The heat is on; when it rains, it pours

There’s a popular idiom that goes, “the heat is on,” referring to a serious situation that needs urgent action.

Well, we are now literally experiencing “hell on earth” with the heat now on in the United States – extreme heat temperatures being experienced from coast to coast for days on end. Triple-digit temperatures have been afflicting massive parts of the US particularly in Phoenix, Arizona that saw temperatures rising to over 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43.3 degrees Celsius for almost the entire month of July. Washington has not been spared, with the heat index reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit last Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

An increasing number of heat-related deaths have also been reported, as the “hellish heat” could also trigger cardiovascular disease and put undue strain on the kidneys and liver. Calling the extreme heat as the number one weather-related killer in the US according to federal data, President Biden noted that even the places that are already used to extreme heat have “never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it has been,” and that “even those who deny that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis can’t deny the impact the extreme heat is having on Americans.”

And it’s not only the United States that has been suffering extreme heat conditions. In Italy and nearby countries, the situation is described by climate experts as like a “giant pizza oven.” Since last year, the UK has been going through record-breaking temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, with warnings that the heat could become even more brutal.

According to climate scientists, July 2023 is on track to be the hottest month on record, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to warn that “humanity is in the hot seat” and that the “era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”

But while the heat is on across three continents – North America, Europe and certain parts of Asia – people in many other places are experiencing firsthand the painful truth to the saying that “when it rains, it pours.”

This is what happened to the Philippines with Northern Luzon, the Visayas and parts of Mindanao battered by Super Typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri) over the week, causing massive flooding that displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Several provinces have been placed under a state of calamity, with Abra among the most affected with damaged crops, livestock and homes that have yet to be restored from the impact of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the province in July last year.

It’s very clear that the changing weather patterns are caused by climate change, intensifying the severity of cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons that increase the frequency of flooding, worsening droughts and creating conditions that stoke and prolong wildfires.

What is happening should serve as a reality check especially for major countries – particularly the United States and China since they are obviously the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases that are causing global temperatures to rise – on the life-threatening impact of climate change.

The world is grateful President Biden has reversed the withdrawal of the US from the 2016 Paris climate pact almost immediately after he assumed office. We are glad to see China is now more open to talks about climate change considering they, too, are feeling the impact, described as “profound” by an official of China’s National Climate Center, with the “extreme weather and climate events” occurring frequently, affecting “a wide range of areas and causing severe disasters.”

People are also encouraged by the recent video call between US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua following their face-to-face meeting in Beijing two weeks ago, with both agreeing to strengthen dialogue and promote global cooperation on the climate agenda.

As UN Secretary-General Guterres said, climate change is terrifying, but “it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the very worst of climate change. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”

No doubt the upcoming 2023 UN Climate Change Conference or COP28 in Dubai will be crucial, with people looking upon the world’s leaders to attend and act decisively and deliver on their commitments. President Marcos has indicated he will attend the conference. PBBM clearly sees the impact of climate change, especially with the Philippines being one of the most vulnerable countries worldwide.

We are all aware it took the cooperation of the whole world to fight the pandemic that practically closed the world for over two years. Scientists have warned that the next one could be even worse and vaccines may not even work.

People are already suffering, the world is beginning to feel like “hell on earth” and yet here we are engaged in territorial disputes that could escalate tensions and trigger a war – the likes of which the world has never seen before because of nuclear weapons that could wipe all of us out.

With all the natural disasters and calamities that we are seeing and experiencing, we are indeed beginning to think “the end is near.” Time is running out but the world never seems to learn, with people repeating the same mistakes, refusing to change their ways and continuing with activities that will inevitably destroy planet Earth.

With all these things happening on this earth, it seems the vision of billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are indeed “out of this world” when they see the future lying in space, with people migrating to outer space, making it man’s new home.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]