‘Extreme heat is the new abnormal,’ United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for action to stem ‘extreme heat epidemic’

By R Anil Kumar

• Extreme heat is the new abnormal,” Guterres added in his speech to journalists at UN headquarters in New York. The Secretary-General’s “call for action” brings together ten specialised UN agencies for the first time in an urgent and concerted push to strengthen international cooperation in addressing extreme heat

• Antonio Guterres urges countries to shift away from fossil fuels to tackle the climate crisis driving extreme heat.

• New data from the International Labour Organization warns that over 70% of the global workforce are now at high risk of extreme heat, resulting in 18,970 deaths annually among workers

 UNITED NATIONS, July 26. ‘Extreme heat is the new abnormal,’ United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says.

The head of the United Nations has called on countries to take action to address the effects of “crippling heat”, as the world experiences record-high temperatures that have put vulnerable communities at risk.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, July 25, Antonio Guterres said billions of people around the globe are experiencing “an extreme heat epidemic” fuelled by climate change.

“Extreme heat is increasingly tearing through economies, widening inequalities, undermining the Sustainable Development Goals, and killing people,” the UN secretary-general said.

“We know what is driving it: fossil fuel-charged, human-induced climate change. And we know it’s going to get worse; extreme heat is the new abnormal.”

Guterres’s warning comes a day after the European Union’s climate monitor said the world had experienced its hottest day on record this week.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Wednesday, July 24, that the global average surface air temperature on July 22 rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit) – or 0.06 degrees Celsius higher than the record set just a day earlier.

Every month since June 2023 has now ranked as the planet’s warmest since records began in 1940, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, according to C3S.

“This is exactly what climate science told us would happen if the world continued burning coal, oil and gas,” Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist from Imperial College London, had told about this week’s findings.

“And it will continue getting hotter until we stop burning fossil fuels and reach net zero emissions.”

The record had last been set for four consecutive days in early July 2023. Before that, the hottest day was in August 2016.

Millions of people around the world have experienced record-high temperatures in recent weeks, including across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, where the crisis has exacerbated social inequalities.

More than 70 percent of the global workforce – some 2.4 billion people – are now at high risk of extreme heat, according to a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) published on Thursday, July 25.

New data from the International Labour Organization warns Excessive heat has been blamed for causing almost 23 million workplace injuries worldwide, and some 19,000 deaths annually.

Experts also have warned that as the effects of climate change intensify, weather patterns are becoming more extreme with droughts, super-charged hurricanes, floods and wildfires affecting much of the globe.

During Thursday’s news conference, Guterres said countries must reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, which worsens the climate crisis.

“Leaders across the board must wake up and step up – and that means governments, especially G20 countries,” the UN chief said.

“The leadership of those with the greatest capabilities and capacities is essential. Countries must phase out fossil fuels fast and fairly,” Guterres said.

India reported 40,000 suspected heat stroke cases this summer: UN report

India reported 40,000 cases of suspected heat stroke and over 100 deaths since the onset of summer in 2024, as of mid-June 30, according to a report from the United Nations Call to

The UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat brings together perspectives of ten specialised UN entities, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in a first-of-its-kind joint product, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of extreme heat, UN said in a statement on Thursday, July 25.

“In the past 100 days alone, we witnessed heat-related deaths in countries from Saudi Arabia to India, heatstroke warnings across Japan, schools closing in Bangladesh and the Philippines, severe heat warnings issued by governments in Southeast Europe, and new temperature records across the United States,” the Call to Action said.

The UN declaration came a day after the Earth Sciences ministry informed the Lok Sabha that the 15th Finance Commission did not find much merit in the request to expand the scope of disasters eligible for financial assistance and hence extreme heat is not yet considered to be a natural disaster or calamity eligible for assistance. Responding to another question, the ministry said that heat wave deaths are reducing in the country due to better weather prediction.

Modelled estimates show that between the years 2000 and 2019, approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occurred each year, with 45% of these in Asia and 36% in Europe, the UN further said.

Heat exposure-related loss in labour capacity resulted in average potential income losses equivalent to US$863 billion in 2022, it said.

“Secretary-General is issuing a global call to action on extreme heat in four critical areas: Care for the vulnerable; protect workers; boost the resilience of our economies and societies using data and science, and limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Extreme heat impacts virtually everything we do, and every aspect of our lives,” the report read.

“Workers in Africa, the Arab states, and Asia and the Asia-Pacific are most exposed to excessive heat. In these regions, 93 per cent, 84 per cent, and 75% of the workforce are affected, respectively as daily temperatures rise above 34°C, labour productivity begins to drop by 50%,” the report said.

A triple strategy of passive cooling, higher energy efficiency and fast phase down of climate-warming refrigerants offers the opportunity to reduce emissions from the cooling sector while protecting an additional 3.5 billion people at risk from heat by 2050, the UN said.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that peak temperatures in heat waves will increase significantly faster than global mean and local average temperatures. An extreme heat event that would have occurred once in 50 years in a climate without human influence is now nearly five times more likely. Such an event is projected to be nearly 9 times more likely under 1.5°C and 14 times more likely under 2°C and bring heat and humidity levels that are far more dangerous, UN has flagged.

UNICEF found that by 2050, if the current trend continues, almost every child under 18 in the world – nearly 2.2 billion – will be exposed to high heat wave frequency, up from only 24% of children in 2020. Heat-related mortality for people over 65 years of age increased by approximately 85% between 2000-2004 and 2018-2022.

The UN has recommended that countries adopt evidence-based policies, regulations multi-dimensional risk assessments and community-driven actions to protect the most vulnerable; enhance social protection schemes to integrate specific measures that help address the risks of extreme heat; implement urgent measures to protect the health and lives of all workers in all sectors and in all regions of the world from the risk of extreme heat through a rights-based approach; urgently review the laws and regulations on occupational safety and health to integrate provisions for extreme heat;  develop and implement comprehensive, risk-informed heat action plans (and cooling plans) in all countries and all sectors among others.

“Every fraction of a degree of warming matters. With every additional increment of global warming, changes in extremes, impacts and risks become larger. Limiting global warming to below 1.5°C will significantly reduce the risks, adverse impacts and related human suffering from climate change, including extreme heat,” the report added.

It was the warmest June for northwest India since record-keeping began in 1901 according to the India Meteorological Department. The mean temperature in June was 31.73°C C, 1.65°C above normal. The average maximum temperature over the region was 38.2°C, nearly 2°C above normal and even the minimum temperature was the second highest since 1901 at 25.44°C, 1.35°C above normal.

There were reports of at least 100 deaths from different parts of north India this summer. The Centre, however, has not released the data.

East and northeast India also recorded its warmest June in terms of nighttime temperatures, recording an average minimum temperature of 25.14°C, nearly 1°C above normal.

Compared to a normal of 3-4 days of heat wave, parts of Indo-Gangetic plains, northwest India, central and north India recorded a range of 10 to 18 heat wave days in June.

Uttar Pradesh recorded 18 heat wave days; Bihar 13; Gangetic West Bengal nine; Delhi, Haryana region recorded 14; Punjab 11; Himachal Pradesh 10 days, among others.

According to the India Meteorological Department, between April to June, 20 to 38 days of heat waves days were recorded in different parts of east, north and central India Most frequent heat waves (20-38 days) were recorded over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West and East UP and Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Saurashtra and Kutch. The deadly heat spell recorded over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of northwest India killed at least 100 people.

In April, east and southeast peninsular India saw an intense spell of humid heat (between April 5 and 7), and Odisha and West Bengal, one between April 15 and 30, which expanded over days to Bihar, Jharkhand and south peninsular India.

In May, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and parts of peninsular India saw an intense spell of heat (between May 1 and 7), Rajasthan, between May 16 and 26, with 9-12 days that were classified either a heat wave or a severe heat wave (with temperatures nearing 50 °C on some days), and Delhi and the National Capital Region, Haryana, southwest Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, also between May 16 and 26, with five to seven days that were classified a heat wave, with temperatures between 44°C and 48°C.