New IPCC Report on Climate Change
With July being recorded as the hottest month on earth ever, and Europe recording record temperatures, with wild fires raging across Greece, Turkey and Italy, is this really due to climate change?
In July, a US federal scientific and regulatory agency reported that the combined land and ocean-surface temperature was 0.93C (1.68F), which is above the 20th century average of 15.8C (60.4F). This is the highest temperature since record-keeping began 142 years ago.
Why are some European countries being affected more than others?
These countries front the Mediterranean Sea and geographically they are situated on the subtropical ridge. Meteorologically, they have less cloud cover, having more sun exposure during the summer months. These subtropical areas are characterised by hot summers and mild winters.
Italy has just recorded the Mediterranean’s highest temperatures ever – 48.8C in Sicily. This was in the same week that the IPCC released its most recent study on climate change. It warns of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade.
The UN chief said that this report “is a code red for humanity”. Scientists say a worldwide catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast, with cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases being able to stabilise rising temperatures.
“If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses. I count on government leaders and all stakeholders to ensure COP26 is a success.” UN Secretary General António Guterres
Why is our earth warming up?
Our earth is now in a period of rapid climate change, with global temperatures rising because of human activities, such as the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Scientists have found that since 1970, global surface temperatures have risen faster than in any other 50 year period over the past 2,000 years. This rapid warming is now affecting the weather and climate extremes we are seeing around the world – heatwaves in the Mediterranean and western North America and floods in Germany and China.
What is the impact of climate change?
Climate change will transform the way people live, causing water shortages and making it harder to produce food. Some regions could become dangerously hot and others uninhabitable because of rising sea levels.
There will be an increase in extreme weather events – heatwaves, downpours and storms – which will become more intense and frequent. People living in the world’s poorer countries will suffer the most as they are the least able to adapt.
Sea levels are rising due to fast melting Polar ice and glaciers. As permafrost (frozen ground) melts then the greenhouse gas, methane, is released into the atmosphere.
As habitats change, some species will be able to move and adapt to new locations, but as climate change is happening so rapidly many species which are unable to adapt are likely to become extinct.
We are already seeing the effects in Europe, but many African nations are also threatened as they are likely to suffer droughts and food shortages.
What can we do?
Many countries are adopting targets to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero by about 2050. This means any emissions would be balanced out by absorbing an equivalent amount – such as by planting more trees.
We can reduce our reliance on cars, insulate our homes, eat less meat and dairy, stop using single use plastics, and use more sustainable energy sources for cooking and heating, which will halt deforestation.
Key points from the IPCC report
- The global surface temperature was 1.09C higher in the decade between 2011-2020 than between 1850-1900
- The past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850
- Recent rises in sea level rates has nearly tripled compared with 1901-1971
- Human influence is thought to be 90% of the main driver of global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s, with a decrease in Arctic sea-ice
- They are ‘virtually certain’ that hot extremes, including heatwaves, have become more intense and more frequent since the 1950s, whilst cold events have become less frequent and less severe
The report says that warming has made changes to many of our planetary support systems, which are irreversible on timescales of centuries to millennia. Our oceans will continue to warm and become more acidic. Mountain and polar glaciers will continue melting for decades or centuries. This is leading to a rise in sea levels, with flooding threatening millions of people living in coastal and low lying areas. Scientists suggest that a rise of around 2 metres by the end of this century cannot be ruled out.
A rise in the earth’s temperate could rise by 1.5C by 2040. If emissions aren’t dramatically reduced in the next few years, then this will happen even earlier. A previous report had predicted a rise of 1.5C by 2018, and their latest study has now confirmed this. A further rise means even more intense and more frequent heatwaves.
How rising temperatures can be halted
If we can cut global emissions in half by 2030, and reach net zero by the middle of this century, we can halt and possibly reverse these rise in temperatures. Reaching net zero involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using clean technologies, then burying any remaining releases using carbon capture and storage, or absorbing them, such as by planting more trees.
The IPCC Report
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group of scientists whose findings are endorsed by the world’s governments. Their report is the first major review of the science of climate change since 2013. The report comes less than three months before a key climate summit in Glasgow known as COP26 which begins on 31 October 2021. You can read the full IPCC report at www.ipcc.ch