Closing summary
It’s been another exceptionally hot day across numerous parts of the US and the world. Here is a wrap up of the day’s events:
US climate envoy John Kerry has stressed the climate crisis was not just a “bilateral issue” between China and the US but a “universal threat to humankind.” Kerry spoke at a press conference during a China visit aimed at reviving climate talks between the two countries.
Nasa announced leaders and climate experts will meet on Thursday to discuss the extreme weather events. Participants include Nasa administrator Bill Nelson, chief scientist and senior climate adviser Kate Calvin, the Ocean Ecology Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center’s chief Carlos Del Castillo, and others.
Passengers on a Delta flight scheduled to leave Las Vegas on Monday are sounding the alarm on the dangerous conditions inside their plane. The plane was sitting on the tarmac and did not have air conditioning, leaving those inside vulnerable to the scorching heat.
In a joint effort with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Vermont’s state government is working quickly to begin the recovery process from last week’s floods that left a trail of destruction. President Joe Biden declared the Vermont floods a major disaster on 11 July, releasing federal funding to eligible affected individuals.
Jennifer Morrison, Vermont’s commissioner of the department of public safety, has provided an update on rescues across the state following last week’s devastating floods. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Morrison said that 211 people were rescued from homes, vehicles, trees, a floating hot tub wedged in a tree and a floating dumpster.
The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said the heat often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and asthma.
High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles in Kentucky on Wednesday, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings. A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the north-east.
Egypt will face regular power cuts until the middle of next week as the government limits consumption of gas during a heatwave, the cabinet said on Wednesday. Reuters said residents have reported power cuts in several areas in Cairo this week as temperatures have risen above 40C during a heatwave that has affected southern Europe and north Africa.
A few weeks after saying it will curb its low emission zone (LEZ), the new rightwing coalition government in the Spanish city of Valladolid is calling on people to stop using private cars due to high levels of ozone contamination. Hot air from a heatwave affecting southern Europe has caused levels of ozone in the atmosphere to exceed the trigger for calls for less car use for a third consecutive day on Tuesday, the mayor’s office has said in a statement.
Coastal waters around Spain have hit a record high temperature for this time of the year, the national weather office said on Wednesday as the country remained on alert due to a heatwave. The average temperature of the water off Spain in mid-July reached 24.6C (76.3F), 2.2C higher than the average for the season, according to the weather office Aemet.
As parts of Europe are experiencing a severe heatwave, protesters in Scotland have blockaded two oil sites and claim they aim to “shut down the Scottish oil industry”. PA Media reports that climate activists are present at the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth, on the the Firth of Forth, and the Nustar Clydebank oil terminal in West Dunbartonshire.
Greek meteorologists are warning that the worst is still to come as the country braces for a second heat wave in as many weeks. While gale-force winds, which have been fanning fires, are expected to subside climatic conditions that are both extremely hot and dry will ensure that the danger of wildfires persists.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Updated
John Kerry: climate crisis a 'universal threat to humankind'
US climate envoy John Kerry has stressed the climate crisis was not just a “bilateral issue” between China and the US but a “universal threat to humankind”.
Kerry spoke at a press conference during a China visit aimed at reviving climate talks between the two countries. Kerry has been in Beijing since Sunday in an effort to mend ties between the two nations whose climate talks were suspended following a Taiwan visit by Nancy Pelosi in 2022.
On Wednesday, Kerry told reporters:
President Biden believes, as I think of the world does, that the climate crisis is a universal threat to humankind. And we all have a responsibility to deal with it as rapidly as we can. And we hope we will leave other issues aside.
The talks between the US and China are significant because both nations are the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Kerry said more meetings with China would take place before COP28 in Dubai in November.
