City kids attempt to cool off in a water fountain in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles in the U.S. on July 16, 2023 (PHOTO: VCG)

By GONG Qian

The world just experienced the hottest week on record, with the average global temperature on July 7 reaching 17.24°C, 0.3°C above the previous record in August 2016 — a strong El Nino year, said World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The last time Earth was this warm was around 120,000 years ago, Karsten Haustein at the University of Leipzig, Germany, told New Scientist.

Hot weather is sweeping across large parts of the world as many countries have seen unprecedentedly searing temperatures. More than 80 million people were under heat warnings or advisories on July 16, as relentless, record-breaking temperatures continued to bake western and southern states in the U.S., according to the Associated Press.

Though it's difficult to ascribe a particular weather event, such as a heatwave, directly to climate change, scientists insist human-linked global warming is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves, said AFP.

Human-caused climate change made excessive heat in many places in the Southwest of the U.S. at least 5 times more likely, signifying an exceptional climate change event, according to Climate Central, a non-profit organization focusing on climate change science, effects and solutions. "Carbon emissions from burning coal, oil and natural gas made this event more likely, longer, and more intense," said Dr. Andrew Pershing, VP of Science at Climate Central.

This year's heat wave is driven by a combination of climate change, the early stages of an El Nino weather pattern and hot summer conditions, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The prolonged spell of sweltering weather has triggered many human and environmental problems. That the heat can kill people is no exaggeration, as extremely hot weather could lead to the occurrence of some diseases which could be fatal. More than 61,000 people died because of last year's brutal summer heat waves across Europe, according to a study published on July 10 in the journal Nature Medicine. Moreover, the heat wave is also killing animals and crops, sparking concerns about food security and water scarcity, thus threatening the whole interconnected natural and human ecosystems.

"Earth is screaming at us right now and people need to listen," Chief Meteorologist and Director of Climate Matters, Bernadette Woods Placky told CNN. "It should be a wake-up call or an urgency to people that this is just not normal," she said.

More immediate actions are required to make Earth "cooler," meaning the world should strengthen cooperation to curb global warming, for example, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

At the beginning of July, the International Maritime Organization revised its greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, with its member states agreeing to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping close to 2050.