According to a study in mid-July, heat waves in Great Britain are likely to occur much more frequently due to climate change.
Using computer models, an international team of researchers compared recent temperatures more than 40 degrees below the current climate to a world without the 1.2 degree global temperature increase since the late 19th century. The result suggests that climate change, driven by man-made greenhouse gases, makes such an intense heatwave at least ten times more likely.
21 researchers from Germany, Great Britain and the USA, among others, who have come together in the World Weather Attribution Group, came to this published result. So-called attribution research examines whether and to what extent extreme weather events can be attributed to global warming. On July 19, more than 40 degrees Celsius were measured in England for the first time. The heat led to disruptions in local public transport, and it is estimated that hundreds died as a result of the heat.
In Europe and other parts of the world, there are more and more record-breaking heat waves that have gotten hotter faster than most climate models predict, said German climate researcher Friederike Otto, who works at Imperial College London, according to a statement. "It's a worrying finding that suggests that the impact of climate change on Europe's already extremely deadly extreme heat could be even worse than we previously thought if CO2 emissions aren't cut quickly." said Otto.
According to the scientists, the extreme temperatures in Great Britain are also higher than previously modeled. This could mean that climate change will lead to even more heat waves. In the current climate, temperatures of more than 40 degrees are still rare in the area. But they would be "almost impossible" without climate change.
