LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - "Mega-heatwaves" like the one that hit Russia and other parts of eastern Europe last year are up to 10 times more likely to occur over the next 40 years and could have serious consequences, scientists said on Thursday.

In a study published in the journal Science, researchers from Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and Spain said the 2010 heatwave was hotter and more widespread than Europe's 2003 heatwave, but another one like it was unlikely until after 2050.

In a speech to Spanish lawmakers and military leaders,

From his perch as chief economist for the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol is virtually shouting his global warming predictions from the Paris rooftops.

Unless the United States, Europe, China, India and the other emerging economies get on a crash course to slash greenhouse gases, Birol contends, world leaders can simply forget about one of their oft-talked-about goals: stabilizing the average global temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius.

By JUSTIN GILLIS

New government figures for the global climate show that 2010 was the wettest year in the historical record, and it tied 2005 as the hottest year since record-keeping began in 1880.