The State of the Climate | New WMO report is yet another wake-up call

What are the indicators being reported on? 

When we think of climate change indicators, we tend to mainly think about Arctic ice loss. And while that’s more prevalent than ever, with the Greenland ice sheet having lost approx 3,600 gigatons of ice mass since 2002, there’s many more we need to sit up and pay attention to.

Scientists have turned to the ocean for a range of indicators that climate change is having unprecedented impacts. Coral bleaching, reduced levels of oxygen in the oceans, and sea level rise are all key alarm bells.

Sea levels continue to increase with global average sea level rising 3.7mm higher in 2018 than the previous year. There’s also the loss of “Blue Carbon” associated with coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes that is worrying scientists.

“This report highlights the increase in the rate of sea-level rise, and this is a real concern for those living in low-lying coastal areas, for both developed and developing countries,” said Dr Sally Brown, a research fellow at the University of Southampton.

The interconnections between climate and air quality are also being exacerbated by climate change. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of people exposed to heatwaves was estimated to have increased by around 125 million.

In 2018, most of the natural hazards which affected nearly 62 million people were associated with extreme weather and climate events. Floods continued to affect the largest number of people; more than 35 million. The Indian state of Kerala suffered the heaviest rainfall and worst flooding in nearly a century. Furthermore, half a billion more people, including Canada and parts of northern Europe could be newly exposed to mosquito-transmitted diseases such as yellow-fever, zika and dengue within 30 years as a result of the warming climate, according to a new study, unless we take combative action on global warming.

 

What should we do?

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C will require rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities. The global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050 if we are to limit the impacts on society and nature.

Rainforest must take centre-stage in any action taken. Tropical forest forms incredible ecosystems and offers incomparable natural carbon mitigation. These features must be acknowledged and protected if we are to rapidly reduce atmospheric carbon levels. The Congo Basin rainforest alone is estimated to store in the equivalent of 85 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

It’s not easy to be optimistic when reading these reports. But we can make a difference; not only in protecting rainforest and reducing emissions but also in helping to increase the resilience of the communities who are already facing the effects of climate change.

By focusing on tropical deforestation, Cool Earth is addressing one of the most important global issues, and by supporting rainforest communities, you will be empowering the people that are capable of making a real and lasting difference.

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