As Europe sizzles, UN warns heatwaves will happen more often until 2060s
- The UN’s World Meteorological Organization believes that heatwaves are to become the norm during summer months
- Several countries in Europe are facing a sharp heatwave this week, with temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius
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UK and Europe swelter as record-breaking temperatures grip the continent amid heatwave
Heatwaves like the one stifling western Europe are becoming more frequent and the trend is set to continue until at least the 2060s, the United Nations has warned.
The current heatwave should act as a wake-up call for countries pumping ever more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said.
“They are becoming more frequent and this negative trend will continue... at least until the 2060s, independent of our success in climate mitigation efforts,” WMO chief Petteri Taalas told a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Thanks to climate change we have started breaking records... In the future these kinds of heatwaves are going to be normal, and we will see even stronger extremes,” he added.
“Emissions are still growing and therefore it’s not sure that we would see the peak in the 2060s if we are not able to bend this emission growth development, especially in the big Asian countries which are the largest emitters.”
The WMO held a joint press conference with the World Health Organization, its sister UN agency, about the fierce heatwave hitting western Europe.