Can we expect more heatwaves in the future?

Directly attributing heatwaves to climate change is tricky, but experts are broadly in agreement that heatwaves will increase in both severity and number during the coming years.

“No one should be in the slightest surprised that we’re seeing very serious heatwaves and associated impacts in many parts of the world,” explained Professor Rowan Sutton, a climate scientist at the University of Reading.

“An increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves has been a robust prediction of climate change science for decades.”

Since Britain's record breaking heatwave in 1976, there have been four others that have rivalled it in magnitude – in 1995, 2003, 2006 and now 2018. The world has on average warmed by around 1C since the 19th century, and this is not expected to stop as long as nations continue emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.