Preparing for extreme temperatures under global warming

What is it about?

Human activities are contributing to climate change. Human-made climate change can increase the hottest temperatures experienced in a year. In a study, the authors predicted yearly temperature extremes. They calculated the chances of different temperature extremes occurring. They did this for global temperature increases of 1.5 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C.

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Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We have seen extreme temperatures in recent years. Extreme temperatures can cause human and animal deaths. They can also affect the environment and economy. The results of this study show that there will be long-term summer warming in the future. Temperature extremes will increase in tropical regions. The yearly coldest temperature will get lower at higher latitudes. Global warming will also heavily affect the Arctic Sea ice. Once-in-a-decade high summer temperatures will start occurring every year under high global warming. Learning how often such temperatures occur is important. It will help us plan future strategies to reduce their harmful impacts. KEY TAKEAWAY: The yearly hottest temperature is expected to get higher in the future. This is due to global warming. Very high temperatures have bad effects on life, the environment and the economy. We need to study how often these high temperatures will occur. This will help us reduce their impact.