Highest Temperature Recorded This July
Written by Colin Yu
On July 4th, 2023, the world experienced a dreaded event that foretold the future story of Earth: a record-breaking high temperature since 1979 that shattered previous records. This occurrence serves as a stark reminder of the accelerating pace of climate change which the effects now manifest in the forms of high temperatures unthinkable 30 years prior.
Extreme heat such as this is predicted to be more frequent, with scientists predicting the once-rare extreme heat that hasn’t been seen in 50 years to appear every 5 years in China, 10 years in Europe, and 15 years in North America.
This extreme heat’s consequences on the ecosystems are dangerous and multifaceted. Extreme temperatures can cause mass bleaching in coral reefs, causing irreparable damage to marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of marine communities dependent on these diminishing ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystems, which have already been broken by habitat loss and pollution, are further threatened as animals struggle to adapt to hot temperatures. With drier weather and hotter conditions, forests become more vulnerable to wildfires which lead to the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a cycle of destruction.
It is not just the wildlife that is affected by heatwaves: the health and well-being of communities are also threatened as temperatures continue to rise. Especially the poor people who can’t afford air conditioners and cooling devices. Heatwaves pose a direct threat to public health, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations such as the elderly and young children. In Korea, the deaths directly caused by this heatwave have almost tripled over the last summer’s heat-related deaths. Most of these deaths were farmers who are forced by economic conditions to work. Their work during this time is paramount because farms take devastating losses due to heatwaves if not taken care of properly.
The agricultural sector and the farmers face difficult challenges as temperatures and heat waves galore. Rising heat stress can lead to reduced crop yields and livestock productivity, jeopardizing food availability and increasing prices. This also means that the farm is in extremely fragile conditions and can have whole batches of farm crops ruined because they did not take care of the farm properly. This poses a possibly life-threatening dilemma to the farmers: work in the scorching heat or face the possibility of months of hard work and the source of one’s income vanishing. Shifts in growing seasons due to the fluctuating heat and increased frequency of droughts further threaten farmers' livelihoods, potentially triggering rural-urban migration and exacerbating existing social disparities. These social differences also can be observed by one’s use of air conditioners and cooling devices which require a lot of money to maintain and utilize, which can deter some people from using these devices, leading to more illnesses and death.
Finally, scientists predict that some land will not be inhabitable due to environmental conditions, which will induce mass migration and resource conflicts. This can possibly increase geopolitical tensions as well as social problems as citizens in good environments will not want other people to join their good habitat.
July 4th gives a glimpse into the future. What our world could become. A desolate place teeming with hatred for one another, no food, mass deaths due to the heat, and unpredictable weather with frequent destructive heat waves. Human ingenuity has covered our mistakes for a long time. How long will we bet on our ingenuity to save the planet instead of taking action? It is time to take action, one step at a time.
