In times of crisis, it starkly highlights how human-induced climate change is turning our planet into an even riskier environment.
In recent months, attribution studies have determined that this has doubled the probability of Central Europe experiencing such events. deadly floods In September, this led to the hot, dry weather that characterized January’s conditions. LA wildfires 35 percent more prone. The heatwave that caused students to pass out South Sudan Last month was ten times more probable during our current era of fossil fuel combustion.
Nonetheless, fewer people pay attention to how climate change is altering our everyday weather locally. According to recent research, during the period from December 2024 through February 2025, at minimum, one out of every five individuals worldwide experienced a significant impact from climate change each day.
Intense heat was the dominant impact of climate change globally throughout this winter, as reported by scientists from Climate Central, the independent organization responsible for the study. study .
Based on the group's Climate Change Index, a 'significant' impact occurs when climate change increases the likelihood of certain conditions by at least twofold.
The risk of heat-related health issues increased for billions of individuals.
According to the scientists, approximately 394 million individuals endured at least 30 days of dangerous heat exposure over the past three months due to climate change.
The majority of these 394 million individuals (74 percent) reside in Africa.
Dangerous hot days are classified as those exceeding 90 percent of the temperature records observed in the region between 1991 and 2020. Heat-related health risks increase as temperatures exceed this local threshold, largely due to inadequate preparation.
In half of the studied nations (110 out of 220), individuals encountered weather conditions significantly affected by climate change for at least one-third of the season (30 days or longer).
Which European region experienced the most significant increase in temperatures?
According to Climate Central, 42 out of 43 European nations experienced above-average temperatures over the past three months.
Russia Home to over 145 million individuals, this region witnessed the most substantial increase in average temperature, soaring 3.1°C above the norm established between 1991 and 2020. The Baltic nations weren’t far off, as both Lithuania and Latvia saw their temperatures rise by 2.8°C compared to usual levels, with Estonia notching a slightly lower but still significant spike of 2.7°C.
In this period, over 9.4 million individuals in four nations encountered daily average temperatures significantly affected by climate change for at least one-third of the season. Malta went through the highest number of unusually warm days at 34, followed closely by Norway and Estonia with both having 32 such days, and Latvia recording 31 days.
In Longyearbyen at a municipal level, Svalbard is far ahead of others. The small population of Norway's territory, with 1,753 residents, endured 45 days of unusually high temperatures, which were twice as likely due to climate change.
The other ten cities with the highest average temperature anomalies were predominantly located in Eastern Europe. Listed in descending order, they include: Vilnius (Lithuania), Minsk (Belarus), Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Helsinki (Finland), Kharkiv (Ukraine). Ukraine ), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kiev (Ukraine), and Chișinău (Moldova).
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