In parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran, the heat index, a measurement of humidity as well as temperature, soared to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) in July. In Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, the temperature reached an all-time high of 52.2 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit).
The extraordinary heat has triggered a rise in heat-related illnesses in Israel. In other countries, the heat has forced people to stay indoors in many locales. It has been so hot that Zainab Guman, a 26-year-old university student who lives in Basra, says that going outside is like “walking into a fire.” She adds, “It’s like everything on your body — your skin, your eyes, your nose — starts to burn.”
Iraqi economist, Bassem Antoine says the heatwave has inflicted serious damage on the country’s economy. He estimates the country’s GDP has shrunk 10 to 20 percent this year, from about $230 billion annually. And it is all due to the unrelenting heat, according to the Independent.
The misery and strife caused by the unrelenting heat would fill pages and more pages, again. From electrical grids failing because of overloads to farmers watching their crops wither in the fields, the misery goes on. Some governments are making employees take forced holidays to cut down on electrical power usage, while streets full of shops are deserted in the middle of the day.
Global Warming targets in danger of being missed
It wasn’t too many months ago that 200 world leaders agreed to make a radical shift away from the use of fossil fuels in an attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
But 2016 is already on track to be the hottest year ever seen. Already, the first six months of 2016 were 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. “It opens a Pandora’s box,” said Oliver Geden, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “The future debate about temperature targets will be about overshoot.”
There is to be a meeting in Geneva from August 15 to 18. Climate scientists plan to make a United Nations report about the 1.5 degree Celsius goal, as part of the Paris Agreement to be published in 2018. It is a sure bet that overshoot will be one of the issues discussed at the meeting.
In the meantime, as our climate deteriorates and we are faced with the risk of worse weather to come, an overshoot will be seen as a betrayal of the commitments made by the rich and powerful among us. And it will be a recipe for disaster.
