The hottest July in history followed the hottest June in history, and experts believe that the past few years have been the warmest on record in more than 125,000 years.
Burning enough fossil fuels to increase global average temperatures by around 1.2C since the Industrial Revolution is what has caused this heat acceleration.
Global Warming
According to recent predictions from Climate Action Tracker, the average global temperature will rise by around 2.7C by 2100 notwithstanding all current emissions-reduction measures adopted by governments around the globe.
An estimate of 2.8C for the end of the century was created by a different team at the UN. The issue is obvious: despite all of our efforts to slow global warming, the current weather is outpacing them. The battle against heat is being lost by humans.
- Hottest July and June in history.
- Climate Action Tracker predicts a global temperature rise of 2.7C by 2100.
- Unequal distribution of suffering; wealthy nations protect 40%; nations must adapt.
Moving to clean energy would be relatively inexpensive compared to the costs associated with these extreme weather events, but climate policy is not keeping up with the rate at which climate change is accelerating.
Running faster just becomes more challenging and expensive as the effects of further warmth accumulate. According to a 2018 study published in Lancet Planetary Health, if the world warms by 3C, as many as 50 million individuals could regularly experience temperatures that their bodies are ill-equipped to withstand.
The distribution of suffering would be incredibly unequal, with 40% of people in wealthy nations being protected from the negative effects that individuals in less wealthy nations will experience with an increase of just 1.5C in temperature. To encourage developing technologies to stay competitive, nations will need to step in.
