Countries in Europe could suffer 50C 'Lucifer' heatwaves if carbon emissions keep rising

Countries in Europe could suffer 50C ‘Lucifer’ heatwaves every three years if carbon emissions keep rising, experts warn

  • Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect ‘Lucifer’ heatwaves by 2100
  • Professor Peter Scott said the chances of the ‘extreme events’ continue to rise 
  • It comes as world leaders come together for negotiations at Cop26 in Glasgow


Europe will see extreme 50C heatwaves every three years if greenhouse gases continue rising, the Met Office has warned.

Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect ‘Lucifer’ heatwaves to take place by 2100, it said. 

Professor Peter Stott told BBC’s Panorama: ‘The increasing chances of these extreme events continue to rise.’

Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect 'Lucifer' heatwaves to take place by 2100, the Met Office has warned (stock image)

Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect ‘Lucifer’ heatwaves to take place by 2100, the Met Office has warned (stock image)

The heatwaves were first named in Italy in 2017, called ‘Lucifero’, when a heatwave swept southern Europe with temperatures above 40c.

In August 2021, Italy, reported another, which was a European record high temperature of 48.8C.

Professor Stott from the Met Office said: ‘We can be more confident than we’ve ever been about linking extreme weather events to climate change.

‘The science is clear that the faster we reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, the more we can avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.’

Scientists have said there needs to be a global goal to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C (stock image)

Scientists have said there needs to be a global goal to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C (stock image)

The new analysis comes as leaders and policy makers from across the world come together for negotiations at Cop26 in Glasgow.

Several countries have outlined pledges at the conference, including India, which announced it would cut emissions to net zero by 2070, China, which has said it will achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 and a net zero commitment by 2050 from Vietnam.

Scientists have said there needs to be a global goal to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C and to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

source: dailymail.co.uk