Extreme heat events are a global issue, plaguing whole regions. Record-breaking temperatures are being reported globally. According to climate scientists, these temperatures will become the new normal unless greenhouse gasses are targeted to mitigate further global warming patterns.
If you still question whether extreme heat waves and climate change are a threat, I understand. With all the false predictions made about climate catastrophes in the past, why should this one be any different?
The answer is that it’s not a prediction: it’s happening right now, and in ways scientists can measure. Globally, wildfires have been rampantly increasing, with hot and dry conditions in Tenerife, Spain causing devastation and massive evacuations. We’ve also seen a record-breaking fire season in Canada.
The World Meteorological Organization also reported massive rainfall during Hurricane Hilary and sustained winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour, extremes that were all attributed to human-induced climate change from greenhouse emissions.
In the Pacific Islands, weather-related disasters have been gradually increasing, and according to the UN agency’s latest report, low-lying islands are being threatened by heightening sea levels. What’s more, greater than normal ocean heat levels and acidification, the direct consequences of greenhouse gas emissions, have ravished vulnerable marine ecosystems.
All of these effects are attributable to global rises in extreme heat. Without human reliance on fossil fuels, these temperatures and other ecological crises would not be happening. It is no longer a question of whether climate change is real or if something needs to be done. It is now about how we can grapple with the consequences, and how quickly.
If the ecological effects of climate change don’t worry you, maybe national security concerns will. As environmental exploitation is heightened in tandem with commodity production, scarcity is becoming a greater threat to humanity. With scarcity being tied to the overexploitation of natural resources, it is also increasingly linked to the consequences of global warming. Human activity is the cause of resource depletion, disposal problems and species decline.
National security is reliant on resource control. With increasing temperatures and extreme heat events, we are already seeing resources restricted by the various impacts of climate change, which inevitably brings the threat of violence, especially with food insecurity. Corruption, organized crime, terrorism and insurgency all become real byproducts of climate change and environmental depletion.
There are still those who promote climate denial, yet climate change has been unequivocally proven time and time again, and we must make rapid changes to prevent further damage. Denying climate change altogether or believing that it is not a pertinent issue: these views perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels, worsening the climate crisis.
Extreme heat and global warming is a global issue. It requires the united involvement of all nations. Not only are ecosystems and environments being devastated by extreme heat events, but international stability is also threatened.
For people, animals, ecosystems and overall global well-being, we must do something. Let’s debate about what that something should be, instead of pretending the problem doesn’t exist.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.