The heatwaves have also become a month longer and now half of the world's population, approximately four billion individuals. This contributed, among other things, to more disease and death, destroyed harvests, and a greater burden on electricity and healthcare systems, according to a report from the Red Cross, World Weather Attribution, and Climate Central, where they looked at the period from May 2024 to May 2025.
The number of days with extreme heat increased the most on the Caribbean islands, with Puerto Rico having 161 days of extreme heat. Without climate change, the number of days would have been 48 days. Nor would the extreme temperatures in the Mediterranean last year have been possible without climate change, according to the report. Then, at least 21 people died in Morocco after the temperature reached 48 degrees.
People notice that temperatures are getting higher, but they don't always know that it's driven by climate change, says Roop Singh at the Red Cross in a statement.
The researchers behind the report are now urging countries to prepare for the increasingly longer heatwaves. At the same time, they mean that protective measures can be in vain, since heatwaves can worsen further, unless the use of fossil fuels.
