Heatwaves becoming hotter and longer, accelerating faster than global warming

Climate change will not only make heat waves hotter and longer, but will also cause their duration to increase at an accelerating pace with every additional fraction of a degree of global warming, according to new research.The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that the longest and rarest heat waves, some lasting for weeks, are likely to see the biggest increases in both duration and frequency as the planet continues to warm.Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Santiago, Chile, found that each additional increment of warming will have a greater impact on extending heat waves than the previous one.“Each fraction of a degree of warming will have more impact than the last,” said David Neelin, a UCLA climate scientist and senior author of the study. The findings underline the urgent need to accelerate adaptation planning.