Youngsters born over the next decade will face living through seven times more heatwaves than their grandparents says research published in a leading scientific journal.
The analysis from Science magazine, put together by an international team of climate researchers comes ahead of the pivotal Cop26 global summit which is set to take place in Glasgow in November.
The predictions are based on countries maintaining their current climate pledges, which according to the report will not do enough to limit global heating to 1.5C. The scientific research studied projections of extreme weather, with the basis that climate change will increase the likelihood of weather events such as flooding, wildfires, drought, heatwaves and the inevitable crop failures.
“Our results show that newborns will face a sevenfold increase in exposure to extreme heatwaves across their lifetime relative to their grandparents,” Prof Wim Thiery, the study’s lead author told The Independent.
“We also find that people who are under 40 today will live an unprecedented life in terms of exposure to heatwaves, droughts, crop failure, and river floods – even under the most ambitious climate policies.”
Human influenced climate change is already having a major impact on current weather patterns, with a report published earlier this summer finding that a crippling heatwave in the United States was 150 times more likely due to climate change.
Children in low and lower-middle income countries are among the most vulnerable people when it comes to rising climate extremes,” said Prof Thiery.
“If we manage to drastically reduce our emissions in the coming years, we can still avoid the worst consequences for children worldwide.
“For example, we can cut the intergenerational burden by at least 40 per cent if we increase current ambition levels and limit global warming to 1.5C.”
