentrations. greenhouse in the world.

that the probability of these extreme events is influenced by human activity, directly or indirectly.