People can barely live in temperatures above 110 degrees F, let alone at 120 degrees F. The human body cannot cool itself rapidly enough to offset the damage of high temperatures. Some people suffer seizures and can lose consciousness. While these symptoms do not hit all of the population in extremely hot weather, they are a major risk. That people can live at these temperatures day after day is amazing.
Most of the world’s hottest temperatures are found across northern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Iraq. The 15 hottest places in the world today are in Iraq, where a large part of the country suffers under 110-degree weather. These conditions are rare in the U.S., even in the hottest large cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The hottest place in the world today is Al Najaf International Airport, directly next to the city in Iraq that it serves. It is 122 degrees F there now.
Najaf is in the central part of Iraq. The region has a population of more than 600,000 people. The monthly average high temperature from June to September is over 100 degrees. It rarely drops below 85 degrees at night. Over the course of this period, there is often no rain at all.
Because of infrastructure problems, electricity to the area is unreliable. That means air conditioning is as well. These high temperatures are sometimes accompanied by sandstorms, which makes the areas even more hostile to humans. Some residents cannot breathe because of the poor air quality.
Over the course of the next several years, as temperatures across the world continue to rise in most places, Najaf may not be habitable at all.
What about the U.S.? The Guardian recently reported that the level of heat in the Middle East will not be unusual in America by 2100, which is, obviously, but horribly, only a lifetime away for young children. In another Guardian article, the author pointed out that climate change could lead to an unexplored risk or human extinction. Too extreme a point of view? Maybe not.
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