Climate change will bring chaos to Europe by the year 2051, according to a new study that examined the impact of extreme weather events on the continent.
Experts analysed likely changes in flooding, droughts and heatwaves for all European cities using all available climate models.
Worsening heatwaves are predicted for all 571 cities studied, as well as increasing drought conditions, particularly in southern Europe.
An increase in river flooding, especially in north-western European cities like London, was also forecast in simulations.
Researchers from Newcastle University looked at projections from all models associated with the high greenhouse gas emissions scenario RCP8.5.
The team showed results for three possible futures which they called the low, medium and high impact scenarios.
The British Isles has some of the worst overall flood projections.
Even in the most optimistic case, 85 per cent of UK cities with a river – including London – are predicted to face increased river flooding.
For the high scenario, half of UK cities could see at least a 50 per cent increase on peak river flows.
The cities predicted to be worst hit under the high impact scenario are Cork, Derry, Waterford, Wrexham, Carlisle and Glasgow and for the more optimistic, low impact, scenario are Derry, Chester, Carlisle, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Newcastle.
By 2051 to 2100, for the low impact scenario, cities in the south of Iberia, such as Malaga and Almeria, are expected to experience droughts more than twice as bad as in 1951 to 2000.
While for the high impact scenario, 98 percent of European cities could see worse droughts in the future.
Even the most optimistic prediction, the low impact scenario, predicts both the number of heatwave days and their maximum temperature will increase for all European cities.
Southern European cities will see the biggest increases in the number of heatwave days, while central European cities will see the greatest increase in temperature during heatwaves.
Central European cities will see the greatest increase in temperature during heatwaves – between 2°C (3.6°F) to 7°C (12.6°F) for the low scenario and 8°C (14.4°F) to 14°C (25.2°F) for the high scenario.
For changes in droughts and floods, the cities which are affected depend on the scenario.
For the low impact scenario, drought conditions only intensify in southern European cities while river flooding only worsens in north-western ones.
Of the European capitals, Dublin, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius and Zagreb are likely to experience the most extreme rise in flooding.
For the high impact scenario, several European cities could see more than 80 per cent increases on peak river flows.
Stockholm and Rome could see the greatest increase in number of heat-wave days while Prague and Vienna could see the greatest increase in maximum temperatures during heat-waves.
Lisbon and Madrid are in the top capital cities for increases in frequency and magnitude of droughts, while Athens, Nicosia, Valleta and Sofia might experience the worst increases in both drought and heatwaves.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
