Climate study finds overheating world will add 57 superhot days a year
Key Takeaways
- The world is projected to experience an average of 57 additional 'superhot days' annually by 2100 due to current climate change trajectories.
- Small, ocean-dependent nations will face the most disproportionate increase in dangerous heat days, despite contributing minimally to global emissions.
- The current warming path (2.6C) results in half the number of extra hot days compared to the pre-Paris Agreement worst-case scenario (4C).
- Experts warn that the projected 57 extra hot days still signal a disastrous future for billions of people.
- There is a significant disconnect between carbon pollution responsibility and expected heat exposure, exacerbating global inequality.
A new, non-peer-reviewed study from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central estimates that the Earth will face an average of 57 additional 'superhot days' annually by the year 2100 due to climate change, based on current emission reduction commitments. This figure is significantly lower than the 114 extra days projected before the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which had put the world on a catastrophic 4C warming path. However, experts caution that 57 extra days—nearly two months of dangerously high temperatures—still represents a disastrous future for billions, noting that 11 such days have already been added globally since 2015. The research strongly underscores the profound unfairness of climate change impacts, showing that 10 small, ocean-dependent nations, including Panama, will see the largest spikes in dangerous heat, despite collectively producing only 1% of global heat-trapping gases. In contrast, major polluters like the US, China, and India, responsible for 42% of CO2, are predicted to face far fewer additional hot days. This heat inequality is noted by scientists as a factor that could sow seeds of geopolitical instability between 'have and have-not nations'.
