Many places are hot from morning to night

The peak of the current heat wave is expected later this week. Across northern and northwestern India as well as parts of Pakistan will see above-normal temperatures of 5-8 degrees Celsius.

According to climate extreme expert Scott Duncan, more than 1 billion people, or 10% of the world’s population, can experience heat above 40 degrees Celsius, including the capital New Delhi – India. According to the radio CNNin many areas, the night temperature will not fall below 30 degrees Celsius, increasing the risk of death because the body does not recover from the high temperature of the day, especially the elderly.

On April 26, a train station in Pakistan set a record for the highest maximum temperature in the Northern Hemisphere of 47 degrees Celsius. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the average maximum temperature across India was set at 47 degrees Celsius. recorded in March reached the highest level in the past 122 years.

People shower under a leaky water pipe in the hot weather in Kolkata – India on April 19 Photo: REUTERS

In the US, water supplier Metropolitan Water District in Southern California on April 26 was forced to ask about 6 million users to cut down on outdoor watering to one day a week from June 1 because of drought. Drought continues to rage in this state. California Governor Gavin Newsom also called on people to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%, but it is still impossible.

The drought in Somalia is even more extreme, destroying people’s livelihoods and spurring illegal migration to Europe. About 6 million people are facing a food crisis after three seasons of lack of rain and 81,000 are in a state of starvation. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, 745,000 people have been evacuated due to the latest drought, most of them since January this year.

Meanwhile, a report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on April 27 said that decades of deforestation, mining and industrial pollution have caused 40% of the land to be eroded. erosion and economies at risk.

If this trend continues, an additional 11% of the world’s land area – the size of South America – could be eroded by 2050. Reutersnot only industries are at risk, soil erosion can cause crop loss and exacerbate the climate crisis by reducing the ability of the earth to absorb and store carbon.