The Nerve-Racking Truth About Climate Change
- Potpourri
- Sep 27, 2019
- 2 min read
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report initiated in Monaco focuses on the immediacy of prioritizing timely, ambitious and coordinated action to address unparalleled and persistent ocean and cryosphere changes.
The report's results indicated that major changes in high altitude mountains are hampering the lifestyle in the downstream communities and adversely affecting the glaciers, snow, ice, and permafrost.
This will maximize people's risks through landslides, avalanches, rockfalls and floods.
Report also mentioned that, under elevated emission scenarios, lower glaciers discovered in Europe, East Africa, the tropical Andes and Indonesia are expected to lose more than 80% of their present ice volume by 2100.
This will also have an impact and change downstream water availability and quality, with consequences for many industries such as agriculture and hydro power.
A report by India Today warned the worldwide communities of melting ice and increasing sea level.
It suggests glaciers and ice sheets in polar and mountain areas are losing mass, contributing to the development of the hotter ocean to an growing pace of sea level rise.
During the last century, sea level has risen by 15 cm, worldwide. Currently, it is rising 3.6mm per year, that is, twice as fast. And report says, it is accelerating.
For another ten centuries, the sea level could continue to rise. By 2100, the sea level could reach around 30-60 cm even if greenhouse gas emissions are remarkably reduced and global warming is limited to below 2°C. But around 60-110 cm if greenhouse gas emissions still continue to heighten sharply.
Reports show that, these changes in the environment will be exposed to accelerating flood risks. Because of climate changes in ocean and cryosphere, some island nations are likely to become uninhabitable, reports revealed.
As told to India Today, subsequently increases in tropical cyclone winds and rainfall are exacerbating extreme sea level events and coastal hazards. If greenhouse gas emissions do not reduce, problems will further be intensified by an increase in the average intensity, the magnitude of storm surge and precipitation rates of tropical cyclones.
According to the IPCC report, the ecosystem of sea is also changing rapidly. To date, more than 90% of the excess heat in the ecosystem has been taken up by the ocean. By 2100, the ocean will take up four times more heat than between 1970 and the present if global warming is limited to 2°C, and up to 7 times more at higher emissions. The report also stated that the ocean warming reduces mixing between water layers and, as a consequence, the supply of oxygen and nutrients for marine life will be threatened.
However, IPCC report findings also highlighted that highly remarkable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, protection and restoration of ecosystems, and careful management of the use of natural resources would possibly make it convenient preserve the ocean and cryosphere.
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