Heat is on kids born in 2020

AUSTRALIAN children born in 2020 will experience four times as many heatwaves, three times as many droughts, and far more bushfires and floods as those born in 1960, new international research has found.

The children of 2020 born in other countries will face even tougher climate challenges, the report to be published on Monday in the journal Science revealed – and that’s just under a scenario of a world that’s warmer by 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The most recent UN climate report found the planet had already heated up by just over one degree, but forecasts of future warming vary.

Many think the opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5C is fading.

Ella Simon, 15, (inset) who has helped organise some of the School Strike for Climate protests in Australia in recent years, said many older people still didn’t grasp the urgency of climate change, or the anxiety it creates in young people.

“This isn’t some far-off issue that’s going to happen; it’s happening now,” Ella said.

“This is putting everyone at risk.”

The Melbourne school student will this week represent Australia as the youngest delegate – she turned 15 on Sunday – at an international youth environment forum in Milan.

Ella said she was looking forward to meeting other delegates and hearing about the different ways climate change was affecting people around the world.

“I want to see our leaders being called out,” she said.