Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Five-year forecast paints a troubling picture of extreme weather and
deadly heat
10 years ago at the UN climate summit in Paris, 190 countries agreed to
limit global warming to 2.0 degrees Celsysus, preferably 1.5 degrees, warmer
than the time before the Industrial Revolution when humans started burning a substantial
amount of planet-heating fossil fuels, so-called the Paris Agreement. However, the
planet has experienced the 10 warmest years, and last year, it crossed the 1.5-degree
threshold. Now, meteorologists predict there is a 70% chance that global warming
will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, and even a higher chance that we’ll experience
the hottest year on record in the next five years. As the planet warms, sea ice
and glaciers in polar regions melt, causing further sea level rise. Also,
glaciers in high mountains collapse and destroy settlements in valleys, like
Blatten in Switzerland (Vol. 4788). China, the largest emitter of warming gases,
has been promoting new energy vehicles (NEVs) and extending its high-speed railway
network to reduce fossil fuel emissions. However, the US, the second-largest warming
gas emitter, decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement again. The world
seems likely to experience warmer temperatures, more extreme weather conditions,
and further sea level rise in the coming years.
Read the article and learn how the planet has been and will be warming.
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