Met Office forecasts 5°C hike in temperatures by 2100
Belgium’s Met Office has published a big new report in which it warns about the way the Belgian climate will be disturbed in coming years. The outlook is for even more intense heatwaves, new rainfall patterns and higher average temperatures that could be 5°C higher by 2100. Only if we arrest global warming can the most pessimistic forecasts be reversed the scientists warn.
“Climate Report 2020” paints a picture of a future in which heatwaves are more common and last longer. Met Office climate scientist Rozemien De Troch says a shift towards extremely high temperatures is already noticeable. In the cities the heat island effect is an additional factor: heat does not disappear due to the prevalence of stone and concrete.
In Brussels there could be a three-fold increase in heatwaves by 2100. Their intensity as well as their length are set to double. In rural areas the impact will be less pronounced.
Greater rainfall is anticipated during the winters around 2100 with droughts during the summer months becoming more common. Winters will be markedly wetter. Intense rainfall will become more frequent. Rain will build up and won’t be able to disappear so easily in the ground.
Climate expert Jean-Pascal Van Ypersele says everybody is talking about the second corona wave, but another wave is also on the horizon. Climate change poses an even greater threat to humanity”.
The expert suggests reducing greenhouse gases should feature far more prominently on the political agenda: “Our scenarios are pessimistic, but we can still file off the rough edges.”
Drastic action is needed: due to the corona crisis C02 emissions are up to 7% lower, but the impact on global warming is negligible.