London will have a climate similar to that of Barcelona today by 2050, according to new research, but the change could bring severe drought. The study, published in the journal Plos One, analysed 520 major cities and found that nearly 80% will experience dramatic and potentially disastrous changes due to global heating.
Madrid will feel like present-day Marrakech by 2050, Stockholm like Budapest, and Moscow like Sofia. In the US, Seattle will resemble San Francisco, and New York will be comparable to Virginia Beach. The researchers created an interactive map showing hundreds of cities and their 2050 counterparts.
Water shortages are expected to affect many cities currently in temperate climates. Barcelona experienced extreme drought just over a decade ago, costing tens of millions of euros to import drinking water. London and similar latitudes are likely to face the same problems in the future.
About a fifth of cities globally, including Jakarta, Singapore, Yangon and Kuala Lumpur, will experience conditions not seen in any major cities today. Tom Crowther, founder of the Crowther Lab in Switzerland, which carried out the research, said this unprecedented level of change 'blew my mind'. He warned of new political and infrastructure challenges.
Professor Richard Betts of the Met Office Hadley Centre said without knowing whether new climate conditions are liveable elsewhere, it is harder to know if people can adapt or will need to move. The UK's Committee on Climate Change recently said the government was completely unprepared for the likely repercussions of the climate crisis.
