Western Europe heatwave made 10 times more likely by climate change, study finds

An international study published Monday by the World Weather Attribution network found that the extreme heatwave currently affecting Western Europe is directly linked to human-caused climate change. The researchers calculated that if the same weather system had occurred in 1976, daytime temperatures would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius lower and nighttime readings about 2.4 degrees cooler. Theodore Keeping of Imperial College London said global temperatures have risen by 1.1 degrees over the past 50 years, sharply increasing the probability of a heatwave of this intensity. Friederike Otto, also of Imperial College, said the movement of air masses was not unusual, but the recorded temperatures were exceptional and consistent with human-caused climate change. The researchers reported that such heatwaves are now roughly ten times more likely during daytime hours and about a hundred times more likely at night compared with 2003. The study also concluded that the El Niño natural climate cycle in the Pacific has had no measurable effect on the current heatwaves.