'Code red for humanity' as crisis threatens permanent change
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Aug 9, 2021 4:54 PM EDT
|
Updated Aug 12, 2021 9:41 AM EDT
A group of scientists says climate change is intensifying rapidly and directly contributing to extreme heat waves and unprecedented wildfires.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new climate change report on Monday, and its findings coincide with what many experts have warned about human activity and its link to severe weather events and global warming. Experts at the IPCC billed the report as "a code red for humanity."
The report from the IPCC, a group that was created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide comprehensive information on climate change, supports the theory that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a strong link to rising temperatures on Earth and the growing impacts of climate change. "Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible," the IPCC said on Twitter, announcing the report's arrival.
"The report is written by many, many authors that come together to assess a large body of literature," Earth Scientist Claudia Tebaldi said. The report was divided into multiple chapters, and Tebaldi co-authored one of the chapters on climate change's regional impacts and risk assessment.
According to Hoesung Lee, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the findings of the report reveal that climate change has impacts within every single region on Earth. The report also reveals that a "strong, rapid, sustained reduction" in greenhouse gas emissions is needed in order to curb global warming, Lee told AFP.
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2020, file photo, fire consumes land recently deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil. The season of Brazilian forest fires has begun, and early data plus severe drought is sparking concern that nationwide destruction in 2021 will stay at the high levels recorded in the past two years, despite efforts to tamp down the blazes. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
"It is indisputable that human activities are causing climate change and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe," Lee said.
Since the year 1850, humans have released 2.39 trillion tons of CO2 into the Earth's atmosphere. The global average temperature has risen 2.27 degrees Fahrenheit since that year, Climate Central reports. Since the year 2000, the global average temperature has risen by an entire degree.
A projection showing how temperatures will continue to rise if mitigation measures aren't taken. (Climate Central)
The report from Monday has built upon 30 years of previous assessments from the IPCC. Each report so far has cited human activity as a reason CO2 concentrations are increasing and warming the planet.
"The main conclusion of this report is that climate change is getting worse and it's coming down the track faster than expected," John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace U.K., said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"We can see the heat dome over California; we can see the wildfires across Greece and Turkey. We can see the floods from Germany to China; we can see the fires out of control in Siberia," Sauven told AFP. "All of these things, the scientists are saying are more likely and are more extreme and will occur more frequently, the more emissions that we put into the atmosphere."
FILE - In this July 15, 2021, file photo the Ahr river floats past destroyed houses in Insul, Germany. Due to heavy rainfall, the Ahr river dramatically went over the banks the evening before. The mayors of three German towns badly hit by last month's deadly floods are appealing for more help from the state and federal governments, saying the disaster caused billions of euros (dollars) worth of damage. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)
Previous predictions from IPCC reports coincide with current weather patterns in the United States, such as the unprecedented heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that became fatal last month and the worsening drought and wildfire predicament across the West. Historic flooding across Europe this year also led to nearly 200 deaths.
"They're far more certain about the human impact on these extreme events than they were, say, seven or eight years ago," Sauven said.
Sauven explained that the nations within the G20 -- which is comprised of 19 countries and the European Union -- need to commit to finding a way to cut emissions in half by 2030. However, some large countries in the G20, such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Australia, have yet to produce any sort of major plan to actually cut down on emissions.
A white band of newly exposed rock is shown along the canyon walls at Lake Powell near Antelope Point Marina on Friday, July 30, 2021, near Page, Ariz. It highlights the difference between today's lake level and the lake's high-water mark. This summer, the water levels hit a historic low amid a climate change-fueled megadrought engulfing the U.S. West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
"Scientists can publish these reports," Sauven said, "but ultimately the action has to be led by governments.
The Paris Agreement from 2015 made a commitment to keep temperatures below the global average of 2 degrees Celsius, with a goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report released on Monday now reveals that the nations within the Paris Agreement are quickly losing their window to reach that goal.
In the year 2020, the observed global temperature change was inching closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius. (Climate Central)
The report strayed away from making recommendations on how government leaders and individuals can make positive changes, but Tebaldi said she hopes the information provided in the report instead opens doors for policymakers to make "informed decisions" on climate change mitigation.
"The messaging here is that we need to do something about this if we want to avoid the detrimental effects that we already experience," Tebaldi said.
"We have to aspire to limit warming as much as possible," Tebaldi continued. "Every little bit we do makes this extreme less likely."
Reporting by Bill Wadell
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News / Weather News
'Code red for humanity' as crisis threatens permanent change
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Aug 9, 2021 4:54 PM EDT | Updated Aug 12, 2021 9:41 AM EDT
A group of scientists says climate change is intensifying rapidly and directly contributing to extreme heat waves and unprecedented wildfires.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new climate change report on Monday, and its findings coincide with what many experts have warned about human activity and its link to severe weather events and global warming. Experts at the IPCC billed the report as "a code red for humanity."
The report from the IPCC, a group that was created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide comprehensive information on climate change, supports the theory that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a strong link to rising temperatures on Earth and the growing impacts of climate change. "Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible," the IPCC said on Twitter, announcing the report's arrival.
"The report is written by many, many authors that come together to assess a large body of literature," Earth Scientist Claudia Tebaldi said. The report was divided into multiple chapters, and Tebaldi co-authored one of the chapters on climate change's regional impacts and risk assessment.
According to Hoesung Lee, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the findings of the report reveal that climate change has impacts within every single region on Earth. The report also reveals that a "strong, rapid, sustained reduction" in greenhouse gas emissions is needed in order to curb global warming, Lee told AFP.
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2020, file photo, fire consumes land recently deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil. The season of Brazilian forest fires has begun, and early data plus severe drought is sparking concern that nationwide destruction in 2021 will stay at the high levels recorded in the past two years, despite efforts to tamp down the blazes. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
"It is indisputable that human activities are causing climate change and making extreme weather events more frequent and severe," Lee said.
Since the year 1850, humans have released 2.39 trillion tons of CO2 into the Earth's atmosphere. The global average temperature has risen 2.27 degrees Fahrenheit since that year, Climate Central reports. Since the year 2000, the global average temperature has risen by an entire degree.
A projection showing how temperatures will continue to rise if mitigation measures aren't taken. (Climate Central)
The report from Monday has built upon 30 years of previous assessments from the IPCC. Each report so far has cited human activity as a reason CO2 concentrations are increasing and warming the planet.
"The main conclusion of this report is that climate change is getting worse and it's coming down the track faster than expected," John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace U.K., said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"We can see the heat dome over California; we can see the wildfires across Greece and Turkey. We can see the floods from Germany to China; we can see the fires out of control in Siberia," Sauven told AFP. "All of these things, the scientists are saying are more likely and are more extreme and will occur more frequently, the more emissions that we put into the atmosphere."
FILE - In this July 15, 2021, file photo the Ahr river floats past destroyed houses in Insul, Germany. Due to heavy rainfall, the Ahr river dramatically went over the banks the evening before. The mayors of three German towns badly hit by last month's deadly floods are appealing for more help from the state and federal governments, saying the disaster caused billions of euros (dollars) worth of damage. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)
Previous predictions from IPCC reports coincide with current weather patterns in the United States, such as the unprecedented heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that became fatal last month and the worsening drought and wildfire predicament across the West. Historic flooding across Europe this year also led to nearly 200 deaths.
"They're far more certain about the human impact on these extreme events than they were, say, seven or eight years ago," Sauven said.
Sauven explained that the nations within the G20 -- which is comprised of 19 countries and the European Union -- need to commit to finding a way to cut emissions in half by 2030. However, some large countries in the G20, such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Australia, have yet to produce any sort of major plan to actually cut down on emissions.
A white band of newly exposed rock is shown along the canyon walls at Lake Powell near Antelope Point Marina on Friday, July 30, 2021, near Page, Ariz. It highlights the difference between today's lake level and the lake's high-water mark. This summer, the water levels hit a historic low amid a climate change-fueled megadrought engulfing the U.S. West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
"Scientists can publish these reports," Sauven said, "but ultimately the action has to be led by governments.
The Paris Agreement from 2015 made a commitment to keep temperatures below the global average of 2 degrees Celsius, with a goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report released on Monday now reveals that the nations within the Paris Agreement are quickly losing their window to reach that goal.
In the year 2020, the observed global temperature change was inching closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius. (Climate Central)
The report strayed away from making recommendations on how government leaders and individuals can make positive changes, but Tebaldi said she hopes the information provided in the report instead opens doors for policymakers to make "informed decisions" on climate change mitigation.
"The messaging here is that we need to do something about this if we want to avoid the detrimental effects that we already experience," Tebaldi said.
"We have to aspire to limit warming as much as possible," Tebaldi continued. "Every little bit we do makes this extreme less likely."
Reporting by Bill Wadell
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