We would lose all of the world’s coral reefs and the majority of its rainforests, while many of the most densely populated regions would become intolerably hot. Instead, it looked like the world would heat up by 3-4☌.
If we make the right choices as lockdowns ease, then the pandemic might just have thrown humanity a lifeline in dealing with the much greater challenge of climate change.īefore the coronavirus struck, activists like me had all but given up hope that the world would meet the Paris climate agreement’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5-2☌ above pre-industrial levels. But as the saying goes – and without wishing to downplay this human tragedy in any way – it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good. It really is our final warning.HAY-ON-WYE – COVID-19 has killed more than 500,000 people worldwide, made millions more ill, and continues to wreak havoc. If we fail, then we risk crossing tipping points that could push global climate chaos out of humanity's control. We must largely stop burning fossil fuels within a decade if we are to save the coral reefs and the Arctic. These escalating consequences can still be avoided, but time is running out. At five, the planet is warmer than for 55 million years, while at six degrees a mass extinction of unparalleled proportions sweeps the planet, even raising the threat of the end of all life on Earth. At four, large areas of the globe are too hot for human habitation, erasing entire nations and turning billions into climate refugees.
At three, the world begins to run out of food, threatening millions with starvation. At two degrees the Arctic ice cap melts away, and coral reefs disappear from the tropics. Degree by terrifying degree, he charts the likely consequences of global heating and the ensuing climate catastrophe.Īt one degree - the world we are already living in - vast wildfires scorch California and Australia, while monster hurricanes devastate coastal cities. But how much worse could it get? Will civilisation collapse? Are we already past the point of no return? What kind of future can our children expect? Rigorously cataloguing the very latest climate science, Mark Lynas explores the course we have set for Earth over the next century and beyond. Mark Lynas delivers a vital account of the future of our earth, and our civilisation, if current rates of global warming persist. Print Our Final Warning - Six Degrees of Climate EmergencyĬlimate Crisis | Politics & Current Affairs
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