New ‘abnormal’ extreme heat to kill 5 lakh people annually, says UN chief
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UN chief warns of sharp rise in extreme heat deaths
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 26: For two consecutive days, daily global average temperature hit the record counter. It was 17.16°C on July 22.
The highest average temperature was broken a day before with the heat reading of 17.09°C on July 21. The record was earlier held for July 6 last year with the reading of 17.08°C.
While India is battling the Monsoon fury in most parts of the country, the heat memory still remains fresh. Delhi broke all records with the highest day’s temperature of 52°C. Plants were burnt in balconies of the group housing societies.
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The United Nations Call for Action claimed that India reported over 100 deaths this year due to heat strokes. It also stated that there had been almost 40,000 cases of suspected heat strokes in India this year.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that heat is the new killing monster on the prowl worldwide. “Heat will kill half a million people annually,” said Guterres.
The estimated death toll on account of heat will be 30 times more than tropical cyclones, he added. “Extreme heat is the new abnormal,” said Guterres.
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The next UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) meeting is scheduled for November 11-12 this year in Baku, Azerbaijan. The action plan from COP 28 Dubai is yet to draw a line on the ground.
The climate mitigation funding of $100 billion annually in developing countries is yet to take shape. Republican nominee Donald Trump is setting the stage for another spell of isolationist policy for the US. Trump in his presidency had led the US to walk out of the Paris Accord.
Guterres said that the causes for the global heat spike are well known. They are fossil fuel and human-induced climate change, said Guterres, adding that the situation is going to get more worse.
Guterres lamented that the “climate inaction” is at the bottom of the crisis. He stressed that other visible aspects of the climate change such as floods, hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, and others are getting more intense.
He, however, sought to put the blame on G20. “The G20 should shift the addiction of fossil fuel to the renewable energy,” added Guterres.
But Indian experts often lament that the developed world is miserly in transferring the clean energy technology and the accompanying finances.
China is an indisputable global leader in clean energy. China generated 35 per cent of its electricity from clean sources in 2023. Incidentally, clean energy sector is driving the Chinese economy.
India and China are the two big constituents of G20. India is also the world’s third largest renewable energy producer.
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