children born today are expected to endure “unprecedented sequences of climate extremes” over the coming decades, as global warming continues to rise, along with sea levels across the globe. According to the report, they will encounter 7 times more heat waves, 2.8 times more floods, 2.6 times more droughts and twice the number of wildfires as people born six decades ago.
“The consequence of children suffering unprecedented sequences of climate extremes over the course of their lives can now be attributed to the inaction of today’s adults,” Dr Joeri Rogelj, co-author of the report, noted. “It also shows how much can be gained by ambitious emissions reductions.”
The figures were reached after an analysis of the lifetime exposure to heat waves, floods, droughts, cyclones and wildfire by every generation born between 1960 and 2020. The researchers also compared the potential climate threats that would be encountered by generations alive today with the pre-industrial climate conditions experienced by a hypothetical person who lived at the end of the 19th Century.
Their findings revealed that 3°C warming would mean 36 times more heat waves, five times more droughts, three times more river floods and twice the number of wildfires and tropical cyclones will be experienced by a child who is 7 years today.
“This basically means that people younger than 40 today will live an unprecedented life even under the most stringent climate change mitigation scenarios,” Professor Wim Thiery from Vrije Universiteit in Brussels said. “Our results highlight a severe threat to the safety of young generations and call for drastic emission reductions to safeguard their future.”
