Even 2C warming means more killer heatwaves: "Indonesia, Philippines, northern Brazil, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, southern India, Nigeria, west Africa, and northern Australia -- all of these regions will face more than 300 potentially lethal heatwave days each year under the business-as-usual emissions trajectory, known as RCP 8.5
Even under the most optimistic emissions scenario (RCP 2.6) -- which roughly corresponds to the Paris goal of capping warming at 2 C (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) -- mega-cities such as Jakarta, Lagos, Caracas, and Manila would surpass the "lethal heat" threshold half the year, the study concluded.
"With high temperatures and humidities, it takes very little warming for conditions to turn deadly in the tropics," said Mora.
Cities in sub-tropical zones such as Miami or Hong Kong would be thus exposed 150 and 200 days per year, respectively, in the worst case scenario, and -- in the RCP 2.6 outlook -- 80 and 140 days.
Washington D.C., on average, will get hit with potentially deadly heat 15 days a year if the Paris target is met, and 85 day per year if no further action is taken to fight climate change.
The number of "lethal heat days" does not tell us how many people will die, the authors point out. If everyone is living in air-conditioned environments 50 or 75 years from now, they will be shielded.
But that is not the case today, and protracted heatwaves are also taxing for energy grids and critical infrastructure.
"The study provides additional, strong evidence that climate change, if unmitigated, will result in an increase in conditions deadly to humans," commented Jeremy Pal, a professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles whose own research in 2015 projected more heatwaves in the Persian Gulf exceeding the capacity of the human body to cope.
Wellness for Peace Education on Climate Change: Even 2C warming means more killer heatwaves: "Indo...: Even under the most optimistic emissions scenario (RCP 2.6) -- which roughly corresponds to the Paris goal of capping warming at 2 C (3.6 d...
