Scientists Will Give Names to Extreme Heat Waves After Crowning the First 'Zoe'
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Extreme heat waves will now be given names after scientists decided to call the recent heat wave in Seville, Spain "Zoe."
An associate professor at Sevilla University — José María Martín Olalla — shared Zoe was recorded from July 24 to 27, when the temperatures in the area reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit, according to USA Today.
Due to the hot temperatures that the locals endured this summer, a program called the proMETEO Sevilla Project was launched in June to bring awareness to the public about the heat waves with the support of Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center of the Atlantic Council — a Washington-based research center and nonprofit organization.
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Martín Olalla told the outlet that the experts from the group created the name and a category system to "prevent the hazards of exposure to the heat during the afternoon."
In the naming process, scientists usually switch between female and male names starting backward in alphabetical order.
This year, Sevilla appeared to be experiencing a long period of hot weather compared to the past, with temperatures surpassing 106 degrees for about two weeks.
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"Every summer there are some days in Seville with temperatures above this threshold," Martín Olalla shared. "It is not incredibly rare."
"In this sense, what is incredibly rare was the amount of days above the threshold," he added.
TIME reported the purpose of naming the heat waves is to attract the public's attention, just like the same measures were applied to hurricanes disaster in the U.S. The system is expected to become a model for other countries and governments.
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Heat waves have also been hitting the U.S. this year, with states such as Seattle and Portland setting new records for high temperatures (107 and 115 degrees, respectively). Meanwhile, Phoenix has seen a temperature of 118 degrees, and Palm Spring residents have had to endure 123-degree heat.