Violent Planet
Heat Waves & Drought

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Heat Waves & Drought

They kill more people than floods, hurricanes and tornados combined, force the birth rate down and the murder rate up. Heat waves are a force to be reckoned with...

  • A heat wave is defined as a phenomenon resulting from certain combinations of temperature, humidity, air movement and duration, with the potential to adversely affect communities. Simply stated, they are major killers.


  • In twentieth century Australia, heat waves caused more deaths than any other natural hazard after disease and illness. Heat waves, it has been estimated, kill more people than Floods, tornados and hurricanes combined.


  • The 2003 August heatwave killed over 14,000 (mostly) elderly people in France and 2,000 in England and Wales.


  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of many US cities that operate a 'buddy' system during a heat wave. A designated person in each street checks on elderly and vulnerable people. The city also has a 'heatline' - a special telephone number which can be used by those falling ill from the heat.


  • The US summer of 1995 was so hot that by the end of August, methane started to emit within bales of freshly cut hay causing them to spontaneously combust.


  • Prolonged hot weather brings with it a downturn in work productivity. Over 75 per cent of British workers say a heat wave hampers their ability to work effectively and more than half admitted to taking 'sun-bathing' days. Skin cancer is one of the fastest rising cancers in Britain with around 50,000 new cases each year.


  • Following the British drought of 1976, the birth rate dropped to a record low, proving that the advice of the most popular car sticker of the year was not being followed: 'Save Water, Take a Bath with a Friend'. Studies have also shown that more boys than girls are likely to be conceived during a heat wave.

  • A 1988 New York heat wave saw the murder rate increase by 75 per cent. Some early criminologists factored in the weather when looking for the causes of crime. In 1842 a Belgian mathematician concluded 'Crimes against property reach a maximum in winter months, and crimes against the person and against morals, in the summer months.' Researchers examining the 1968 US Riot Commission Report believed that collective violence and aggression increased when temperatures passed 85 degrees Fahrenheit.


  • A 1986 US study also showed reports of Domestic Violence peaked at the same time each year as maximum temperatures in five locations around the nation.


  • The highest recorded world temperature was 136 degrees Fahrenheit in Al Aliziyah, Libya, on 13 September 1922.


  • There are three main definitions of drought: meteorological: a prolonged period with less than average rainfall; agricultural: when there is insufficient moisture for successful crop production; and hydrological: when available water reserves fall below the average due to increased consumption.


  • Of all the natural disasters to befall our planet, drought resulting in famine is by far the biggest cause of death. In 1936 25 million people starved to death in the Sichuan Province of China. The African Horn faces an almost continuous battle with drought and famine. Other consequences of drought include disease, loss of agricultural production, social unrest, war, ground desertification, mass migration and wildfires.


  • In 1976 millions of households in England and Wales had their water supply cut between the hours of 7pm and 8am and standpipes were a regular sight in many parts. Forest fires were a daily occurrence with soldiers being drafted in to help the Fire Service. As the ground dried out, £600 million worth of insurance claims were filed due to subsidence and agriculture suffered £500 million worth of failed crops.


  • The 1991 - 1992 Subsaharan drought covered 6.7 million square miles and affected 110 million people.


  • During the 1976 drought, a group of Surrey housewives constantly harassed the grounds men of the local golf club until they turned off their sprinklers. Patriots were easy to spot - they had dirty cars and even dirtier children. Oh, and British Rail stopped washing their trains.
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