Over three billion people vulnerable to climate change: IPCC report
The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celcius.
The United Nations on Monday released the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that stated that 3.6 billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change. The report identifying human-induced action as the prime cause of climate change stated that it is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world.
The report is the latest in a series by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) detailing the latest global consensus on climate science. This report, however, focuses on how nature and societies are being affected and what they can do to adapt.
People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres said, "I've seen many reports, but nothing like the new IPCC climate report, an atlas of human suffering & a damning indictment of failed climate leadership. I know people everywhere are anxious & angry. I am, too."
The report added to its warning saying that the world faces multiple unavoidable climate hazards over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celcius, stating that some of the consequences of this rising temperature will be irreversible. " Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible," the report states.
Extreme weather events becoming frequent
The report further said that increased heatwaves, droughts, and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These extreme weather events have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, on the Small Islands, and in the Arctic.
"Accelerated action is required to adapt to climate change, at the same time as making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions," the IPCC report urged.
IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee said, "This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction. It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our well-being and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”
Cities at higher risk
The report documents climate change impacts, risks, and adaptation in cities, where more than half the world’s population lives. The report found that people’s health, lives, and livelihoods, as well as property and critical infrastructure, including energy and transportation systems, are being increasingly adversely affected by hazards from heatwaves, storms, drought, and flooding.
“Together, growing urbanization and climate change create complex risks, especially for those cities that already experience poorly planned urban growth, high levels of poverty and unemployment, and a lack of basic services,” Debra Roberts said in a statement. The report found increasing evidence of adaptation that has caused unintended consequences.
The report clearly states Climate Resilient Development is already challenging at current warming levels. It will become more limited if global warming exceeds 1.5°C (2.7°F). In some regions, it wil be impossible if global warming exceeds two degrees Celcius.
What had previous reports found?
The first working group's report released in August last year had also warned of dangerous trends, saying that Earth will hit the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius warming in two decades. The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) 'Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis' said every region in the world is witnessing irreversible changes in climate due to human influence.
The report said that for 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, there will be increased heat waves, longer warm seasons, and shorter cold seasons. At 2 degrees Celsius of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health.