Impact of climate change on nature

Climate change refers to the long-term changes in global temperatures and other characteristics of the atmosphere.

Highlights of a landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) draft report on how a warming planet impacts nature….

Climate change refers to the long-term changes in global temperatures and other characteristics of the atmosphere. Climate has changed throughout Earth’s long history, but this time it’s different. Human activity is causing worldwide temperatures to rise higher and faster than any time we know of in the past.

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group of scientists chosen by governments and other large groups from around the world who study the way that humans are making the Earth heat up unnaturally. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore who won for working on the same problems.

Species

Extinction rates: A thousand times higher than before the geological period now known as the Anthropocene, the “age of man”.

Land and sea species: At 2oC to 30C warming, up to 54% of land and sea species threatened with extinction this century.

Freshwater fish: Climate change could reduce local biodiversity by up to 75% by 2075.

Turtles: Upper-range sea level rise predictions suggest 59% loss in green turtles’ Mediterranean nesting area, loggerheads at 67%.

Systems

Permafrost: At 2oC warming, 15% could be lost by 2100, releasing 36 to 67 billion tonnes of carbon.

Ecosystems: Many terrestrial, freshwater, ocean and coastal ecosystems
currently “near or beyond” their ability to adapt.

Oceans

Coral reefs: At 1.50 C warming, 70-90% of the world’s coral reefs are projected to die.

Marine heatwaves: At least 34% more frequent and 17% longer since 1925.

Arctic sea-ice: Summer sea-ice has decreased an estimated 25%, some 2 million square km since the late 1970s.

Forests

Fire seasons: Increased temperature, dryness and drought have extended fire season and doubled potential burnable area.

Severe drought: At 20C warming, severe drought in Brazil’s natural areas expected to quadruple.

Wildfire in the Arctic tundra: Area burned increased ninefold across Siberia from 1996 to 2015.

Amazon rainforests: At high emissions, drought and wildfire could transform half of the Amazon basin into grassland, leading to increased global emissions.

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