The 50th anniversary of Earth day last week (22nd April) presented a perfect opportunity to reflect on climate change. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) observed that climate change and its impacts on the planet have grown in the past five years and this is expected to continue into the future.
This has been shown in the findings of carbon dioxide levels residing at 26% higher than in 1970. Furthermore, the average global temperature has increased by 0.86°C and is 1.1°C warmer than the pre-industrial era. Over the next five years a new global mean temperature record is predicted due to continually rising temperatures.
Temperature is only one of the many climate indicators. The others include:
All of these indicators have increased in the past five years. These results were found in the report on the Global Climate 2015-2019.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a temporary reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, the pandemic is not a substitute for continual climate action.
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