[ad_1]
The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization has released another grim report this week on the state our planet. Four of the seven major climate factors will disappear in 2021. indicators – a set of parameters that hold key information about Climate Change – set “alarming” new records.
According to the WMO, this is a “clear indication” that humans are having “harmful and lasting” effects around the world. The report found that greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification all set new records last year. The report also showed that the last seven years were the warmest ever recorded.
In a press conference about the findings, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that the records set are “alarming” and that the findings portray a “dismal litany of humanity’s failure to tackle climate disruption.”
“I will give you the bottom line – the global energy system is broken and bringing us ever closer to climate catastrophe. He said that fossil fuels were a dead end both economically and environmentally. “… The only sustainable future is one that is renewable.”
These are the new indicators and what they signify as humanity fights the climate crisis.
Concentrations of greenhouse gasses
Global warming and climate change are largely caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The most potent greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. This is mainly released into the atmosphere by burning coal, natural gas or oil. The greenhouse gases cause the atmosphere to thicken, trapping heat. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce global warming.
These gases reached new highs in 2020, and the latest report shows that three gases in particular – carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and atmospheric methane – continued to increase in 2021. Scientists were particularly concerned about atmospheric methane, the second-largest contributing factor to global warming.
NOAA scientists reported last month, that this gas saw an increase in 17 parts per million in 2021. Largest annual increaseRecorded since 1983 when they started measuring and an average of 162% higher than pre-industrial levels.
WMO published a report last summer that found that cutting human-caused Methane by By 2030, 45% would have a substantial impact on global warming and keep it to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. This would avoid nearly 0.3°C of warming by the 2040s, researchers said, and prevent 255,000 premature deaths, 775,00 asthma-related hospital visits and 26 million tons of global crop losses.
Ocean heat
A higher level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere can lead to more carbon dioxide in our oceans, which can have a devastating effect on our global systems. According to WMO’s report about the oceans, around 90% of Earth’s heat is stored there. As the planet gets warmer, so does the ocean.
In 2021, ocean heat reached a new record.
The oceans’ top 2,000m were particularly affected by the warming. Scientists believe it will continue to do so. They say it is “an irreversible change on centennial to millennium time scales.”
Heat can cause heat stroke. Cascading effect, contributing to sea level rise, marine heat waves, coral bleaching and ice melting — threatening marine ecosystems, fisheries and the ability for people to live near coastlines.
Sea level rise
Sea level rose at an average rate of 4.5 millimeters annually in 2021 due to a warming ocean. This record-breaking rise was also driven by a warming ocean. Scientists believe it was more than twice the rate recorded over the seven-year span 1993 to 2002. It was mostly due to the rapid melting sea ice.
Scientists said that the rise has occurred almost everywhere in the globe since 1993, but it is not an equally distributed phenomenon. Many regions have been affected by a rate “substantially quicker” than the global average, especially the west Tropical Pacific, Southwest Pacific. North Pacific, Southwest Indian Ocean and South Atlantic.
Scientists at WMO stated that this has significant implications for coastal dwellers, numbering in the hundreds of millions, and increases vulnerability to tropical storms.
Since 1880, ocean levels have risen between 8-9 inches and NOAA scientists believe that this rate is only accelerating. Accelerating. The WMO’s average rate is much higher than that reported in their report, which averaged 3.6 mm per year between 2006 and 2015.
NOAA models predict that the average increase for the contiguous U.S. by 2100 could be more than 7 feet, based on a continuous high output of greenhouse gasses and rapid sea ice melt.
Ocean acidification
The ocean absorbs almost a quarter of the annual carbon dioxide emissions that humans produce. This slows down the increase in greenhouse gas levels, but has a negative effect on the ocean. According to the latest report, the ocean has become more acidic in the last 26,000 years.
The ocean becomes more acidic, making it more difficult to absorb carbon dioxide. This can lead to rapid global warming.
AcidificationThe ocean has a huge impact on billions of people around the world who depend on it for their food, money, and protection. The pH level of water drops, which weakens corals and creates corrosive environments for some marine life. This threatens marine ecosystems, which impacts roughly 20% of the world’s population. It also affects tourism and coastal protection against rising seas.
Finding the right solution
Guterres reiterated that the world must abandon fossil fuels and accelerate the transition towards renewable energy “before incineration of our only home.”
He stated, “We don’t have a second to lose.” “…Time runs out.
Gutteres stated that the task of transforming the world’s energy system is “low-hanging fruit” because many technologies, such as wind and solar are already available and much cheaper than coal or other fossil fuels.
He proposed to his wife on Wednesday five “Critical” action stepsThese can be used to: make renewable energy more accessible to all; improve global accessibility to renewable energy components; reform domestic policies to streamline renewable energy projects; eliminate fossil fuel subsidies to renewable energy; and to encourage the world to invest at minimum $4 Trillion per yearInvest in renewable energy until 2030
Petteri Taalas (WMO chief) said in a StatementIt’s only a matter of time before the world sees another grim record caused by climate change.
“Our climate is rapidly changing.” He warned that the planet will be heated by the heat trapped in human-induced greenhouse gases for many generations. “Unless carbon-removing methods are developed, sea level rise, ocean heat, and acidification will not stop for hundreds of years.”
