Why are heatwaves getting worse?

Heatwaves are breaking records around the world, from India and Thailand to the normally mild U.S. Pacific Northwest, with scientists predicting that global average temperatures will likely surge to record levels in the next five years. Here's how climate change is contributing to new global heat extremes and human risks.

Heatwaves are breaking records around the world, from India and Thailand to the normally mild U.S. Pacific Northwest, with scientists predicting that global average temperatures will likely surge to record levels in the next five years.

In particular, a combination of a new El Niño weather pattern starting this June and the continued release of climate-changing emissions will "push global temperatures into uncharted territory," scientists predicted in a report released on Wednesday.

"This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared," warned Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization.

Here's how climate change is contributing to new global heat extremes - and human risks:

Yes. Climate change is fueling a range of extreme weather around the world, from flooding and storms to droughts, but the change it is most clearly producing is more extreme heat.

A record-breaking heatwave across India, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand in April 2023, for instance, was at least 30 times more likely because of climate change, scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said on Wednesday.

Continued use of oil, coal and gas to power homes, cars and the world's economy results in the release of gases that blanket the planet, trapping ever more of the sun's energy in the atmosphere rather than letting much of it escape.