Nobel Prize-winning panel of scientists has warned that the deadly heatwaves that hit India and Pakistan in 2015 could become yearly events -- if global temperatures rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (C) compared to pre-industrial levels.
Nobel Prize-winning panel of scientists has warned that the deadly heatwaves that hit India and Pakistan in 2015 could become yearly events -- if global temperatures rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (C) compared to pre-industrial levels.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, specifically names Kolkata and Karachi in a new report. These two cities, could expect annual conditions equivalent to their 2015 heatwaves if temperatures cross the 2 degree mark, the IPCC report says.
The panel says the Earth is soon likely to be 1.5 degrees C hotter than it was in pre-industrial times -- that's if global warming "continues to increase at the current rate". How soon? "Between 2030 and 2052".
What does the 1.5, 2 degree figures mean?
Get this: The report summary says a rise of 1.5 degrees C would still carry climate-related risks, both for nature and humankind. Can we limit warming to that number? It's "possible within the laws of chemistry and physics" but "would require unprecedented changes", says Jim Skea, the co-chair of an IPCC working group.
Now, the Earth is already warmer by 1 degree C compared to pre-industrial times. The 2015 Paris climate agreement's goal was to "keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees C", and to "drive efforts to limit" temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C.
'Life or death'
An Associated Press article poignantly captures what the IPCC said in its "gloomy" report: That "preventing an extra single degree of heat" -- meaning the 2 degrees C mark -- "could make a life-or-death difference in the next few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems on this fast-warming planet."
Now, how different would the world look if we managed to limit man-made warming to half-a-degree, instead of 1 degree C? Here is AP's summary of the report's observations:
"Half as many people would suffer from lack of water. There would be fewer deaths and illnesses from heat, smog and infectious diseases. Seas would rise nearly 0.1 meters less. Half as many animals with back bones and plants would lose the majority of their habitats. There would be substantially fewer heat waves, downpours and droughts. The West Antarctic ice sheet might not kick into irreversible melting. And it just may be enough to save most of the world's coral reefs from dying."
The road ahead
How do we limit warming to the lower target of 1.5 degrees C? The IPCC report says we need "rapid and far-reaching" changes in energy systems, land use, city and industrial design, transportation and building use. What's more, greenhouse gas emissions need to drop. Annual carbon dioxide pollution levels need to be reduced by 50 per cent in 12 years, and be near zero by 2050.
The task ahead is "monumental", says Natalie Mahowald, a lead author on the report.
"This is our chance to decide what the world is going to look like."
Inputs from AP and Reuters
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, specifically names Kolkata and Karachi in a new report. These two cities, could expect annual conditions equivalent to their 2015 heatwaves if temperatures cross the 2 degree mark, the IPCC report says.
The panel says the Earth is soon likely to be 1.5 degrees C hotter than it was in pre-industrial times -- that's if global warming "continues to increase at the current rate". How soon? "Between 2030 and 2052".
What does the 1.5, 2 degree figures mean?
Get this: The report summary says a rise of 1.5 degrees C would still carry climate-related risks, both for nature and humankind. Can we limit warming to that number? It's "possible within the laws of chemistry and physics" but "would require unprecedented changes", says Jim Skea, the co-chair of an IPCC working group.
Now, the Earth is already warmer by 1 degree C compared to pre-industrial times. The 2015 Paris climate agreement's goal was to "keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees C", and to "drive efforts to limit" temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C.
'Life or death'
An Associated Press article poignantly captures what the IPCC said in its "gloomy" report: That "preventing an extra single degree of heat" -- meaning the 2 degrees C mark -- "could make a life-or-death difference in the next few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems on this fast-warming planet."
Now, how different would the world look if we managed to limit man-made warming to half-a-degree, instead of 1 degree C? Here is AP's summary of the report's observations:
"Half as many people would suffer from lack of water. There would be fewer deaths and illnesses from heat, smog and infectious diseases. Seas would rise nearly 0.1 meters less. Half as many animals with back bones and plants would lose the majority of their habitats. There would be substantially fewer heat waves, downpours and droughts. The West Antarctic ice sheet might not kick into irreversible melting. And it just may be enough to save most of the world's coral reefs from dying."
The road ahead
How do we limit warming to the lower target of 1.5 degrees C? The IPCC report says we need "rapid and far-reaching" changes in energy systems, land use, city and industrial design, transportation and building use. What's more, greenhouse gas emissions need to drop. Annual carbon dioxide pollution levels need to be reduced by 50 per cent in 12 years, and be near zero by 2050.
The task ahead is "monumental", says Natalie Mahowald, a lead author on the report.
"This is our chance to decide what the world is going to look like."
Inputs from AP and Reuters