Every summer we always say the same: that this year is much hotter than last year, that this time is unbearable and that this is definitely the hottest summer ever. Unfortunately, we are increasingly rarely wrong about the first two statements, but the last one is just an exaggeration, a hyperbole to express how oppressive this heat is. This year, however, those who say it really think and are not wrong: summer 2023 was the hottest in human history.
Every day for the past three months, we have read about wildfires as large as entire states, floods, and heatwaves so infernal even in name. Now that this season is over, it’s time to take stock and take a look at some of the record-breaking episodes this summer for the world.
June
In June, photos of New York shrouded in a yellow mist toured the world. As we know, however, it was not fog, it was a smoke cloud caused by the Canadian fires, which this year burned nearly eighteen million hectares, almost the total surface area of Syria. The most disastrous Canadian wildfire season of the century cost the country approximately 0.6% of its quarterly GDP and resulted in the emission of 160 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
July
Undoubtedly, one of the most notable events was the heatwave that hit the whole of Europe, with particularly serious consequences for the continent's southernmost states. Temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius, and some Italian hospitals declared a state of emergency due to the large number of people hospitalized for heatstroke and similar cases, implementing measures similar to pandemic protocols. Italy went around the world because of the record-breaking temperatures recorded that month and names such as Charon and Cerberus, the names of the anticyclones that brought this heat that turned Italy into one of Dante's circles, appeared in international headlines.
Also in southern Europe, another record was broken. It was the largest mass evacuation due to a wildfire ever recorded in Greek history: some 20,000 people were evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes.
August
In August, a study published by the insurance company Allianz estimated that the abnormal climate affecting Europe this year cost 0.6% of the global GDP. This document is just one of many that have long been signaling a growing awareness among large corporations that climate change represents a risk factor for economies around the world and introduces an element of uncertainty that will make business planning much more difficult in the future.
This month saw the disastrous fire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, causing $5.5 billion in damage, destroying more than 2,000 buildings and killing 93 people, not to mention the enormous number of injured and displaced individuals. Additionally, a unique natural heritage was destroyed, along with the town of Lahaina, which held centuries of Hawaiian culture and is now lost.
September
On September 8th in Hong Kong there was the strongest rain of the last 140 years in a China hit by heavy rains in some areas, by record heat waves in others, such as the flooding in Beijing that caused the death of 41 people and 2 billion dollars of damage to the economy, or the record of 52.5 degrees Celsius recorded in Sanbao.
Between September 9th and 11th, the deadliest natural disaster of the year occurred in Derna, a port city in eastern Libya, where Hurricane Daniel struck, causing the collapse of two dams on the Wadi Derna River, splitting the city in two. The collapse of the dams and the consequent catastrophic flooding, together with the precariousness of many of the city’s structures, led to a humanitarian catastrophe of between 20000 and 11000 victims, before the disaster the city had 90000 inhabitants, and left the city on its knees. The situation is exacerbated by the high political instability that has characterized the country for over a decade, with two rival factions supported by various armed groups and warlords precariously controlling the east and west of the country. Local authorities are therefore not prepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude.
Mondo Internazionale APS - Private Reproduction ® 2023
Sources used in the article:
https://unsplash.com/it/foto/-iretlQZEU4
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-announces-summer-2023-hottest-on-record/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-wildfires-damage-economy-impact/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/03/business/economy/canada-wildfires-economy.html
https://climate.copernicus.eu/european-heatwave-july-2023-longer-term-context
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/10/italy-heatwave-temperatures-european-record-forecast
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/hawaii-fires-photos.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/14/destruction-derna-flooding-libya-port-city
https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/libia-un-governo-bicefalo-un-paese-diviso-37050
Share the post
L'Autore
Filippo del Monte Alia
Categories
Tag
Incendi alluvioni ondate di caldo estate 2023 Mondo