Millions of people in Japan are sweltering under oppressive temperatures in the latest early-season heat wave to strike in the month of June.
In the last 30 days, every continent in the Northern Hemisphere saw heat records, which is a worrying trend given that the typical hottest months of the summer are still to come for North America, Europe and Asia. The punishing heat is another indication of the intensifying effects of climate change that are already playing out across the globe.
The Japanese government warned of possible power shortages after temperatures hit nearly 95 degrees Fahrenheit in Tokyo on Monday. North of the capital, in Isezaki, temperatures soared to 104.4 degrees, becoming the highest ever recorded in Japan in June.
Last week, parts of northern and central China grappled with temperatures above 104 degrees, straining the country's electricity supply as demand for air conditioning spiked across several provinces, including Shandong, Henan and Hebei.
The Russian city of Norilsk recorded a temperature of 89.6 degrees on June 23, which set a new record for the city's hottest day in June, and tied the all-time record for the hottest day in a month.
The heat waves are expected to become more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. In the summer, heat waves occur naturally, but human-caused climate change is exacerbating these events because emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are causing average temperatures to rise. Heat waves are more likely to occur, but they are becoming more severe when they occur.
A study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research: Climate found that human activities are linked to increases in heat extremes, with tens of thousands of deaths directly related to climate change. The researchers wrote in their study that the extreme heat waves have become more likely, or even only possible, due to climate change. Earlier this month, a heat dome blanketed a large area of the United States, which caused triple digit temperatures across the South and parts of the Midwest. More than 13 million Americans were under heat warnings and advisories for days, as soaring temperatures and high humidity set records in Illinois, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee and Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service.
Europe sizzled under its own heat wave around the same time. In Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain, temperatures were warmer than 100 degrees. In France alone, more than a dozen new all-time heat records were set in mid-June, and the World Meteorological Organization said parts of Spain and France were seeing temperatures more than 10 degrees hotter than average for the time of year.
Claire Nullis, a spokesman for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, said at the time that the extreme heat was being fueled by climate change. She added that these events will continue to occur without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Nullis said in a press briefing on June 18 that what we are witnessing today is a foretaste of the future.