Babies born in Europe are projected to experience almost twice as much extreme fire weather as their great-grandparents if climate action does not accelerate, according to a new study. Researchers found that a child born in Europe in 2025 will be exposed to three more years of brutally fire-conducive weather over their lifetime than someone born in 1950, based on global heating under current policies.
The study indicates that under current policies, which are expected to result in 2.6C of warming, children born today could experience 84% more exposure to extreme fire weather than those born in 1950. The increase is attributed 86% to climate change and 14% to people living longer.
The number of days with the most severe conditions for fires is expected to rise fastest in the Mediterranean. Generation Beta, born from 2025, is projected to face five more years of lifetime exposure to extreme fire weather in this region than boomers, born in the two decades after the second world war.
Rosa Pietroiusti, a climate researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and lead author of the study, stated that severe fire weather is a "necessary but not sufficient condition" for extreme fires. She added that meteorological conditions are an important element of fire risk, influencing the possibility of fires being super-destructive, difficult to control, and spreading rapidly.