STORY: Climate alarms raised as extreme heat waves sweep globe
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Aug. 14, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:35
LOCATION: GENEVA, Switzerland
CATEGORY: CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of wildfire in Greece
2. various of people in heat waves in European countries
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CLARE NULLIS, WMO media officer
4. various of people in heat waves in India
5. various of people in heat waves in Japan
6. various of people in heat waves in Italy
7. various of people in heat waves in Spain
8. various of people in heat waves in European countries
9. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MAG. GREGOR VERTACNIK, Climatologist at the State's Agency for the Environment in Slovenia (ARSO)

STORYLINE:

A major wildfire that erupted on Sunday and spread over 30 km, reaching the northeastern suburbs of Athens, has been contained by early Tuesday, leaving one dead and causing significant damages.
  
Greece just experienced its hottest June and July on record. The country faces thousands of wildfires each summer, and climate change seems to be triggering more and larger blazes.

According to a joint report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Union's climate agency Copernicus in April, Europe has become the fastest-warming continent in the world, with temperatures rising at roughly twice the global average.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CLARE NULLIS, WMO media officer"The extreme heat, which continued throughout July, with really, really, really devastating impacts on communities, on people's health, on ecosystems, also on economies. So extreme heat really has a domino effect across society. Global average temperatures for the past 13 months now, so that is June 2023 to June 2024, have set new monthly records."

According to the WMO, prolonged and severe heatwaves have hit every continent, with at least 10 countries experiencing daily temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in multiple areas over the past year.
   
Japan's average temperature for July reached its highest level since records began in 1898, beating the record set last year.

The intense heatwave gripping Italy is breaking records in many regions. As of Monday, 17 of the country's 27 largest cities were under a "red" alert, matching the highest number recorded this year.

Spain recorded 608 deaths attributable to high temperatures in the first week starting August, almost double the previous week's total of 335, making it the worst week of the year, according to the Carlos III Health Institute.
   
The WMO has predicted an 80 percent chance that the global average temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the next five years.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): MAG. GREGOR VERTACNIK, Climatologist at the State's Agency for the Environment in Slovenia (ARSO)
"With this temperature increase, we are expecting stronger, more frequent summer heat waves and also severe droughts. On the other side, storms will be stronger in summer times with larger hail with more intense winds and also in autumn and winter times, we are expecting more intense floods."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Geneva, Switzerland.
(XHTV)