1. Introduction
Human-induced climate change is causing a global rise in temperatures. July 2023 set the record for the hottest month since data collection began in 1940 (Copernicus, 2023), as soaring temperatures brought unprecedented heatwaves to the United States, Europe and China. In 2023, the average global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.09°C higher than the pre-industrial average, with land surface temperatures reaching 1.59°C higher than average (IPCC, 2023). Extreme heat was already responsible for an average of 500,000 excess deaths annually in the last two decades, and this number is likely to increase as global temperatures rise. Humidity also plays an essential role in how heat affects the body (see Chapter 2), and the occurrence of extreme humid heat has doubled in frequency since 1979 (Raymond and others, 2020).
to read the full report please click on
/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Unbearable_Heat_03.pdf
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1. Introduction
Human-induced climate change is causing a global rise in temperatures. July 2023 set the record for the hottest month since data collection began in 1940 (Copernicus, 2023), as soaring temperatures brought unprecedented heatwaves to the United States, Europe and China. In 2023, the average global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.09°C higher than the pre-industrial average, with land surface temperatures reaching 1.59°C higher than average (IPCC, 2023). Extreme heat was already responsible for an average of 500,000 excess deaths annually in the last two decades, and this number is likely to increase as global temperatures rise. Humidity also plays an essential role in how heat affects the body (see Chapter 2), and the occurrence of extreme humid heat has doubled in frequency since 1979 (Raymond and others, 2020).
to read the full report please click on
/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Unbearable_Heat_03.pdf
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