article_snippet: The chances of heatwaves in Europe have dramatically increased in the past decade as a result of warming temperatures, experts have said.
article_snippet: Extremely warm summers that would be expected to occur twice a century in the early 2000s are now likely to happen twice a decade, a study from the Met Office found last year.
article_snippet: The chances of extreme heatwaves, such as the one in 2003 which led to tens of thousands of deaths across Europe, have also increased tenfold, from a one in 1,000 year event to around one in a century.
article_snippet: By the 2040s, such extreme heatwaves could happen every other year if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, according to the research published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
article_snippet: Despite a slowdown in rising global temperatures since the late 1990s, a study from the Met Office found summer temperatures in central and Mediterranean Europe affected by the 2003 heatwave had increased by 0.81°C (1.4°F) between the 1990s and the period 2004 to 2013.
article_snippet: They say this may be a sign that the regional temperatures are being influenced by more complex feedback systems and may explain why extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods and cold spells are happening more irregularly.
article_snippet: Heatwaves, like the one above hitting Brighton Beach, have become harder to predict because temperatures patterns across Europe have become more irregular, according to the new research by climate scientists .
article_snippet: A large number of extreme weather events such as prolonged cold spells, heatwaves, droughts and floods have been recorded around the world in the past 10 years. '