Climate Change Could Bring Killer Humid Heatwaves to South Asia
A new study suggests that if greenhouse gas levels continue to rise, global warming could cause catastrophic heat waves across parts of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The analysis makes estimates of “wet bulb” temperature—a measure of heat and humidity, which when above 35°C becomes potentially fatal for healthy humans exposed to it for longer than six hours. Writing in Science Advances, the researchers describe projections of that measure across the south Asia subcontinent based on two of the planet’s less desirable future greenhouse gas levels, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change classifies as “intermediate” and “high” scenarios. In the first case, huge areas of south Asia would regularly experience wet bulb temperatures above 31°C. In the second, many large regions—including India’s Ganges river valley, Pakistan’s Indus valley, and northern Sri Lanka—would experience wet bulb temperatures close to or exceeding 35°C.
What’s perhaps most troubling about the finding is that these regions are home to incredibly poor and vulnerable communities, which often make their living off of the land. That, of course, isn’t a new story: we recently reported that heat waves brought about climate change have already hit poor people the hardest, and we know that climate change will continue to drive global inequality in the future if it goes unchecked. But that doesn’t make it any less sad. As Chris Huntingford from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said to the Guardian: “If given just one word to describe climate change, then ‘unfairness’ would be a good candidate. Raised levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are expected to cause deadly heatwaves for much of South Asia. Yet many of those living there will have contributed little to climate change.”
Deep Dive
Uncategorized

It will soon be easy for self-driving cars to hide in plain sight. We shouldn’t let them.
If they ever hit our roads for real, other drivers need to know exactly what they are.

Maximize business value with data-driven strategies
Every organization is now collecting data, but few are truly data driven. Here are five ways data can transform your business.

Cryptocurrency fuels new business opportunities
As adoption of digital assets accelerates, companies are investing in innovative products and services.

Yann LeCun has a bold new vision for the future of AI
One of the godfathers of deep learning pulls together old ideas to sketch out a fresh path for AI, but raises as many questions as he answers.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.