Scientists wary of a warming planet and an upcoming instability
Climate Change illustration
What you need to know:
- In Africa, the effects of rising temperatures have been felt.
- The State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report shows that the rate of temperature increase in Africa has accelerated in the recent times, with climate-related hazards becoming severe.
A new report says the earth’s climate is staring unprecedented dangers as human activities continue to push planet towards “dangerous instability”.
The report, titled The 2023 State of the Climate Report: Entering Uncharted Territory, cites a number of climate events in 2023 to support its findings, including warm ocean temperatures, heat waves across the globe and low levels of sea ice surrounding the Antarctica.
The study, published recently in the journal Bioscience, indicated that so far in 2023, there have been 38 days with global average temperatures more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
In Africa, the effects of rising temperatures have been felt. The State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report shows that the rate of temperature increase in Africa has accelerated in the recent times, with climate-related hazards becoming severe.
For instance, the Horn of Africa experienced the worst drought in more than four decades, and despite the improved rains in the recent months, the impact left by these climatic events are likely to persist for a long time.
Scientists have warned that high water stress is estimated to affect hundreds of millions of people in Africa, and four out of five African countries are unlikely to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030.
Though the study indicates that anthropogenic activities are the key drivers of recent extreme climate events, non-human factors like water vapour effects from an underwater volcano and the El Niño global climate pattern are also partially to blame.
According to the research, the highest average earth surface temperature ever recorded was in July, which may be the highest surface temperate the planet has experienced in the last 100,000 years.
According to the research, although the consumption of renewable energy (solar and wind) grew by 17 per cent between 2021 and 2022, it remains roughly 15 times lower than fossil fuel energy consumption, a clear indication that there has been minimal progress to stop the impacts of anthropogenic climate change.
The research was a joint effort of a team that included scientists from the United States, Australia, Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, and the Netherlands who say that action must be taken now to avert further extreme climate impacts.
