Cities in Europe, Middle East, and North America becoming intolerably hot with fossil fuels

The current scientific studies show that our current utilization of fossil fuels will inevitably cause major problems in climate. A major issue is extreme heat conditions which prevails around the world and this article first describes the excessive heat faced at places in the Middle East, Europe and North America, and then the solutions proposed to address this adverse climate problem.

World Meteorological Organization, its members and partners are ramping up action against extreme heat to protect lives. Western Europe is currently under a strong high-pressure system trapping dry air from from northern Africa over the region and having a major impact on all aspects of daily life with a spike in air pollution and a big risk of wildfires. This is coupled with a severe drought in in some European countries. Well above average temperatures are currently impacting many parts of Western Europe, parts of North America, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Opposite is the case in the southern Hemisphere with the month of June with a record breaking cold spell. What is exceptional as these episodes of extreme heat typically occur during the heat of summer? Sea surface temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea are also exceptionally warm for the time of the year that tend to reinforce the extreme temperatures over land areas.

Another study reported in Time by Justin Worland on October 26, 2015 on global warming published in Nature Climate Change by Elfatih A.B. Eltahir, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology projected that by the end of 2100 heat waves in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Bandar Abbas could lead to temperatures at which human physically cannot survive over a sustained period of time. The threshold estimated around 170F, takes into account heat and humidity that prevent humans from exercising natural functions that allow the body to cool. "Such sever heat waves are expected to occur only once every decade or every few decades. But when they happen they will be quite lethal."

The Middle East could endure heat waves of up to 75º C by the end of Century

The extreme heat waves forecast would interrupt industry as well as other practices. The workers would be unable to stay outdoors for extended period of time, affecting the businesses concerned, including the oil industry that largely fuels the regional economy.

The Arab Gulf is expected to be the epicenter of a severe heat wave. The Persian Arab Gulf region and parts of southwest Asia could be uninhabitable before the end of century as temperatures are expected to rise to intolerable levels. The apocalyptic scenario is expected to became a reality if climate change continues unabated, in the absence of efforts to negate its harmful effects, predicts a new study published today in Nature Climate Change.

Extreme heat grips Europe

Heat conditions are are well above average temperatures are currently impacting many parts of Western Europe, parts of North America, The Middle East, and Central Asia.

What is exceptional is in terms of magnitude but also the time of the year, as these episodes of extreme heat occur during the height of summer. Sea surface temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea are also exceptionally warm for the time of the year that tend to reinforce the extreme temperatures over the land areas.

Europe braces for a new Heat Dome, heatwave brings back 40OC across much of Europe, and north America

Heat wave in India kills Thousands

Rain and flooding in the Central and wildfires in West America

Heat kills human body beyond its ability to cool itself. Cooling is accompanied by evaporation directly related by the amount water vapor in the air. Hottest areas are located across central plains into mid-Mississippi river valley. Wild fires and flooding affected the Western United States.

Heat Effect on Cities

As a result of human-induced climate change, extreme heat is becoming more frequent and intense. Warnings from the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and coordinated heat-health actions are therefore increasingly important to protect public safety and well-being.

What are the solutions to address the adverse climate problem?

There are some 36 organizations dealing with effects and solutions to the problems of adverse climate. Green Peace founded in 1971 with headquarters at Amsterdam, Netherland is a well-known global organization that uses peaceful protest and strategic communication to highlight environmental issues and promote solutions. Now in more than 50 countries, Green peace works to halt deforestation, protect ocean health, stop nuclear testing and more. It is also Through solutions rooted in social justice, they hope to to help communities disproportionately impacted by climate change. Greenpeace is involved in advocating solutions to climate change.

Climate change is already an urgent threat to millions of lives - but there are solutions. From changing how we get our energy to limiting deforestation, it offers some of the key solutions to climate change. Climate change is happening now, and it's the most serious threat to life on our planet. Luckily, there are plenty of solutions to climate change and they are well-understood. In 2015, world leaders signed a major treaty called the Paris agreement to put these solutions into practice. Core to all climate change is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which must get to zero as soon as possible. Because both forest and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can help stop global warming.

Green peace has joined action to protect pollinators, Pesticides are everywhere, in our play grounds , parks and streets, and it has killed pollinators and insects. They must go further and ban harmful pesticides in our local to help protect our pollinators. This year the UK government finally banned the emergency use of bee-killing pesticides. They must go further and ban harmful pesticide use to help protect pollinators.

1. The main ways to stop climate change are to pressure government and business to keep the fossil fuels in the ground and more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get. Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas - and the more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get. All countries need to move their economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.
2. Invest in renewable energy. Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. These include technologies like solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power.
3. Switch to sustainable transport. Petrol and diesel vehicles, planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimising plane travel will not only help stop climate change, it will reduce air pollution too.
4. Improve farming and encourage vegan diets. One of the best ways for individuals to help stop climate change is by reducing their meat and dairy consumption, or by going fully vegan. Businesses and food retailers can improve farming practices and provide more plant-based products to help people make the shift.
5. Restore nature to absorb more carbon. The natural world is very good at cleaning up our emissions, but we need to look after it. Planting trees in the right places or giving land back to nature through 'rewilding' schemes is a good place to start. This is because photosynthesizing plants draw down carbon dioxide as they grow, locking it away in soils.
6. Protect forests like the Amazon. Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change, and protecting them is an important climate solution. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon. Yet companies destroy forests to make way for animal farming, soya or palm oil plantations. Governments can stop them by making better laws.
7. Protect the oceans. Oceans also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable. But many are overfished, used for oil and gas drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Protecting oceans and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect ourselves from climate change.
8. Reduce how much people consume. Our transport, fashion, food and other lifestyle choices all have different impacts on the climate. This is often by design - fashion and technology companies, for example, will release far more products than are realistically needed. But while reducing consumption of these products might be hard, it's most certainly worth it. Reducing overall consumption in more wealthy countries can help put less strain on the planet.
9. Reduce plastic. Plastic is made from oil, and the process of extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even polyester, for clothing) is surprisingly carbon-intense. It doesn't break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which contributes to emissions. Demand for plastic is rising so quickly that creating and disposing of plastics will account for 17% of the global carbon budget by 2050 (this is the emissions count we need to stay within according to the Paris agreement).

Individuals can also play a part by making better choices about where they get their energy, how they travel, and what food they eat. But the best way for anyone to help stop climate change is to take collective action. This means pressuring governments and corporations to change their policies and business practices. Demanding action from them is a powerful way to make change happen.

Extreme weather: is Climate change to blame? Heatwaves, flooding and other extreme weather appear to be happening more often, and getting more severe. But how much of it is down to climate change?

Extreme weather is any weather that's unusually severe, frequent or unexpected for the local climate. In the age of climate change, extreme weather means more heatwaves, drought, excessive rain, storms and even very unusually cold weather.

The impacts of extreme weather are often devastating. Higher temperatures cause more powerful and destructive storms. More rain can cause flooding. Wildfires start and spread more easily in heatwaves. And rising sea levels can make storm surges worse, causing coastlines to erode faster.

How is global warming affecting weather patterns?

How is the weather in MENA becoming more extreme?

The report presents details of how the MENA region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, and is particularly vulnerable to the effects and impact of climate change - including extreme water scarcity.

A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) warns that climate change threatens the livelihoods of more than half a billion people in the region. The report titled 'Closing the climate action gap: accelerating de-carbonization and the energy transition in MENA' also highlights the region's vulnerability to shocks such as irregular rainfall, water scarcity, desertification, reduced levels of groundwater, and prolonged droughts.

By 2050, the region could experience an increase in temperatures not in the 1.5-2.0 degC range, but up to 4 degC. This could bring with it widespread desertification, region wide water scarcity, crop failure and extreme weather events such as heatwaves and flash floods. These environmental changes could widen socioeconomic disparities and drive tragic humanitarian repercussions, especially in the parts of the region that are already suffering from war and fragility.

Historic protections by World's highest court for climate-impacted communities

The Court's decision obligates States to regulate businesses on the harm caused by their emissions regardless of where the harm takes place. Significantly, the Court found that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is fundamental for all other human rights, and that intergenerational equity should guide the interpretation of all climate obligations.

The International Court of Justice now offers a historical opportunity to change the course of climate justice. With its Advisory Opinion, the Court shifts the way we see climate action-not as an act of charity, but a binding legal and moral obligation under international law.

For too long, international climate negotiations have been slowed by delays and weak commitments-leaving frontline communities, especially in the Global South, without the justice they urgently need. In the Middle East and North Africa, where temperatures rise twice as fast as the global average amid drought, water shortages, and socio-economic fragility, inaction is unaffordable.

The MENA region has no shortage of champions for climate justice. Egypt's powerful intervention in December at the ICJ Court exemplifies principled climate justice leadership-invoking international law principles, such as the 'no harm' rule, which obliges states to prevent, reduce, and control the risk of environmental harm to other countries, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), to push for a fairer, justice-based response.

While rich, historically polluting countries tried to keep the Court's opinion limited to narrow technical questions, Egypt argued for a broader, justice-based view-one that demands accountability, compensation, and protection for the communities most harmed by climate change.

This landmark Advisory Opinion is a decisive reminder that international law is a powerful driver to achieve climate justice. It amplifies the voices of vulnerable communities, holds major polluters accountable, and helps ensure that climate action is fair and inclusive.

At the approach of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Court's actions remind us that true climate justice demands more than promises-it requires accountability. Let this mark the start of a new chapter for a just climate future, where legal systems must be part of the solution.

Simple Actions to Fight Global Warming

Minimizing the greenhouse effect. Sunlight enters the atmosphere, and warms the earth, and some of the heat is radiated back. Greenhouse gases absorb and re-radiate this outgoing heat, preventing it from escaping into space. This results in keeping the planet warmer, and leads to global warming. Burning of fossil fuels in oil, coal or gas used for transportation and in heating and cooling of homes are the main source of greenhouse gases.

There are three major gases involved in greenhouse effects; Methane (CH4), released from various agricultural practices Nitrous Oxide (N2O) released from agricultural practices, particularly over-fertilization of soil and industrial processes, and fluorinated gases (such as HFCs, PFCs, SF6, NF3), industrial gases used in various applications, that are potent and long lasting.

The excessive heat trapped by these gases is the cause of long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns worldwide.

Scientists have observed a steady rise in global average surface temperatures since the mid-19 th century.

As such we should give up buying and driving vehicles that use gasoline and buy and drive vehicles that use renewable energy, that is electric vehicles and if we using public transportation, we should the one using electricity. Planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, and minimizing plane travel will not only help climate change, it will reduce air pollution also.

Much of our electricity and heat are powered by coal, oil and gas. Using less energy by reducing heating and cooling use , switching to LED light bulbs and energy-efficient electric appliances, washing your laundry with cold water, or hanging things to dry instead of using a dryer. Improving your home's energy efficiency, through better insulation, or replacing your oil or gas furnace with an electric heat pump can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 900 kilograms of CO2e per year (CO2e=Carbon dioxide equivalents as indicated in the UN article).

We should ask utility company to change our home energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. We should install solar panels on the roof of our homes, which will reduce the carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of CO2e per year.

The world roadways are clogged with vehicles, most burning diesel or gasoline. Walking or riding a bike instead will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help your health and fitness. For longer distances consider taking a train, or a bus. And carpool where possible, living thus can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year compared to using a car.

If you have to buy a car, consider electric vehicles, with cheaper models coming every year. Electric cars can help reduce air pollution, and cause significant lower greenhouse gas emissions. Switching from a gasoline or diesel-powered car to an electric vehicle can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year.

Electronics, clothes, plastics and other items we buy cause carbon emissions at each point in production, from extraction of raw materials to manufacturing and transporting goods to market. To protect the climate, buy fewer things, shop second-hand, and repair what you can. Plastics alone generated 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, 3.4 per cent of the global total, with less than 10 percent recycled. Once the plastic is discarded, it can linger for hundreds of year. Buying fewer new cloths, and other consumer goods, can reduce carbon footprint - every kilogram of textiles produced generates about 17 kilograms of CO2e.

Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower your environmental impact. Producing pant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gases and requires less energy, land and water. Shifting from a mixed to a vegetable diet can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 500 kilogram of CO2e per year.

Throw away less food. When you throw food away, you're wasting the resources and energy that were used to grow, produce, package, and transport it. And when food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. So purchase only what you need, use what you buy and compost any leftovers. Cutting you food waste car reduce your carbon footprint by up to 300 kilograms of CO2e per year.

Speak up and get others to join in taking action. Talk to your friends, neighbors, and family. Let business owners know you support bold changes - from plastic free products and packages to zero-emission vehicles. Appeal to local and world leaders to act now. Climate action is for all of us, and it concerns all of us. No one can do alone, but we can do it together. Let us do it, and get involved in climate action.