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Climate change has increased the probability and intensity of over 200 heat waves around the world over the past 20 years, according to a newly published study.
The study, published September 10th in Nature on September 10th, linked carbon emissions from the world’s top fossil fuel producers, including companies such as Exxonmobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and directly to thermal events.
“Climate change has made each of these heatwaves more likely and more intense, and the situation has gotten worse over time,” says Yann Quilcaille, the study’s lead author, in a release. Kircaille studies extreme climates at the Institute of Atmospheric Climate Science, the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland.
He, together with other authors of the study, examined 213 heat waves from 2000 to 2023 in the International Disaster Database. This is a list of global disasters reported due to casualties, economic losses, emergency declarations and calls for international assistance.
The authors state that 55 of the 55 heat waves, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, or about a quarter, were “virtually impossible.”
Among the major contributors? 180 largest “carbon majors” – the world’s most greenhouse gas emissions and state-run companies.
The report states that emissions from countries, including oil and gas companies such as the original Soviet Union and countries such as the former Soviet Union, “contributed to about half the intensity of the pre-industrial heat wave.” And their contributions continue to grow.
Of these organizations, 33, headquartered in the US, are responsible for 10% of all carbon dioxide released between 1850 and 2023. The 33 Chinese-based groups account for 12% of their total carbon emissions.
Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP are one of the biggest carbon majors in the top 14 and did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Shell declined to comment.
Other recent studies have similar links between fossil fuel emissions and extreme weather events. One, published by researchers at Dartmouth College in April, costing the world $28 trillion in extreme heat caused by emissions from more than 100 companies between 1991 and 2000.
Another, released in June, discovered that the fatal heat waves swept through North America in May and June this year were 35 times more likely due to climate change.
Fossil fuel companies face numerous lawsuits from cities and states across the country that claim they intentionally misunderstand their citizens about the environmental impact of their products.
Richard Heede, research co-author and director of the Climate Accountability Institute, an environmental protection organization that publishes data on carbon emissions by energy companies, said the report provides evidence that “fossil fuel emissions need to be reduced as quickly as possible to reduce the threat to the human community.”
