Transcript:

From Mexico to Mongolia, Sweden to South Africa …

Singh: “Many, many, many people across the globe are feeling the effects of extreme heat that is fueled by climate change.”

Roop Singh is at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, which co-authored a report about global extreme heat from May 2024 to May 2025.

Singh: “We found that 4 billion people – about 49% of the global population – experienced at least 30 additional days of extreme heat due to human-caused climate change.”

And in many areas of the tropics, people saw more than 100 additional days of extreme heat – that is, days that are hotter than 90% of the temperatures historically observed in the local area.

Extreme heat can be deadly. But Singh says cities and countries can help protect residents – for example, by educating people on how to stay hydrated, increasing access to air conditioning, and developing early warning systems for heat waves.

Singh: “This threat is here and now. It’s not really a future problem. It will continue to get worse, but there are tons of actions that we can take to reduce the impacts.”

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media