World records hottest day ever: UAE-based experts explain how summers have been getting warmer

The UAE is expected to witness a significant increase in temperatures, with a noticeable rise of approximately 2.21 degrees celsius by 2050, particularly in the summer season.

On July 3, the world recorded its hottest day ever, based on data from the US National Centres for Environmental Prediction.

Experts explain the earth hit its highest recorded global average temperature on July 3, 2023, establishing a new peak since records began. While this doesn’t mean it was the hottest everywhere in the world, the global average temperature was the highest, 17C compared to 16.9C in August 2016.

Citing the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dr Sreejith Balasubramanian, Chair of the Office of Research, Head and Founder of the Centre for Supply Chain Excellence, and Associate Professor, Middlesex University Dubai, said: “In the UAE, the average temperature is forecasted to increase by 2.21C to 2.38C by 2050 and by 3.64 to 3.91C by 2100.”

He explained this is not an unexpected phenomenon, given that the 10 warmest years on record have all fallen within the period post-2010. “The UAE has also witnessed a sharper increase in temperature since 1990 with more intensity in warming during the summer months.”

“In 2022, the global temperature surpassed the pre-industrial average by 1.2˚C.”

Greenhouse emissions and El Niño drive climate change

Elucidating the ramifications of this increase, he said this is felt in extreme weather events, including heatwaves, droughts, floods, winter storms, hurricanes, and wildfires.

“If the industrial nations do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 7.2 per cent annually over the forthcoming decade, the world could witness an alarming temperature rise of 3.2˚C or more.

Hot days are getting hotter worldwide

“Globally, hot days are getting hotter and more frequent with an increase in the intensity and frequency of heatwaves, with a concurrent reduction in colder days,” he added.

Rise in natural disasters

He also highlighted that data from the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction reveal a troubling rise in natural disasters linked to these extreme temperatures.

“Over the past 20 years (2000-2019), there were 438 natural disasters, marking a more than threefold increase compared to the 130 events recorded from 1980-1999. Additionally, extreme temperatures contribute to 13 per cent of global deaths resulting from natural disasters, with heatwaves being the predominant cause.”

Other experts in the country also emphasize that this will merely mark the beginning of a series of fresh records established this year, as rising emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, along with an expanding El Nino occurrence, lead temperatures to rise to unprecedented levels.

Dr Aseel Takshe, Head of Department/Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Canadian University Dubai says, “Several factors play a role in how hot the day is. The two most important are wind direction and the amount of cloud cover. Moreover, the hot weather is due to the El Niño weather event and ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide. The announcement came after the reading was the highest since readings started being documented. Temperatures have been recorded on a daily basis for years now. July 3 hottest day announced globally and not only locally or regionally.”

“Global warming will increase global temperatures and have a negative effect on human health, agriculture, natural recourses,” she adds.

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