Scientists have found more than 200 major heat waves in the past two decades were made more likely and more intense due to emissions from 180 fossil fuel and cement producers across the globe.
A new study — published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature — found that for many heat waves, the sole contribution of emissions from a fossil fuel or cement producer can be enough to create a heat wave that would not occur without climate change. It found in some cases that carbon emissions made the likelihood of an extreme heat event up to 10,000 more times likely.
“Now we can attribute proportional rise in observed frequency and intensity of heatwaves not only to the fossil fuel industry overall but to individual oil, gas, coal, and cement ‘carbon major’ companies,” Richard Heede, director of the Climate Accountability Institute and one of the co-authors of the study, said in a statement.
The study is the latest addition to a popular field of research known as attribution science. The field specializes in uncovering the influence of climate change on individual weather events, like hurricanes, heat waves, floods and wildfires.
