A scorching heatwave blanketing much of the United States this week would have been 'virtually impossible' without the climate crisis, according to researchers from World Weather Attribution. The extreme heat threatens to disrupt celebrations for the country's 250th anniversary and World Cup matches scheduled for this weekend.
Heatwave Conditions and Attribution
The analysis, released by an international consortium of climate researchers, warns that the high temperatures and humidity gripping a large swath of the central and eastern US, as well as southern Canada, are a direct result of human-caused climate change. 'The climate the country has today is fundamentally different to the one it had when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence,' said Theodore Keeping, extreme weather and wildfire researcher at Imperial College London, in a press release.
Even amid the climate crisis, primarily driven by fossil fuel burning, such heatwaves are rare, occurring an estimated once every 200 years. However, without the 1.4°C (2.5°F) of global warming already observed, such events would not be expected to occur even once in many thousands of years, the researchers found.
Impact on July 4th Celebrations and World Cup Matches
The mercury is expected to soar in Washington DC, where thousands will gather to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country. World Cup matches will also be affected. France's match against Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday is expected to see levels of extreme heat that a global players' union has previously said should trigger the delay or postponement of games. A Miami game between Cape Verde and Argentina scheduled for Friday is also expected to be played in potentially dangerous heat and humidity.
'When a historic Fourth of July celebration is disrupted, and World Cup matches are played in conditions that are unsafe for players and fans, it shouldn't take another scientific study to wake people up,' said Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, in the release. 'Climate change is here; it's already impacting the things we enjoy in our everyday lives, and it will continue to get worse the longer we drag out the inevitable transition to net zero emissions.'
Urgent Call for Action
The researchers emphasize that the findings serve as an urgent warning that the world must immediately begin the swift drawdown of greenhouse gas pollution. The heatwave, driven by a high-pressure system or heat dome, underscores the growing risks of extreme weather as the planet continues to warm.
