Editing Heat wave (section)

== Impacts on the environment ==

=== Wildfires ===
A heat wave occurring during a drought can contribute to bushfires and wildfires. This is because a drought dries out vegetation, so it is more likely to catch fire. During the disastrous heat wave that [[2003 European heatwave|struck Europe in 2003]], fires raged through Portugal. They destroyed over {{convert|3010|km2|sqmi}} of forest and {{convert|440|km2|sqmi}} of agricultural land. They caused about €1 billion worth of damage.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bell |first=M. |author2=A. Giannini |author3=E. Grover |author4=M. Hopp |author5=B. Lyon |author6=A. Seth |date=September 2003 |title=Climate Impacts |work=IRI Climate Digest |publisher=[[The Earth Institute]] |url=http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/cid/Sep2003/impacts.html |access-date=28 July 2006}}</ref> High end [[Farmland (farming)|farmland]]s have irrigation systems to back up [[crop]]s.

=== Floods ===
Heat waves can also contribute to flooding. Because hot air is able to carry more moisture, heatwaves may be followed by extreme rainfall especially in [[Middle latitudes|mid-latitude]] regions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sauter |first1=Christoph |last2=Fowler |first2=Hayley J. |last3=Westra |first3=Seth |last4=Ali |first4=Haider |last5=Peleg |first5=Nadav |last6=White |first6=Christopher J. |date=2023-06-01 |title=Compound extreme hourly rainfall preconditioned by heatwaves most likely in the mid-latitudes |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094723000166 |journal=Weather and Climate Extremes |volume=40 |pages=100563 |doi=10.1016/j.wace.2023.100563 |bibcode=2023WCE....4000563S |issn=2212-0947}}</ref> For example, the record-breaking heat wave that afflicted Pakistan beginning in May 2022 led to glacier melt and moisture flow. These were factors in the [[2022 Pakistan floods|devastating floods]] that began in June and claimed over 1,100 lives.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Clarke |first1=Ben |last2=Otto |first2=Friederike |last3=Harrington |first3=Luke |title=Pakistan floods: what role did climate change play? |url=http://theconversation.com/pakistan-floods-what-role-did-climate-change-play-189833 |access-date=2022-09-04 |publisher=The Conversation |date=2 September 2022 }}</ref>

=== Wild animals on land ===
Researchers have predicted that roughly 10-40% of all land vertebrate species will be affected by heat waves by 2099, depending on the amount of future greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Murali |first1=Gopal |last2=Iwamura |first2=Takuya |last3=Meiri |first3=Shai |last4=Roll |first4=Uri |date=March 2023 |title=Future temperature extremes threaten land vertebrates |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05606-z |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=615 |issue=7952 |pages=461–467 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05606-z |pmid=36653454 |bibcode=2023Natur.615..461M |issn=1476-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Heatwaves present an additional form of stress and [[evolutionary pressure]] for species that already deal with habitat loss and climate change.

Species have a thermal [[Shelford's law of tolerance|range of tolerance]] that describes the temperatures where they perform best. Temperature conditions that are outside of this range may experience decreased fitness and the inability to reproduce.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Physiological Optima and Critical Limits |work= Scitable |url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/physiological-optima-and-critical-limits-45749376/ |access-date=2024-04-19 |publisher=Nature |last1=Miller|first1=N. A. |last2=Stillman|first2=J. H.  |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Cullum |first=A. J. |title=Tolerance Range |date=2008-01-01 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ecology (Second Edition) |pages=640–646 |editor-last=Fath |editor-first=Brian |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444637680005564 |access-date=2024-04-26 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-64130-4}}</ref> The species with sufficient genetic variation will be able to ensure some individuals can survive frequent days of high temperatures in the future.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-19 |title=Extreme heat triggers mass die-offs and stress for wildlife in the West |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/extreme-heat-triggers-mass-die-offs-and-stress-for-wildlife-in-the-west |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=Animals |language=en}}</ref>

===Oceans===
[[Marine heatwave]]s may cause mass mortality in fish populations, especially for species that are better adapted to cooler temperatures.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Kathryn E. |last2=Burrows |first2=Michael T. |last3=Hobday |first3=Alistair J. |last4=King |first4=Nathan G. |last5=Moore |first5=Pippa J. |last6=Sen Gupta |first6=Alex |last7=Thomsen |first7=Mads S. |last8=Wernberg |first8=Thomas |last9=Smale |first9=Dan A. |date=2023-01-16 |title=Biological Impacts of Marine Heatwaves |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-marine-032122-121437 |journal=Annual Review of Marine Science |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=119–145 |doi=10.1146/annurev-marine-032122-121437 |bibcode=2023ARMS...15..119S |issn=1941-1405|hdl=11250/3095845 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Species that have adapted to warmer temperatures may expand their range during a heatwave. These invasive species may outcompete the native species that experience higher mortality during a heatwave, which disrupts ecosystem functioning.<ref name=":03" /> Marine heatwaves have also been correlated with negative impacts on [[foundation species]] such as coral and kelp.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smale |first1=Dan A. |last2=Wernberg |first2=Thomas |last3=Oliver |first3=Eric C. J. |last4=Thomsen |first4=Mads |last5=Harvey |first5=Ben P. |last6=Straub |first6=Sandra C. |last7=Burrows |first7=Michael T. |last8=Alexander |first8=Lisa V. |last9=Benthuysen |first9=Jessica A. |last10=Donat |first10=Markus G. |last11=Feng |first11=Ming |last12=Hobday |first12=Alistair J. |last13=Holbrook |first13=Neil J. |last14=Perkins-Kirkpatrick |first14=Sarah E. |last15=Scannell |first15=Hillary A. |date=April 2019 |title=Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0412-1 |journal=Nature Climate Change |language=en |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=306–312 |doi=10.1038/s41558-019-0412-1 |bibcode=2019NatCC...9..306S |issn=1758-6798|hdl=2160/3a9b534b-03ab-4619-9637-2ab06054fe70 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>