A study by international scientists has dropped the bombshell that temperature rise around the globe is almost inevitable as the industries and vehicles emit carbon fumes relentlessly along with skyrocketing population growth in recent years.
It has been revealed that scientists had been using wrong baseline temperature; they started measuring global warming in 1900 – after almost a hundred years since industrial revolution began when fossil fuels were burnt in large amounts. Now the scientists have suggested that the actual temperature rise since mechanised production may have risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming instead of 1.
This goes to show that international scientists have undermined the real threat to earth and the study presents a bleak image. If carbon emissions continue unabated then we will face warming of up to 2 degrees by the end of this century. This could have devastating effects such as rising sea levels and more violent storms, putting the coastal settlements at risk. To make matters worse, the study has speculated a peak in death toll with a projected 60,000 globally in 2030 and 260,000 by 2100.
The study’s findings are quite alarming for the international community as according to the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, the 195 countries committed to keeping the temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius above industrial level and set a goal of keeping the warming to 1.5 degrees. However, according the latest research it seems highly unlikely as there is only 1% chance that temperatures will rise by less than 1.5 degrees, even if work voraciously to keep the carbon emissions in check.
Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington academic who led the research said that we are closer to the margin than we think and that if we want to avoid the 2 degrees rise, we have very little time left.
Population growth does not contribute to global warming as much as the carbon intensity, which is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each dollar of economic activity, does. The population growth is expected to peak 11 billion by 2100, however, the research finds that the major growth will take place in sub-Saharan Africa which does is not a prominent contributor of greenhouse gases.
It is believed that technological advances could potentially reduce the impact on climate, but that too would not yield favourable results as 1.5 degrees rise in temperature is almost inevitable now. We can still manage to stall the global warming at that level if we take immediate vital steps.
