Are the heat waves caused by climate change?

Heat waves have happened in the past, but climate change is making heat waves longer, more extreme, and more frequent. We know this by observing how often new daily high and low temperature records are set. Daily temperatures are measured at hundreds of weather stations around the globe.

What is the cause of the heat wave?

Heat waves are generally the result of trapped air. During the 2012 heat wave, air was trapped above much of North America for a long period of time. As opposed to cycling around the globe, it simply stayed put and warmed like the air inside an oven. High-pressure systems force air downward.

What are the effects around the world due to climate change?

More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities. As climate change worsens, dangerous weather events are becoming more frequent or severe.

Where do heat waves occur in the world?

Heat waves can occur anywhere that a high pressure air has created the environment to a form a heat dome. For example one of the worst heat waves occurred in Chicago in 1995 and one seasonal heat wave occurs over the Eastern Seaboard.

What are the effects of heat waves?

Heatwaves can burden health and emergency services and also increase strain on water, energy and transportation resulting in power shortages or even blackouts. Food and livelihood security may also be strained if people lose their crops or livestock due to extreme heat.

What are the effects of a heat wave?

How does heat waves affect the environment?

Ecological impacts: Heatwaves, without concomitant increases in precipitation, can lead to water shortages and increased stress for plants, particularly in arid regions. This has the effect of reducing plant growth, the basis of energy production and the food chain, with an overall drying-out of the landscape.

How does heat affect our environment?

Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier.

What are the effects of a heat waves?

Heat can cause severe dehydration, acute cerebrovascular accidents and contribute to thrombogenesis (blood clots). People with chronic diseases that take daily medications have a greater risk of complications and death during a heatwave, as do older people and children.