Photo Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
This year is certain to be the hottest on record, the first that will cross the critical threshold of 1.5C above the pre-industrial era. Climate scientists believe that crossing that threshold will lead to far worse consequences from climate change.
According to the first comprehensive database of extreme weather events compiled by the website Carbon Brief, there have been at least 24 heatwaves across North America, Europe, and Asia that would have had virtually zero chance of happening without the global warming caused by extra heat trapped by fossil fuel emissions. At least 100,000 people, including 10,000 babies, are dying each year as a result of global warming.