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photo by Matt Palmer

15 Scary Facts about Climate Change

Every year, global warming sets new records, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The temperature of our planet is at its highest point in 800,000 years. Also, humans are consuming more resources than the planet can replenish.

There are connections between how climate change affects many societal sectors. Human health and food products can be harmed by drought. Flooding can cause infrastructural and ecosystem damage as well as the spread of disease. Human health problems can raise mortality, affect the availability of food, and reduce worker productivity.

Every part of the world we live in is being affected by climate change. Yet, the effects of climate change are not uniform throughout the nation and the world; even within a single town, the effects of climate change might vary between neighborhoods or people. Underserved communities, which frequently have the highest risk of hazards and the fewest resources to address them, might become increasingly vulnerable as a result of long-standing socioeconomic imbalances.

Here are some of 15 Scary Facts about Climate Change according Discovery Walks 

1. Almost a million species are in danger of going extinct

photo by Matt Palmer

Although it’s normal for 5 species to become extinct each year, we’re currently losing up to 10,000 times that amount, which translates to hundreds of species dying out every single day.

Due to the extinction of natural predators like frogs and spiders, the quality of the water and the security of the food supply are also lowered as a result of this loss of biodiversity.

2. By 2030, climate change could be permanent

According to a report created by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, rapid action is necessary to prevent the catastrophic effects of global warming.

If nothing is done, the coral reefs will completely vanish from the planet, and there might be more widespread flooding, searing heat, droughts, and poverty.

3. Sea ice in the Arctic has been  fast melting

The temperature has been rising in the Arctic faster than almost anywhere else on the planet. In addition to the late summer Arctic sea ice being at its lowest level since at least 1850, annual Arctic sea ice decreased to its lowest level between 2011 and 2020.

According to each of the IPCC’s projected emissions scenarios, the sea ice minimum will go below one million square kilometers at least once before 2050, effectively clearing the area of sea ice. This amount of sea ice represents around 15% of the average September sea ice observed between 1979 and 1988.

4. The southeast region of the US may be heavily infected by dengue fever by 2050

Dengue is the mosquito-borne illness with the fastest global spread, claiming roughly 10,000 lives annually and affecting an estimated 100 million people. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the disease may thrive in areas that were previously unsuitable for them and benefit from shorter incubation periods as a result of the increase in global temperatures.

A recent study published in the academic journal Nature suggests that the dengue virus may spread because of global warming in the United States, higher elevations in central Mexico, inland Australia, and large coastal communities in eastern China and Japan.

5. In 70 years, 200 million people’s houses will be below sea level

photo by Agustín Lautaro

By the end of the century, 200 million people—more than three times the population of the UK—would reside below the tideline if sea levels continue to rise, according to Nature Communications. Sea levels have risen by 7 inches and are currently rising by 3.4 millimeters each year since 1900. They surpassed records in 2020 for the eighth consecutive year, soaring roughly 3.6 inches higher than average since satellite altimeter measurements began in 1993.

Water volume rises as ice sheets and glaciers melt, while sea levels rise as ocean water expands as a result of heat storage. Bangladesh, China, and India are particularly at risk from flooding, storm surges, and sea level rise, in addition to the Netherlands and parts of the UK.

6. More  deserts  expanding

The UN estimates that more than 12 million hectares of land are lost annually as a result of desertification, land degradation, and drought, an area larger than the whole arable land in Germany.

7. The  refugee crisis is being caused by climate change

The UN estimates that more than 12 million hectares of land are lost annually as a result of desertification, land degradation, and drought, an area larger than the whole arable land in Germany.

8. The amount of greenhouse gases has been  at an all-time high

Photo by Marek Piwnicki

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, resulting in a rise in global temperatures. Many factors, including the combustion of fossil fuels, emissions from transportation, and the negative impacts of intensive farming on the environment, contribute to the high levels of CO2 in our atmosphere. This CO2 rise is the highest and fastest that the world has ever seen, according to experts.

9. Currently  sea levels have been  increasing more quickly than ever

Because of melting glaciers and ice sheets as well as warming oceans, sea levels are rising. In the centuries after 1900, sea levels have risen more swiftly than they have in any other century in at least the last 3,000 years, and this tendency is anticipated to continue for a very long time.

Effects of sea level rise include permanent inundation of low-lying areas as well as an increase in tidal flooding’s frequency, width, and depth. As a result of sea level rise, most sandy beaches will disintegrate and retreat deeper inland.

10. In barely over 40 years, average animal populations will have decreased by 60%

According to the annual Living Planet Report published by the WWF and the Zoological Society of London, the average size of vertebrate populations—including those of mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles—declined by 60% between 1970 and 2014.

11. Spring will arrive earlier

Warming temperatures are pushing nature to adapt, resulting in earlier springs and later autumns. The International Journal of Climatology reports that the “first leaf” date for the pedunculate oak in the UK was 10 days earlier in 2020 than it was on average between 2000 and 2009.

12. Fires will be becoming worse and more frequent

photo by Matt Palmer

Wildfires are blazing longer and extending farther than ever before, according to the United Nations (UN), in locations like Australia, California, and Greece. According to the UN, these fires decimated an area roughly equal to 30 million acres, or ten times the size of Yorkshire, between 2018 and 2020.

13. There will be  75 million hungry children worldwide

According to the World Food Programme, severe weather, armed conflict, and economic shocks will cause 155 million people to experience acute food insecurity by 2020. The fatalities included almost 75 million young children under the age of five who had developmental delays. Meteorological extremes will continue to exacerbate severe food insecurity in unstable economies, according to the WFP.

14. Global temperatures have been  predicted to increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius during the next 20 years

The window of opportunity to halt the worst effects of climate change is only until 2030, according to the IPCC’s 2018 special report. Though the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions hasn’t progressed much since then, though. According to this, the following twenty years are predicted to see an increase in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

15. Extreme weather will be  brought on by climate change

Photo by Nikolas Noonan

76 floods, temperature anomalies, storms, and droughts have been identified as “fingerprints” of climate change by research conducted between 2015 and 2020.

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