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Climate change causes killer heatwaves

In southern Asia, mortality is likely to rise with the thermometer. Researchers have established a direct link between global warming and heat-related deaths from killer heatwaves.

A tiny rise of 0.5°C in mean summer temperatures in India or another comparable tropical developing nation could result in a 146 per cent rise in mass death from the heat.

Average temperature increases by the end of the century for the Asian subcontintent, the Middle East and Africa are likely to be at least 2.2°C and could be as high as 5.5°C.

Although the heatwave prediction for India is based on a statistical model, the model itself is based on half a century of carefully-measured temperature, heatwave and heat-related mortality data.

Fabio Rossi

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