Raphael Thys
NASA recently published a map of the world showing the regions that will become uninhabitable for humans by 2050.
After the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, in which scientists warned of the consequences of climate change, was published on 28 February, it is now NASA's turn to sound the alarm.
With the UN having confirmed a temperature rise of 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era, the climatic, human, food and economic consequences will be unprecedented.
On 9 March, NASA published a world map showing the regions of the planet that will no longer be habitable in 30 to 50 years' time due to climate change.
Not a single continent will be spared from the global rise in temperature. The heat will be so intense that human beings will not be able to survive. Which regions will be affected?
Deadly heat
To create this almost apocalyptic world map, researchers used two indicators to measure the effects of temperature, solar radiation and humidity on human health.
The heat index combines relative humidity in the shade with air temperature, and the wet bulb temperature index measures the ability of an object (or body) to cool down when it is hot and humid.
When we are exposed to very high heat and humidity, our bodies use sweat to cool themselves down. This is a perfectly normal phenomenon. But the question for the scientists was to find out at what level the human body can no longer regulate its temperature.
Or rather, at what point does heat become lethal for humans? NASA researchers estimate that the highest wet bulb that humans can withstand is 35°C for six hours.
All continents will be affected
This is not the first time that NASA has recorded a wet bulb index exceeding 35°C in certain regions. The limit has been crossed several times since 2005 in the subtropical regions of Pakistan and the Persian Gulf.
The frequency of these extremely high wet bulbs has tripled in 40 years! Even the majority of the world's warmest and wettest regions have a wet bulb of no more than 25 to 27°C.
In 2050, scientists estimate that it will be very difficult to live in South Asia and the Persian Gulf, i.e. countries such as Iran, Kuwait and Oman.
Climatic conditions will also be very difficult to bear in the countries bordering the Red Sea: in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen.
And by 2070, countries in North and South America will be affected too, mainly Brazil and some American Midwestern states such as Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa.