Deadly Disasters Here To Stay: Climate Report Offers Starkest Warnings Yet
Major climate-driven natural disasters -- once rare -- should now be considered the norm and will get worse, according to a United Nations report. World leaders are urged to take steps to mitigate the human toll.
The Boston Globe:
With The Window To Act Narrowing, A Stark Report From The World’s Climate Experts
The Earth’s climate is warming at a faster rate than previously thought, and with greater and more widespread consequences, according to a landmark report by the world’s top climate scientists. The window for decisive action to avoid the worst consequences is still open, the report concludes, but just barely, as the planet approaches the watershed mark of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures a decade earlier than expected. In a summer marked by catastrophic wildfires, a deadly heat dome, and unprecedented flooding, this report, issued by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, shows how humanity’s burning of fossil fuels is driving changes to the planet’s climate unseen for thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of years. (Shankman, 8/9)
AP:
'Nowhere To Run': UN Report Says Global Warming Nears Limits
Earth’s climate is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent, according to a report released Monday that the United Nations called a “code red for humanity.” “It’s just guaranteed that it’s going to get worse,” said report co-author Linda Mearns, a senior climate scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.” But scientists also eased back a bit on the likelihood of the absolute worst climate catastrophes. (Borenstein, 8/9)
Politico:
‘Get Scared’: World’s Scientists Say Disastrous Climate Change Is Here
Additions to the report not found in previous assessments were included in response to political demands as climate change-driven extreme weather events battered towns, torched crops and upended livelihoods. That included new research in the analyses using cutting-edge scientific methods to compare the intensity of specific weather events with and without human-caused emissions, as well as modeling the predictions on regional climate effects. The additions reflect both the advancement of the science and the political urgency of the moment, authors said. (Colman and Mathiesen, 8/9)
