Global Climate Change Impact Hot Spots
Real world evidence of the planetary emergency
1. Arctic warming rate increasing (amplification) 3X global average
2. Arctic summer sea ice
Record low 2012 Past tipping point
Rapid reduction in thickness
Extent loss and thinning (darker) less albedo reflective cooling and- faster Arctic warming (amplification
3. Snow spring retreating faster Loss albedo
4. Greenland ice sheet surface expanse melt increasing Albedo loss
5. Methane leaking through sea ice cracks ? from warmer water increasing microbial production.
6. Methane seeping from edges of glaciers and permafrost.
7. Methane from sea floor East Siberian Arctic shelf. Sea floor methane hydrate
'melting' releasing methane to almost to water surface
8. Wetlands warming emitting more methane -feedback
10. Thawing permafrost emitting methane and CO2
11. Thawing permafrost emitting nitrous oxide
12. Arctic atmospheric methane increasing to extreme
13. Greenland glacier melt accelerating
14. Large increase methane emissions from warming tropical wetlands
15. Methane emissions increasing from global water bodies
16. UK Soil CO2 emissions increasing with warming
Atmospheric GHGs
Atmospheric CO2 still accelerating 50% increase since industrialization
Highest in 4 million years (or more)
Atmospheric methane Accelerating since 2000 due to gas fracking and methane feedback emissions from the warming planet (Arctic and tropical peat rich wetlands) Explosive increase since 2020
Atmospheric nitrous oxide steadily increasing fast, including feedback emissions from warming soil
Now it's the main cause of stratospheric ozone depletion.
17. Forest fires increasing
18. W Europe severe heat wave and drought 2003
19. Severe Amazon drought 2005,2010 Amazon net carbon source 2017
20. US hurricane Katrina 2005
21. Texas record drought 2008-9
22. Australia 2009 worst wildfires on record
23. Russia 2010 widespread wild fires crop destruction
24. Pakistan 2010 worst ever floods
25. SW. China 3 yr drought to 2012.
26. N. India 2010 record heat
27. US grain belt near record heat/ drought
28 US super storm Sandy
29 Himalayas acceleration ice loss past 40 years
2022 Summer Northern hemisphere Unprecedented heat an drought right across N. hemisphere
All this (below) has been caused by a global warming above 1°C
We already are committed (locked in) to a warming much higher due to climate system inertia!
All these impacts are going to keep increasing and increase faster, because atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are higher than higher, increasing faster than ever.
Climate Emergency Institute