Children Born After 2020 Expected to Experience Up To 7 Times More Extreme Weather Events

Children Born After 2020 Expected to Experience Up To 7 Times More Extreme Weather Events

Children Born After 2020 Will Experience Up To 7 Times More Extreme Climate Events.

According to a new study, Children born in 2020 will experience two to seven times as many extreme climate events than those born in 1960.

The study, published in the journal Science, warns that extreme weather events are expected to continue rising in frequency, intensity and duration.

The study's authors warn that this leaves children of younger generations facing a "severe threat" to their safety.

The study took into account extreme climate events such as heat waves, droughts, crop failures, floods, wildfires and tropical cyclones.

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Researchers used recent data from a 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

That report included information on global life expectancy, population trends and projected trajectories of global temperatures.

The forecasts for how these events could drastically impact younger generations were startling.

The scientists compared a person born in 1960 to a child who was six years old in 2020.

The six-year-old will experience twice as many cyclones and wildfires, three times as many river floods, four times as many crop failures and five times as many droughts.

Heat waves, though, will be the most prevalent extreme climate event, with 36 times as many occurring for the six-year-old.

The study shows that extreme weather events could affect younger generations in various regions of the world differently.

People who were younger than 25 years old by 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa will likely experience more exposure to extreme climate events compared to other regions.

The researchers say overall, younger generations living in lower income countries will experience the worsening climate at a higher rate than their peers in wealthier countries.

The data from the study show how limiting the increase in global warming and adapting policies that align with the Paris Climate Accords are beneficial, the researchers argue.

But even then, younger generations are still left with "unprecedented extreme event exposure," they write