From floods in Brazil and Houston to extreme heat in Asia, extreme weather appears to be almost everywhere

In extremely hot Brazil, floods killed dozens of people and paralyzed a city of about four million people. In the midst of national elections, voters and politicians in India are fainting in heat reaching 115 degrees (46.3 degrees Celsius).

a Extreme Asian heat wave It closed schools in the Philippines, killed people in Thailand, and recorded record numbers there and in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Myanmar. Record temperatures – especially at night when the weather is not cold – have reached many parts of Africa. Floods have devastated Houston, and the United States as a whole has just been hit by them Second largest number of tornadoes For the month of April.

In a world that has become increasingly accustomed to extreme weather extremes, the past few days and weeks seem to have taken environmental extremes to a new level. Some climate scientists say they have a hard time remembering a time when the weather in much of the world was accelerating so sharply at the same time.

“Given that we have seen an unprecedented jump in global warming over the past 11 months, it is not surprising to see a worsening of extreme weather events so early in the year,” said Jonathan Overbeck, dean of environment at the University of Michigan. “If this record pace of warming continues, 2024 will likely be a record year for climate disasters and human suffering.”

Scientists say that as the world becomes warmer, there will likely be more extreme weather and climate events, including record temperatures and rainfall. And Climate change Climate changes are also altering weather patterns, causing rainy and hot systems to stall over regions and the jet stream to meander, said Alvaro Silva, a climate scientist at the World Meteorological Organization.

In addition to the strong effects of human-caused climate change, the now weak El Niño — a natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that changes weather around the world — came on the heels of La Niña, its cold counterpart, lasting three years. Silva said.

Scientists also pointed out 13 consecutive months of record Warming oceans as a potential factor in climate extremes.

All of this comes as the world just ended its 11th straight hot month, the European climate service Copernicus reported on Wednesday.

The average global temperature of 59°F (15°C) in April exceeded the old record set in 2016 by a quarter of a degree (0.14°C). The Copernicus data set goes back to 1950, while other climate monitoring agencies go back to 1850, but have yet to announce April calculations.

Last month was 1.58°C (2.84°F) warmer than in the late 19th century before the Industrial Revolution. In 2015 the world adopted a goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but that applies mostly to staying that warm for a decade or more, not a month.

Silva said that while several factors play a role in this latest wave of extreme events, “climate change is the most important factor.”

The problem is that the world has adapted to the temperatures and precipitation of the 20th century and built cities designed for the temperatures and precipitation of the 20th century, but climate change is bringing more heat and heavier rain, said Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University.

“We are now leaving the climate of the 20th century and cannot deal with these events,” Dessler said. “So they’re getting a little more extreme, but they’re beyond our ability to deal with them.”

More extremes in more places overlap, said Catherine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy.

“Climate change holds the weather dice against us in every part of the world,” Hayhoe said. “What this means is that not only is the frequency and intensity of many extreme weather events increasing, but also that the risk of compound events is increasing.”

the Deadly heat wave The feeling felt across West Africa last month was linked to human-caused climate change, according to scientists at the World Weather Attribution Group.

In Ciudad Altamirano, Mexico, the temperature approached 115 degrees (46 degrees Celsius), with record heat across Latin America, Herrera said. Bolivia experienced its hottest May night on record, and Brazil experienced its hottest May day.

Brazil’s high temperatures that have choked huge cities like São Paulo also prevented a rainstorm from moving over the south of the country, making it deadly, according to Francisco Aquino, a climate scientist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

There was also a massive influx of moisture from the so-called Amazon flying rivers, or air currents carrying water vapor, Aquino explained. “This caused heavy rain to fall on the clouds,” he added.

Houston is still trying to dry out After days of heavy rain This required rescuing more than 600 people from flooding across Texas, including 233 people in Houston. About 23 inches (58 cm) fell northeast of Houston.

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