According to a report released on Sept. 27 by the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world is getting warmer and humans are to blame.
Every six years, the distinguished IPCC convenes and compiles the report which is considered by many a benchmark on the topic of climate change. This edition of the report is eye-opening as it asserts that scientists are more confident than ever that global warming and climate change are real.
More specifically, the report states that climate scientists are “95 percent confident” that humans are responsible for at least “half of the observed increase in global average surface temperatures since the 1950s.” That is a dramatic spike considering scientists were only 66 percent confident in 2001 and 90 percent confident in 2007 as previously reported by the IPCC.
The report also mentions that an “unprecedented” increase in carbon dioxide concentrations and increases in other various emissions have caused average global temperatures to rise about one degree Fahrenheit since 1950. It is difficult to disregard that as false because if you think about it, over that time, populations have grown, more cars have taken to the roads and societies have continued to industrialize, thus leading to more carbon dioxide emissions.
If we continue down this path, worst case predictions show that by the year 2100, temperatures could rise by almost seven degrees. Now, seven degrees may not sound like much; however, an average temperature increase around the globe by that amount would be catastrophic. Just a one degree increase in average temperature around the Earth since 1950 has caused a dramatic surge in extreme weather, especially record heat and precipitation.
It is difficult to link climate change over the last sixty years or so to specific events. However, overall patterns indicate that global warming is associated with extreme weather. For example, the rise in sea levels and intensification of storm surges has and will continue to lead to an increase in the size and intensity of storms.
According to the IPCC report, scientists are 90 percent confident that between the years 1981-2010, the planet was the warmest it has ever been over the span of the last eight centuries. It states, “Each of the last three decades has been significantly warmer than all preceding decades since 1850.”
Between 1901 and 2010, the combined land and ocean temperature increased by approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius. However, from 1979 to 2010, the temperature rose 0.5 degrees Celsius. The report expressed if the global surface temperature increases by two degrees Celsius over current temperatures, the Earth would witness “a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean.” In addition, the report stated that based on tide measurements and satellite data, it is “unequivocal” that the world’s sea level is rising with ice sheets losing mass, glaciers shrinking, and the overall Arctic sea ice diminishing.
The evidence is clearer than it has ever been. Steady global warming around the planet is quite real and we are the reason for the majority of it. The dramatic rise in temperatures over the past several decades correlates perfectly with the fact that humans have caused more and more carbon dioxide emissions to be released during that time from sources such as cars and factories.
The most discouraging aspect of the report indicates that our negative impact on the planet has gone too far and is irreversible within our lifetimes. “Many aspects of climate change will persist for centuries even if concentrations of greenhouse gases are stabilized. This represents a multi-century commitment created by human activities today,” the IPCC report stated. Simply put, even if we stop our carbon dioxide emissions today, the consequences will remain for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It is time to make this issue a leading priority among all humans because soon enough, it will be too late.