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The temperature of the world is rising
The average temperature of the Earth has increased by 1°C since before the industrial era. But that’s just the average increase.
Many areas of the world have warmed much more than this:
Southern California has warmed by almost 2°C .
West Africa, parts of Russia and some regions in Brazil have warmed by 2.5°C since 1900.
Arctic temperatures have increased by 2°C to 3°C.
And the 7 hottest years ever recorded all occurred in the last 6 years : 2016 and 2020, 2019, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2014 were the hottest years since temperature records began over 150 years ago!
We have to remember that the changes we are already seeing due to our warming world are based on just a 1°C rise in the world’s average temperature. Yet the changes are already widespread and substantial.
By 2100, on our current path, the world’s average temperature is likely to increase 4 to 5 times more than this, by 4° to 5°C above its pre-industrial level.
The impacts would be catastrophic.
Even worse, if uncertainties concerning how the climate may react to rising temperatures are included and emissions continue to increase, then by 2100 the world’s average temperature could rise even higher, with a range of up to almost 8°C above its pre-industrial temperature.
Even a 2°C increase in the world’s average temperature will decimate our planet.
To protect the Earth, its species and people, we need to limit the increase in the world’s average temperature to 1.5°C to avoid catastrophic climate change. But we are NOT on course to do this.
We are on course to raise the world’s temperature up to 4°C or more this century .