Is Global Warming a Crisis?

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While current-day global warming impacts might seem subtle, future environmental, economic, and social catastrophes are imminent as a result of the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions that have already occurred. Further irreversible damage will depend on whether future emission rates will excel, stay the same, or decline. If emission rates continue to rise, average global temperatures may skyrocket by as much as 10 degrees Celsius. However, even if emissions dip, temperatures will still rise, and future alterations in our climate and landscape will require extensive mitigation and adaptation.

A global temperature increase of 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius would expose up to 30 percent of all animal and plant species to possible extinction. With an increase of 3.5 degrees, that percentage is between 40 and 70 percent. Hurricanes and cyclones will occur with more frequency and intensity, along with widespread drought, flooding, and wildfires. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Caribbean Reef will cease to exist. Semi-arid regions will gradually turn into deserts.

Economic and social crises will emerge in every region of the world. By 2020, 75 to 250 million people in Africa will be exposed to water stress, which will lead to further famine, food shortages, and starvation. In Southeast Asia, flooding will occur regularly and trigger widespread disease. Ancient European glaciers will disappear as summer wildfires become routine. The outer layers of the Amazon will turn into a giant savanna, and biodiversity in the region will collapse. The western United States will suffer from drought, and coastal cities will be forced to install sea walls to protect their populations from rising sea levels.

We can begin now by working to mitigate the damage we have already created, or we can continue our downward spiral with dire and unequivocal consequences.