Fuelling unbearable heat – Climate Weekly

A billion people are too warm. The slightest exertion is dangerous when the air becomes warmer than blood in the afternoons.

Crops are deteriorating. People, too, but the extent and cause of excess mortality will not be written on death certificates but after the fact.

India and Pakistan are hot nations, with buildings, clothing, and daily habits that keep them cool. However, traditional methods can only take you so far. Air conditioning is an option for anyone who can tolerate temperatures of 40C+ (100F in the USA).

Climate models predicted the heatwaves that swept south Asia. They will only get worse until we stop burning coal, oil, and gas. Temperate zones are not immune. Ask the Lytton residents, Canada.

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This is why it is important to not be content with the fact that a racist wind turbine dismantling politician did not win France’s presidency. The man promising to make France a “great green nation” did little to that effect in his first term. Emmanuel Macron still has a lot of work ahead of him.

It is why Germany’s enthusiastic embrace of LNG terminals to replace Russian gas should be questioned. Even at “Tesla speed” they will not arrive fast enough to deter Vladimir Putin’s war and risk simply empowering a different set of violent autocrats.

It is also why methane leaking out of Chinese coal mines or the infrastructure for Gulf oil production needs to be investigated more closely.

€63 billion

Russia’s incomeFrom fossil fuel exports in the 2 months since it invaded Ukraine

It is also why climate-vulnerable states are not waiting to get UN consensus to pilot a funding facility for loss and damage. They have philanthropic funds and are trying to figure out the best way to spend it for victims affected by climate disasters.