Earth's Getting Too Hot For Humans, As Study Records Rise In 'Extreme Humid Heat'

Human beings have a self-cooling mechanism that is known to all as ¡®sweating¡¯. It helps humans against high temperature rise, keeping the human body cool through the evaporation of sweat off the skin surface.

However, this natural tendency of the human body has an upper limit. A recent study warns that temperature on some parts of Earth will cross this threshold soon.

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In a new research, scientists note that this human survivability limit has already been crossed on Earth.

Within the last four decades, temperature on certain parts has surpassed this limit at least a dozen times. These occurrences, however, ¡°occurred only for 1- to 2-hours¡¯ duration,¡± the research notes.

Published in Science Advances, the research titled ¡®The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance¡¯ records wet-bulb temperatures in several regions of Earth through evaluation of data from weather stations. Wet-bulb temperature is recorded by a thermometer covered in water-soaked cloth by passing air over it.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

Wet-bulb temperatures are a record of heat and humidity in an area. A wet-bulb temperature of 35¡ã Celsius or 95¡ã Fahrenheit is considered to be the ¡°upper physiological limit¡± of humans, while temperatures much lower than that can also cause ¡°serious health and productivity impacts.¡±

Prior to this study, such temperature extremes were thought to be rare on Earth. The study now identifies several such occurrences on Earth to have happened already. With global warming on the rise, it is only going to get worse.

For now, the scientists have observed these dangerous temperatures to be ¡°concentrated in South Asia, the coastal Middle East, and coastal southwest North America.¡±

In addition, ¡°eastern coastal India, Pakistan and northwestern India, and the shores of the Red Sea, Gulf of California, and southern Gulf of Mexico¡± have also been identified as hotspots for wet-bulb temperatures of over 31¡ãC.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

With the study, scientists Colin Raymond, Tom Matthews and Radley M. Horton, authors of the research paper, try to ¡°underscore the diversity of conditions that can lead to extreme humid heat in the same location at different times.¡± This would in turn help authorities in such regions, exercise ¡°impacts adaptation strategies,¡± as the paper mentions.

Another recent study noted the impacts of global warming on the rise in sea levels. The study predicts that the sea-level can rise by as much as over a metre by the end of the century. If this happens, several coastal cities across the world will be submerged under water. You can read about the research here.