THE EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data shows that the world is dangerously close to a critical climate threshold in 2023, when global warming hits 1.48 degrees Celsius and makes it the warmest year ever recorded. Scientists are alarmed and warn that the world is approaching the 1.5-degree limit that the Paris Agreement in 2015 tries to avoid as heat records keep falling in 2023. C3S releases the data and an analysis, which indicates that global warming worsens at the start of this year, predicting that a 12-month period ending in January or February will likely surpass 1.5 degrees.
These figures are not just numbers, but indicators of the devastating impacts of climate change on our planet and our lives. We have witnessed the extreme events that have resulted from the rising temperatures, such as the Pakistan 2022 flood that killed 1700 people and caused $31 billion in losses, the unprecedented wildfires that ravaged Australia, California, and Siberia, the melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers, the rising sea levels and coastal erosion, the droughts and famines, the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, and the spread of diseases and pests. These are not isolated incidents, but signs of a systemic crisis that threatens our very existence. If we do not act now, we will face even worse consequences in the future. 2024 is also predicted to be another year as hot as 2023. This implies that everything humans do – our urban areas and villages, our transport systems, our agriculture – have never faced such a hot climate. If we continue on this path, the year 2024, which set a new record for heat, might soon be seen as a cool year. One another study that estimates the carbon emissions of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, which started on 7 October 2023. The study finds that Israel’s military actions generated over 99% of the 281,000 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the first 60 days, while Hamas’ rockets generated only 713 tonnes. The study also highlights the environmental impact of the war and the need for more transparency and accountability of military greenhouse gas emissions.
The main other reason why 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded was the rising amount of greenhouse gases in the air that keep heat in. These gases are produced by burning coal, oil and natural gas. Other reasons include the natural El Nino — a short-term heating of the central Pacific that changes weather globally — other natural variations in the Arctic, southern and Indian oceans. Some of the effects of climate change are more extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, heat waves, wildfires, storms and hurricanes. These can have negative impacts on human health, food security, water availability, biodiversity and ecosystems. Climate change also threatens the peace and safety of countries and areas. To avoid the most severe consequences of climate change, the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable and clean energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal. The 2015 Paris climate accord aims to limit the global temperature rise to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels. However, the current pledges and actions by countries are not enough to achieve this goal. Therefore, more ambitious and urgent action is needed from all rich countries to combat climate change and its effects.
—The writer is contributing
columnist, based in Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
