A scorching heatwave blanketing a large portion of the United States would have been virtually impossible without the ongoing climate crisis, according to researchers.
An international consortium of climate scientists from World Weather Attribution analyzed the massive high-pressure system, known as a heat dome, which is bringing extreme heat and humidity across the central and eastern US and southern Canada.
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The extreme temperatures threaten to disrupt upcoming Independence Day celebrations and major sports events scheduled for the weekend.
Climate Change Makes Rare Event Possible
Theodore Keeping, an extreme weather and wildfire researcher at Imperial College London, highlighted how much the environment has degraded over time.
"The climate the country has today is fundamentally different to the one it had when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence," Keeping said.
Even with global warming driven by fossil fuel burning, such intense heatwaves remain rare, occurring roughly once every 200 years.
However, the analysis revealed that if planet-warming emissions had not raised global temperatures by 1.4°C (2.5°F), such an event would not happen even once in many thousands of years.
Temperatures are projected to skyrocket in Washington DC just as thousands gather for the 250th anniversary of the country.
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International sports are also facing severe disruptions.
France's weekend match against Paraguay in Philadelphia is expected to encounter extreme heat levels that global players' unions state should trigger delays or postponements.
