Search icon

News

15th Aug 2018

Scientists predict this year’s heatwave should be expected every year until at least 2022

Rory Cashin

Not so much a heatwave, as a constant heat cycle for the foreseeable future.

How did you feel about the UK’s 2018 heatwave?

Some felt it went on too long, some felt it got a little too hot, and others had no complaints because the higher temperatures essentially saved on having to go on any holiday because why would you when it was so sunny here?

The rest of Europe had it much worse than we did, with parts of Portugal, Spain, and Greece reaching record highs, as temperatures hovered around 50 degrees for days and weeks on end.

Anyone hoping that 2018’s summer was a one-off, it looks like we’ve got some bad news for you as air temperature will be “abnormally high” for the foreseeable future.

In a study led by Dr Florian Sevellec from the University of Brest in France, it is predicted that we should be anticipating these heat waves for at least the next five summers:

“For 2018 to 2022, the probabilistic forecast indicates a warmer than normal period, with respect to the forced trend (of global warming).

“This will temporarily reinforce the long-term global warming trend. The coming warm period is associated with an increased likelihood of intense to extreme temperatures.”

So yeah. If you’ve got some leftover suncream from this summer, it might be wise not to throw it out just yet.