UNITED STATES: The heat wave conditions in Africa, Europe, and Asia, where temperatures have reached previously unheard-of highs, are highlighted on a frighteningly red map released by NASA.
The human capacity for heat tolerance is being tested in many nations around Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in June and July. In many areas of the cities, the temperature has surpassed 40 degrees Celsius. Records from decades ago were broken. Most of the Eastern Hemisphere’s surface air temperatures are shown on the July 13, 2022, NASA map.
A variant of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) global model, which employs mathematical equations to depict physical processes in the atmosphere, was used to combine observations with building it.
According to Steven Pawson, President of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, there are distinct patterns of atmospheric waves at various locations. This shows some hot (red) and cool spots (blue). Large areas of high heat, however, are proof that greenhouse gases are rising due to human-spread pollution, which is causing the temperature to increase steadily and endanger life.
The warmth in Western Europe, where there was already a severe drought, stoked the fires that tore through Portugal, Spain, and portions of France. On July 13, temperatures in the Portuguese town of Leiria, where more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) had burned, reached 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). As firefighters fought 14 active flames, more than half of the nation was on red alert.
On July 12, 2022, the Suomi NPP satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) detected fires in Portugal and Spain in the regions shown in the image above. The municipality of Las Hurdes, which has burnt over 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres), is one of the notable fire detections west of Madrid.
Tunisia in North Africa has seen a heatwave and wildfires that have hurt the nation’s grain harvest. A 40-year record was broken on July 13 in Tunis, the country’s capital, when the temperature climbed to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). After peaking at a blistering 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) in late June, the temperature in Iran remained high in July.
An area of the Marmolada Glacier in the Dolomites collapsed on July 3 due to Italy’s record-breaking heat. Eleven hikers were killed by the snow, ice, and rock avalanche. As temperatures were anticipated to rise and possibly reach record highs, the Met Office in the U.K. issued extreme heat or amber warnings.
Three heatwaves that hit China this summer have caused tar to melt, cracked roof tiles, and crumbled roadways. The hottest temperature ever recorded at the Shanghai Xujiahui Observatory, where records have been kept since 1873, was 40.9 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) on July 13, 2022. Warm nighttime temperatures combined with high dewpoints and humidity created potentially fatal situations.
According to Pawson, the fires that are currently burning in Europe and Africa and have been raging in North America for the past few years are just a few of the adverse effects of such intense heat.
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