The Red Cross and the United Nations have published a report warning that within decades heatwaves will become so extreme in some parts of the world that human life there will be unsustainable.
Heatwaves are predicted to "exceed human physiological and social limits" in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and south and south-west Asia – with extreme events triggering "large-scale suffering and loss of life", the organisations said on Monday.
In their first joint report, UN humanitarian aid agency OCHA and the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies chronicling the devastation of past heatwaves and laid out ways to prepare for and limit the damage of future ones.
2022 has seen record temperatures across the world.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) October 10, 2022
Drastic actions are needed now to prevent a future of frequent and deadly heat disasters.
Our new report with @ifrc 👉 https://t.co/cN3Q2bIf53 pic.twitter.com/kNVFw9tRUl
Sounding alarm
The report, “Extreme Heat: Preparing for the Heatwaves of the Future”, raised alarm bells over the rising number of casualties as a result of heatwaves globally.
It said 38 heatwaves had accounted for the deaths of more than 70,000 people worldwide from 2010 to 2019.
The organisations called on governments to step up efforts to prepare for heatwaves, saying aggressive steps needed to be taken immediately to avert potentially recurrent heat disasters.
"We don't want to dramatise it, but clearly the data shows that it does lead towards a very bleak future," said IFRC secretary-general Jagan Chapagain.
The report’s release comes ahead of next month's COP27 climate change summit in Egypt.
(with wires)
