Pollution boosts risk of heatwave
RISING global temperatures caused by human activity are raising the risk of heatwaves in the northern hemisphere, scientists warn.
Temperatures have topped 30C in the Arctic Circle and heatwaves have hit parts of Siberia and North America.
Professor Peter Stott, Met Office science fellow in attribution, likened the increased chances of a heatwave to rolling a dice and getting a six – but climate change is weighting
the dice. He said: “What we’ve seen this summer is repeated throws throwing up a six in different parts of the world. If you get a six over and over again you start to think, ‘This is not normal, somebody has given me a loaded dice’.”
Global temperatures have risen around 1C above pre-industrial levels as a result of greenhouse gases from activities such as burning fossil fuels, while increases in the Arctic have been much greater.