WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- This year's record-breaking worldwide heat wave is likely a preview of coming attractions, scientists say.
Using a new method for predicting global temperatures, researchers concluded that 2018-2022 may be even hotter than expected.
While global warming appeared to have eased early in the 21st century, the new forecasting method points to the likelihood of abnormally high average air temperatures worldwide.
Among other things, that could lead to an increase in tropical storm activity, explained Florian Sevellec, a CNRS researcher and an associate professor of ocean physics at the University of Southampton, in England. CNRS is the French National Center for Scientific Research.
The new forecast comes during a summer that has seen record-breaking heat on every continent. Temperatures have even neared 90 degrees Fahrenheit as far north as the Arctic Circle.
Right now, the forecast only yields an overall average temperature, but scientists hope to adapt it to make regional predictions.
In addition, researchers hope to be able to use it to forecast precipitation and drought trends, they noted in a CNRS news release.
The study was published Aug. 14 in the journal Nature Communications.
More information
The World Health Organization explains how climate change threatens health.