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Concept
Heat wave
Summary
A heat wave (or heatwave)), sometimes known as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather. High humidity often accompanies heat waves. This is especially the case in oceanic climate countries. Definitions vary but are similar. We usually measure a heat wave relative to the usual climate in the area and to normal temperatures for the season. Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be called a heat wave in a cooler area. This would be the case if the warm temperatures are outside the normal climate pattern for that area. Heat waves have become more frequent, and more intense over land, almost everywhere since the 1950s. This is due to climate change.
Heat waves form when a high pressure area in the upper atmosphere strengthens and remains over a region for several days up to several weeks. This traps heat near the ground.
Heat waves often have complex effects on human economies. They reduce labour productivity, disrupt agricultural and industrial processes and damage infrastructure not suitable for extreme heat. Severe heat waves have caused catastrophic crop failures and thousands of deaths from hyperthermia. They have increased the risk of wildfires in areas with drought. They can lead to widespread power outages because people use more air conditioning. A heat wave counts as extreme weather. It poses danger to human health because heat and sunlight overwhelm the human body's cooling system. It is usually possible to detect heat waves can usually be detected by using forecasting instruments. This allows the authorities to issue a warning.
There are several definitions of heat waves:
The IPCC defines heatwave as "a period of abnormally hot weather, often defined with reference to a relative temperature threshold, lasting from two days to months."
A definition based on the Heat Wave Duration Index is that a heat wave occurs when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by , the normal period being 1961–1990.
Official source
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Related courses (1)
ENV-410: Science of climate change
The course equips students with a comprehensive scientific understanding of climate change covering a wide range of topics from physical principles, historical climate change, greenhouse gas emissions