More Than 60% Population Of The World Faced Extreme Heat In June 2025
It is extremely important for COP29 to agree on a significant shift to climate action by all countries unanimously to confront extreme heat
The annual UN Climate Conference Of Parties – COP29 this year to be held from 11-22 November, 2025, in Azerbaijan, Brazil, will see a strong demand for significant shift in climate action to confront the crisis of extreme heat. Since Nearly 5 billion people worldwide were exposed to unlivable heat due to climate change, with Indonesia, India and Bangladesh among some of the most impacted nations.
More than 60% of the world population faced extreme heat that was made at least three times more likely by climate change during June 16-24, 2024, according to Climate Central Attribution study. Extreme temperatures soared around the world. 4.97 billion people experienced extreme heat reaching Climate shift Index, a marker of global warming to the levels of at least 3, indicating that climate change made these temperatures at least three times more likely to occur.
There were 619 million people in India, 579 million people in China, 231 million people in Indonesia,206 million people in Nigeria, 176 million people in Brazil, 171 million people in Bangladesh, 165 million people in the United States,152 million people in Europe (excluding Russia), 123 million people in Mexico,121 million people in Ethiopia,103 million people in Egypt faced extreme heat in June2024.Temperatures were extremely high, with some cities passing 50°C. Temperatures reached up to 51 °C in Saudi Arabia. In Mexico On June 21, temperatures reached 52°C in the Sonora state. World Weather Attribution group found that climate change made the extreme heat of May and June 35 times more likely.
Every heat wave in the world is now made more intense and more likely to happen due to climate change, the scientists highlighted. Due to human-caused warming, extreme heat waves that used to occur once every 50 years now occur nearly five times more often and are 1.5 °C degrees warmer, according to the UN’s panel of top climate scientists. Current plans to reduce fossil fuel use would lead to dangerous warming of nearly 3ºC by 2100. This would mean the extreme heat waves that used to happen only twice a century would occur roughly every three years. Across Asia, hundreds of millions of people are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and heat illness, with those living in informal housing, those working outdoors and children at particular risk.
More frequent and extreme heat events are already disproportionately impacting an increasing number of people worldwide, and projections indicate a worrying increase in future compounding impacts, write the researchers. Yet, unlike weather hazards, such as floods and droughts, a comprehensive global heat early warning system does not currently exist.
Thus, it is extremely important for COP29 to agree on a significant shift to climate action by all countries unanimously to confront extreme heat.
The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy
