Washington: Global greenhouse gas concentrations and sea levels will hit record highs in 2021, a US government report said Wednesday. “The data presented in this report are clear: we continue to see compelling scientific evidence that climate change is having a global impact and shows no signs of slowing down,” said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Administrator Rick Spinrad said. “Many communities have been hit by once-in-a-thousand-year floods, unusual droughts and historic heatwaves this year, demonstrating that the climate crisis is not a threat of the future, but one that must be addressed today. ‘he said in a statement.
The rise in greenhouse gas levels comes despite a decline in fossil fuel emissions in the previous year as much of the global economy slowed sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The US agency said the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will be 414.7 ppm in 2021, 2.3 parts higher than in 2020. Found the State of the Climate report.
Global sea level has risen for the 10th straight year, reaching a new record of 3.8 inches (97 millimeters) above the 1993 average when satellite measurements began. Last year was the hottest of six on record since the mid-19th century, and the past seven years have been the hottest of all seven on record.
The modest headline-grabbing average is partly responsible for February’s coldest temperature since 2014, when a Pacific water-cooling phenomenon called La Niña occurred early in the year. There are very high records, particularly for lakes in Tibet, an area of environmental importance as the source of many major rivers in Asia.
Growing disaster and fear
Tropical storms, which are expected to increase as the planet warms, saw a sharp increase in 2021, the report said. Among them are Typhoon Rai, which killed nearly 400 of her people in the Philippines in December, and Ida, which swept across the Caribbean, making her the second strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana after Katrina. was. Among other unusual events mentioned in the report, the famous cherry blossom trees in Kyoto, Japan, bloomed the earliest since 1409.
Wildfires, which are also expected to increase due to climate change, have been relatively low in recent years despite witnessing devastating blazes in both the western United States and Siberia. The ice sheets were already set to melt at dangerous levels, the announcement came days after a study was published.
The planet has moved beyond the ambition set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to limit the warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. It remains a long way off. In August, under President Joe Biden, the United States pushed the most extensive government package yet to tackle emissions from the world’s largest economy. The initiative will make significant investments in clean energy, a decision that will have far-reaching implications for the auto industry as California moves to require all cars to be zero-emissions by 2035. is. – AFP
