Climate scientist warns Norway faces more extreme weather

Norway must prepare for more drought, heat and intense local rainfall, climate scientist Erik Kolstad tells Dagbladet, which reports that extreme weather is worsening in several parts of the world.

In Tangerang, Indonesia, stones are visible on the riverbed after water levels fell during a drought partly linked to El Niño, according to AFP. The prolonged dry season has contributed to extreme drought and threatens food security in several parts of the country.

Kolstad, who works at NORCE and the Bjerknes Centre, says Indonesia is among the areas most exposed to drought when El Niño occurs.

Europe’s heatwaves and droughts have a different explanation, he says. The French newspaper Le Monde has described a summer marked by three heatwaves, record temperatures, drought and wildfires, while Kolstad links the conditions to global warming rather than El Niño.

Heatwaves in Europe are becoming increasingly common and have serious health consequences, particularly for older people. Le Monde reported that French health authorities had recorded more than 2,000 additional deaths compared with normal levels by the end of June.

Kolstad also warns that the trend could affect Norwegian holidaymakers. People travelling to southern Europe in July or August should be aware of the risk of very high temperatures, wildfires, evacuations and poor air quality, he says.

Although Norway does not experience the same temperatures as southern Europe, Kolstad says the country should expect more drought-like conditions. He points to the dry summer of 2018, which severely affected agriculture in eastern Norway.

Higher temperatures can also produce heavier rain, increasing the risk of local landslides and flooding. Norway’s temperature record of 35.6 degrees Celsius nearly fell this summer, Kolstad says, adding that it is likely to be broken eventually.

Kolstad says climate scientists have warned about these developments for many years and argues that society has not done enough to prepare.

“It is too late to avert dangerous climate change. We can already see that, and it will not stop here. This is only a process that has barely begun,” he tells Dagbladet.