Study: Heat extremes every second year may be felt in most countries

This file photo taken in 2015 shows emus looking for food in the dry earth near the Australian agricultural town of Walgett, 650km northwest of Sydney. Australia is set to experience more heatwaves, with record-breaking hot weather becoming "normal" across the continent. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP

Almost every country on Earth could experience extremely hot years every other year by 2030, according to new research highlighting the outsized contribution of emissions from the world's major polluters.

The modelling study combined data on historical emissions and pledges made before the COP26 climate summit for cuts from the top five emitters – China, the United States, the European Union, India and Russia – to make regional warming predictions by 2030.

The researchers found that 92% of 165 countries studied are expected to experience extremely hot annual temperatures, defined as a once-in-one-hundred-year hot year in the pre-industrial era, every two years.