After Covid, next big killer could be heat waves

PARIS: Searing, unrelenting heat scorches large swathes of the Earth, killing millions who have no means to escape. Shade is useless, and shallow bodies of water are warmer than the blood coursing through people's veins.

This is a scene from a new sci-fi novel, but the suffocating horror it describes may be closer to science than fiction, according to a draft United Nations report that warns of dire consequences for billions if global warming continues unchecked.