Climate

Public health adviser says higher temperatures caused by climate crisis pose danger for visitors not used to them

The climate emergency poses a “real risk” to Spain’s traditional mass tourist model as rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves hit the country’s most popular coastal destinations, a senior public health adviser has warned.

Héctor Tejero, the head of health and climate change at Spain’s health ministry, said the increasingly apparent physical impacts of the climate emergency had already led the ministry to begin talks with the British embassy on how best to educate “vulnerable” tourists about coping with the heat.

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Blazes that generate such stormy conditions can be nearly impossible to put out and pose special dangers to firefighters.

Wildfires in California, Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Israeli bombardment in Gaza and Snoop Dogg at the Paris Olympics: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

• Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing

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Over the past few weeks, many large wildfires have broken out across the Western United States and Canada, forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Hotter, drier conditions driven by climate change are a significant underlying factor in this trend toward larger wildfires and longer, more intense wildfire seasons in the West. And with more people and property located in close proximity to wildfire-prone terrain, the risks and costs are mounting as the erratic and extreme behavior of these fires has grown much more difficult to fight.

Wildfires raging across the West

The largest wildfire in the U.S. right now—the Durkee Fire—is raging in Oregon, while the Park Fire, California’s largest so far this year, is spreading quickly. A large fire in Jasper National Park in Canada has burnt down half the town of Jasper. The map of wildfires today shows an alarmingly active wildfire season underway. The national preparedness level for wildfires is now at the highest level of 5. Current maps also show that smoke from these wildfires is being carried hundreds of miles away to the East Coast.

Source: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/maps

And that map is matched by sobering statistics for the wildfire season to date.  

The wildfire outlook for August and September looks grim too.

Climate change is fueling a dangerous new wildfire regime

Wildfires have always been an essential feature of the Western landscape and ecosystems. But with climate change, we are in a new regime of catastrophic large wildfires. In addition, decades of aggressive fire suppression and a large swath of trees dead or damaged due to drought and bark beetle infestations has created a tinderbox of ignitable fuel. Alternating cycles of heavy rainfall, which cause grasses to grow, followed by intense hot, dry periods when that vegetation dries up, add to the combustible mix.

This year, even though parts of the West experienced heavy rainfall earlier in the year, they entered the summer in varying degrees of drought and rainfall deficit. And then last month’s intense heatwaves triggered a rapid loss of moisture and drying of vegetation, a phenomenon sometimes called ‘flash drought.’ In particular, the heatwaves have resulted in an increase in vapor pressure deficit (or VPD), which scientists have shown tends to correlate with wildfire burned area on long time scales.

With these background conditions, when human causes or lightning ignite fires, they have an incredible amount of fuel to feed off and grow quickly, as we are seeing in California, Oregon, and Washington. Conditions in Oregon are so extreme that the fires are causing their own weather systems.

And as if wildfires aren’t damaging enough, New Mexico has experienced yet another terrible danger: landscapes denuded by past wildfires experienced heavy rainfall this year, triggering devastating flash floods. The small town of Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Reservation have been particularly harshly affected.  

None of this is normal. And it is projected to worsen as our climate warms further. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the extreme conditions we see today are a direct result of burning fossil fuels. Decades of deliberate deception and obstruction of climate action by fossil fuel companies, coupled with insufficient action by policymakers, are to blame for the continued expansion of fossil fuels, still rising heat-trapping emissions, and mounting damages to people, ecosystems and the economy.

People, homes, and critical infrastructure in harm’s way

Development patterns—including sprawl, the high cost of housing in urban areas, and the desirability of living in proximity to forests—are pushing more people and property into harm’s way. Those living near wildfire-prone areas are experiencing firsthand the dangers and costs of changing wildfire patterns. This season’s wildfires have already burned hundreds of homes and structures, forced thousands to flee, forced road closures, damaged critical infrastructure like drinking water systems, and forced power safety shutdowns.

In many places, people are also finding it harder to insure their homes as insurers drop policies, raise rates, or exit markets entirely.

Wildland firefighters are also facing the punishing task of trying to put out large wildfires across lengthy, active fire seasons. Fighting fires in populated areas with many homes can be even more dangerous as there is less space to maneuver safely, and the stakes for protecting lives are high. Year after year, the physical and mental toll is immense and fire fighters are not getting paid fairly for this daunting work, raising the urgency of the passage of a bipartisan bill to help fix this situation.

And it’s not just people right near the fires who are affected—smoke from wildfires is carried hundreds of miles away, and the worsening air quality is a serious public health threat. This image from NASA shows how far east the smoke from the western wildfires has reached already, which mirrors trends from last year.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory Need for action now

The extent of wildfires burning across the West right now is terrifying. The impacts on people and ecosystems are sobering and heartbreaking to contemplate.

The immediate imperative is of course to make sure that people can quickly evacuate out of the path of dangerous wildfires. Immediately heeding the warnings of local emergency authorities is crucial. Better tools and data for prediction, detection and early warning systems—provided for free and made widely available—can all help make this process more effective and safer. California’s Wildfire Smoke and Health Outcomes Data Act is an important example of this type of effort.

Other protective actions—such as building homes with more fire-safe materials; keeping open, vegetation-free defensible space around homes and communities; ensuring proximity to emergency evacuation routes and water supplies; and ensuring a system of checking on neighbors who may be mobility-impaired—are important ways to keep people safe.

In places affected by wildfire smoke, paying attention to air quality alerts and staying indoors and investing in air purifiers can help. Those who are especially susceptible to the ill effects of wildfire smoke, including young children, elderly people, and those with preexisting breathing or heart ailments, need to take special care. UCS also supports two additional California bills that can help mitigate the public health impacts of wildfires.

Outdoor workers, including those who work on farms and in construction, must be protected by their employers from smoke inhalation. Unfortunately, there is still no federal wildfire smoke safety standard, leaving workers dependent on an insufficient patchwork of state-level measures (such as Oregon’s and California’s). FEMA must also move to clarify that wildfire smoke (and extreme heat) do qualify for disaster declarations, as already allowed under law.

Proactive measures to limit the risks and costs of wildfires—such as healthy forest management practices, including controlled burns done with strong safety and ecological standards; changes to land use development and zoning; and robust investments in technology, equipment and resources to keep firefighters safe—must all be part of the solution set that policymakers act on. Adopting the suite of recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission would be a huge step forward.

After disastrous wildfires, people need help to get back on their feet. Past fire seasons have shown how difficult that can be. When homes and essential infrastructure are destroyed, when places are repeatedly burnt by wildfires, residents may not be able to return to their communities for extended periods. Some may never be able to return.

Policymakers must ensure that disaster aid flows fast to those who need it most, including by quickly appropriating emergency funding, as needed, and by permanently authorizing HUD’s community development block grant disaster relief (CDBG-DR) program to ensure equitable access to resources to rebuild. Over the longer term, investments in receiving communities—including in jobs, schools, affordable housing, and other infrastructure—can ensure people who are displaced can find welcoming places to begin to rebuild their lives. Access to mental health services, both for affected communities and for firefighters, is also very important.

Finally, deep cuts in heat-trapping emissions are essential to limit future climate change, one of the biggest contributors to the dangerous new wildfire regime we are in already. Holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in causing these harms must be part of how we start to address them. Right now, people on the frontlines of wildfires, firefighters, and taxpayers are bearing the health costs and footing the bill for harms that are directly attributable to these companies.

As another ‘Danger Season’ reaches its midpoint, the steep toll of wildfires and other climate impacts is another urgent reminder that policymakers must act boldly and decisively now to limit the worst impacts of climate change, and help ensure that communities around the nation are better prepared for the crisis that is already here.

The city’s expanded low-emissions zone, which was politically fraught, has cut emissions that contribute to health problems like asthma, new numbers show.

Energy secretary seeks to reestablish UK as a global leader on the climate crisis with meeting of Cop presidents

Labour will honour a pledge of £11.6bn in overseas aid for the climate crisis, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told an unusual meeting of Cop presidents past and present on Friday, as he sought to re-establish the UK at the heart of international climate discussions.

As the Labour government prepares for this year’s climate-emergency summit in November, Miliband hosted Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijan government minister who will lead Cop29, and Ana Toni, the top official on the climate for Brazil, which will host Cop30 in the Amazonian city of Belem in 2025 in a meeting to discuss what steps are needed to make a success of the next two UN climate Cops, as the “conferences of the parties” under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are known.

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More than 120,000 heat-related ER visits were tracked in 2023, as people struggle in record-breaking temperatures

In his 40 years in the emergency room, David Sklar can think of three moments in his career when he was terrified.

“One of them was when the Aids epidemic hit, the second was Covid, and now there’s this,” the Phoenix physician said, referring to his city’s unrelenting heat. Last month was the city’s hottest June on record, with temperatures averaging 97F (36C), and scientists say Phoenix is on track to experience its hottest summer on record this year.

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Danielle Smith and her government’s refusal to combat global heating is said to have made blazes more intense

When Danielle Smith, premier of Alberta, began her grim update about the wildfire damage to Jasper, the famed mountain resort in the Canadian Rockies, her voice slipped and she held back tears.

Hours earlier, a fast-moving wildfire tore through the community, incinerating homes, businesses and historic buildings. She praised the “true heroism” of fire crews who had rushed in to save Jasper, only to be pulled back when confronted by a 400ft wall of flames. She spoke about the profound meaning and “magic” of the national park.

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Planet’s largest blanket bog is first peatland to be designated by Unesco after 40-year campaign

The Flow Country, a vast and unspoiled blanket bog that carpets the far north of Scotland, has been made a world heritage site by Unesco.

The planet’s largest blanket bog, the Flow Country covers about 1,500 sq miles of Caithness and Sutherland, and is the first peatland in the world to be designated by Unesco, after a 40-year campaign by environmentalists.

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Communities affected by construction of renewable energy infrastructure ‘have the right to see the benefits’

• UK politics live – latest updates

Labour will seek to persuade people living near proposed pylon routes and other renewable energy infrastructure that the developments are critical to bring down bills and tackle carbon emissions, the energy secretary said.

Ed Miliband promised to consider new benefits for communities affected by the construction of renewable energy infrastructure, and community ownership of the assets, which could include onshore windfarms and solar farms.

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National Whale and Dolphin Watch organisers say data collected will help with research into marine mammals

Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.

The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.

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The Summer Olympics are upon us, and I for one can’t wait to watch all the action as athletes from around the world descend on Paris to chase gold for their countries. The Olympics have been one of my favorite sporting events for as long as I can remember, and a younger version of myself dreamed of making the Olympics track and field team.

In my small hometown in Kansas, I was once the fastest kid in my class…of 45 people. Nowadays, I’m relegated to running around the woods where I live in East Tennessee, in my highlighter yellow swim cap, chasing glory in the local Swim-Run. I did pretty well a few weeks ago, but damn, was it hot! So hot that I had to stop running a few times to catch my breath, asking, “was it this hot the last time I did this?”

Well, turns out it wasn’t and, given the pace at which our planet is warming, it’s not likely to get much cooler any time soon.

Brady Watson running in a Swim-Run race, June 2024. Source: Chris Gerard.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself what in the world all this has to do with the Olympics? Well, I may not be an Olympic athlete, but I can certainly attest to how nice it is to go into an air-conditioned room after a hot day outside. Unfortunately, for some Olympians at this year’s Summer Olympics, they will not have that option.

While Paris officials aren’t providing air conditioning, some countries are bringing their own for their athletes. As you may have guessed, it’s the wealthy ones, including the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Denmark, and Australia. So, while the athletes of these wealthy nations will be able to cool off after a workout, as they are accustomed to, athletes from other countries who aren’t able to afford their own air conditioning will be forced to sweat it out, creating a potentially unfair advantage for the haves vs the have-nots.

It’s hard to fault the Paris organizers for their intentions. “I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the leadup to the games. A part of the organizing committee’s goal is to cut emissions at this Olympics and make Paris the most sustainable games to date. Instead of air conditioning, the organizers have installed a system of water pipes that will run cooled water throughout the Athlete’s Village and should keep the rooms cool, between 73 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit with fans. That doesn’t sound too bad, but it will differ from the training conditions of many of the competitors, and it promises to create inequities that may unequally impact the performance of the athletes—not to mention the health risks that come from the heat of summer. In fact, last year, more than 5,000 people died in France as a result of the extreme heat wave that gripped the continent.

Of course, this also raises questions about the energy consumption from the additional air conditioning units. If wealthy countries just bring their own units to plug into individual athlete’s rooms, the added energy pulled from the grid threatens to negate at least some of the emissions reductions that Paris organizers were hoping to achieve in the first place.

What is happening at the Olympics resembles broader global trends: Wealthy countries and individuals are more likely to be able to afford things, like air conditioning, to keep cool during ever-increasing climate change-fueled extreme heat events, while poorer countries and individuals are often forced to bear the brunt of our warming world with fewer resources to keep cool.

The increase in air conditioning use also drives up energy consumption, which impacts emissions on a broader scale. More efficient heat pumps offer one solution, but we must also work to clean up the grid so that the power running them isn’t adding to our emissions problem. Fossil fuel companies have known for decades that their products were contributing to climate change, including in the power sector. Take action today to help hold them accountable.

As you tune into the Olympics, keep an eye on the air conditioners in Paris and which countries perform the best. Here at UCS we’ll keep an eye on the sustainability outcomes of the games to see if the organizers’ plans to cut emissions worked or came up short of the finish line.

And, if you’re out doing your own version of the Olympics like me, be sure to stay hydrated and don’t get too thirsty, my friends.

As it rapidly adopts clean technologies while drilling furiously for oil and gas, the Nordic nation is a paradox

The average Norwegian, better known for loving nature than destroying the planet, is more likely than anyone else to drive to work in an electric car and warm their home with a heat pump. When they turn on the kettle in the morning or charge their phone at night, Norwegians plug into an electricity grid that runs almost entirely on renewables. Their politicians write cheques to save trees in tropical forests and politely pressure other countries to protect the environment, too.

But on one metric, Norway’s leafy green image darkens to an oily black. Citizens of the rich Nordic nation dig up more petroleum per person than Russians, Iranians, North Americans and Saudi Arabians.

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Recommended reading from the Book Review, including titles by Safiya Sinclair, Michael Cunningham, Tasha Sylva and more.

In the Senate, Kamala Harris backed an expansive climate plan. Young activists want her to embrace it again, but so do Republicans.

Organizers must reduce the event’s carbon footprint.

A hardy few of you still see some hope as you trudge wearily along life’s grim parade

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Twice this week, global temperatures broke records, but scientists are more concerned about a longer-term pattern of hotter weather.

Wildfire smoke from the Western United States and Canada is blowing across the Northeast, lowering air quality and endangering vulnerable populations.

Un estudio financiado por la NASA encontró que el dióxido de nitrógeno aumenta con el tráfico de los camiones de entrega. Se analizaron los alrededores de unas 150.000 bodegas en EE. UU.