HomeFeatures2024 Sees Unprecedented Climate-Related Devastation

2024 Sees Unprecedented Climate-Related Devastation

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Whether in the opulent expanses of Saudi Arabia or the struggling villages of Mayotte, the glittering streets of European capitals or the cramped slums of Africa, the supercharged climate crises of 2024 made their destructive presence known in every corner of the world.

This year’s record-breaking heat, both in the atmosphere and oceans, has set a troubling benchmark, acting as an accelerant for extreme and often destructive weather patterns globally.

Experts at World Weather Attribution, an organization focused on the role of global warming in amplifying extreme events, concluded that almost every catastrophe they examined over the past year was exacerbated by climate change.

“The impacts of fossil fuel warming have never been clearer or more devastating than in 2024. We are living in a dangerous new era,” said climate scientist Friederike Otto, who leads the WWA network.

The unforgiving reality of extreme heat unfolded tragically in June, as over 1,300 lives were lost during the Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, where the thermometer hit a blistering 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).

Extreme heat — sometimes dubbed the ‘silent killer’ — also proved deadly in Thailand, India, and United States.

Conditions were so intense in Mexico that howler monkeys dropped dead from the trees, while Pakistan kept millions of children at home as the mercury inched above 50C.

Greece recorded its earliest ever heatwave, forcing the closure of its famed Acropolis and fanning terrible wildfires, at the outset of Europe’s hottest summer yet.

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Climate change isn’t just sizzling temperatures — warmer oceans mean higher evaporation, and warmer air absorbs more moisture, a volatile recipe for heavy rainfall.

In April, the United Arab Emirates received two years worth of rain in a single day, turning parts of the desert-state into a sea, and hobbling Dubai’s international airport.

Kenya was barely out of a once-in-a-generation drought when the worst floods in decades delivered back-to-back disasters for the East African nation.

Four million people needed aid after historic flooding killed more than 1,500 people across West and Central Africa. Europe — most notably Spain — also suffered tremendous downpours that caused deadly flash flooding.

Afghanistan, Russia, Brazil, China, Nepal, Uganda, India, Somalia, Pakistan, Burundi and the United States were among other countries that witnessed flooding in 2024.

The Eastern Updates 

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