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Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme temperature elevation occurs, it becomes a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment to prevent disability or death. Almost half a million deaths are recorded every year from hyperthermia.
A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather. Definitions vary but are similar. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and to normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that humans from a hotter climate consider normal, can be regarded as a heat wave in a cooler area. This would be the case if the warm temperatures are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. High humidity often occurs during heat waves as well. This is especially the case in oceanic climate countries. Heat waves have become more frequent, and more intense over land, across almost every area on Earth since the 1950s, the increase in frequency and duration being caused by climate change.
The 2003 European heat wave saw the hottest summer recorded in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. The death toll has been estimated at more than 70,000.
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during July 29, 2010. The first phase of the global heatwaves was caused by a moderate El Niño event, which lasted from June 2009 to May 2010. This lasted only from April 2010 to June 2010 and caused only moderate above-average temperatures in the affected regions, but it also set new record high temperatures for most of the area affected in the Northern Hemisphere.
In May 2015, India was struck by a severe heat wave. As of 3 June 2015, it caused the deaths of at least 2,500 people in multiple regions. The heat wave occurred during the Indian dry season, which typically lasts from March to July with peak temperatures in April and May. Although it typically remains hot until late October, Indian monsoons often provide some respite from the heat.
The 2018 Britain and Ireland heatwave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern moorland areas around the Greater Manchester region, the largest was at Saddleworth Moor and another was at Winter Hill, together these burned over 14 square miles (36 km2) of land over a period of nearly a month.
Throughout much of July 2018, a record-breaking heat wave affected large areas of Northeast Asia including Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China. Many areas in Japan experienced temperatures in excess of 35 °C (95 °F), and Kumagaya recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 °C (105.4 °F) on 23 July – the highest ever observed in the country.
The 2018 European drought and heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place. According to the European Drought Observatory, most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the northern hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change in Europe, as well as events of extreme precipitation.
In late June and late July 2019 there were two temporally distinct European heat waves, which set all-time high temperature records in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
In 2022, several areas of the world experienced heat waves. Heat waves were especially notable in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, western Europe, the United States, and southern South America. 2022 heat waves accounted for record-breaking temperatures and, in some regions, heat-related deaths. Heat waves were worsened by the effects of climate change, and they exacerbated droughts and wildfires.
The 2022 Japan heatwave was a heatwave that affected many prefectures. Temperatures peaked at 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. 15,657 people were taken to hospital emergency departments, 5,261 of whom were admitted.
From June to August 2022, persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe, causing evacuations and killing tens of thousands. These heat waves were the deadliest meteorological events in 2022. The highest temperature recorded was 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) in Pinhão, Portugal, on 14 July.
Starting in April 2023, a record-breaking heat wave has affected many Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. Several regional temperature records have been set. The heat wave has caused many deaths due to heat stroke and has prompted health warnings and power outages across multiple countries.
A number of heat waves began across parts of the northern hemisphere in April 2023, many of which are ongoing. Various heat records have been broken, with July being the hottest month ever recorded.
In 2023, Europe had been affected by heat waves. The most significant of which was the named heat wave, Cerberus Heatwave, which brought the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe. Starting on 10 July 2023, the record-breaking Cerberus anticyclone affected many European countries, with the effects felt most severely in parts of Southeast and Southwest Europe such as Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The private Italian weather website iLMeteo named the extreme weather event after the hound of Hades from Greek mythology, and although some reports link the naming to the Italian Meteorological Society, the society's president said that they "absolutely don’t use it".
This page documents notable droughts and heat waves worldwide in 2020.
Since May 2024, a severe and long heat wave has impacted India. The heat wave occurred during the Indian dry season, which typically lasts from March to July with peak temperatures in April and May Rajasthan's Churu recorded 50.5 °C (122.9 °F) highest temperature in India in last eight years.
Europe has been affected by heat waves since June 2024, breaking several regional temperature records across multiple nations in Southern and Southeast Europe.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Japan sees hottest July since records began". Phys.org . 2 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- 1 2 Kaneko, Karin (2 May 2024). "Climate change, El Nino factor into Japan's warmest April in 130 years". The Japan Times . Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Japan's scorching heat wave forecast to continue over weekend". NHK World . 2 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ↑ "Heat wave covers much of Japan, Tochigi Pref. swelters at 41C". NHK World . 29 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- 1 2 K.T. Martin, Alex (26 July 2024). "Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports". The Japan Times . Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- 1 2 3 Tochibayashi, Naoko; Ota, Mizuho (31 July 2024). "Cooling Japan: How innovative materials are tackling heatwaves". World Economic Forum . Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ↑ "More than 120 people died in Tokyo from heatstroke in July as average temperatures hit record highs". AP News. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
