‘Damned if we do but completely stuffed if we don’t’: heatwaves will worsen longer net zero is delayed

Australian scientists say heatwaves will be hotter, longer and more frequent the later net zero is reached globally. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Heatwaves will become hotter, longer and more frequent the later net zero emissions is reached globally, new research suggests.

Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, simulated how heatwaves would respond over the next 1,000 years, examining the differences for each five-year delay in reaching net zero between 2030 and 2060.