A recent study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has identified regions globally experiencing extreme heatwaves surpassing climate model predictions. These anomalies, spanning every continent except Antarctica, have been linked to thousands of deaths, agricultural failures, and severe wildfires in recent years, according to several reports. The research highlights the challenges in understanding and projecting the physical dynamics driving these unexpected temperature extremes, raising concerns about the adequacy of current climate models in estimating regional risks.

Heatwave Intensification and Global Hotspots

The study, led by Dr Kai Kornhuber, an adjunct scientist at Columbia Climate School and senior research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, analysed data from the past 65 years. It identified areas where extreme heat is intensifying more rapidly than moderate temperatures, resulting in record-breaking maximum temperatures.

Examples include the June 2021 Pacific Northwest heatwave, where temperatures in Lytton, British Columbia, soared to 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit, causing a wildfire that decimated the town.

Regions most affected include northwestern Europe, parts of Asia such as central China, and regions in Australia, Africa, and South America, accoridng to sources. Northwestern Europe has seen the most consistent signals, with heatwaves contributing to 60,000 deaths in 2022 and 47,000 in 2023.

According to the study, summer peak temperatures in this region are increasing at twice the rate of average summer temperatures, exacerbated by the lack of widespread air conditioning.

Understanding the Underlying Mechanisms

Scientists attribute some of these extremes to disruptions in the northern hemisphere’s jet stream, which is influenced by Arctic warming. This destabilisation has created Rossby waves, trapping hot air over temperate regions.

Dr Samuel Bartusek, a co-author of the study, highlighted the interplay of factors behind the Pacific Northwest heatwave, including vegetation drying and atmospheric heat transport. However, the study acknowledges gaps in understanding, with some events described as “grey swans,” lying between predictability and randomness.