Warming World, Warning Signs

Global average sea level has risen eight to nine inches since 1880, while global average sea level in 2023 set a record high of 101.4 millimeters above 1993 levels, with the rate of global sea level rise more than doubling per decade through most of the twentieth century to 0.14 meters from 2006 to 2015.

Meanwhile, extreme weather events have risen in the recent past, with 605 extreme weather events taking place last year, 824,500 people displaced, and around 1,700 persons killed as a result, 1.1 million people suffering from injuries.

At the same time, wildlife populations have declined by an average 69 percent since 1970, with freshwater species population seeing the greatest overall global decline at 84 percent, Latin America showing the greatest regional decline in average population abundance at 94 percent.

Apart from the above, other indicators show a cause for concern, such as water scarcity, food insecurity, health impacts, with the trend negative in absolute terms.

Since 1850, the combined land and ocean temperatures have increased at an average rate of 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit per decade and the rate of warming since 1982 more than three times at 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.

In 2024, the earth's average surface temperature was the warmest on record since record keeping began in 1880, with the earth around 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in the late 19th century pre-industrial average.

In the recent past, the world population has seen increased effects from rising temperatures, with figures showing that 3.6 billion people live in areas susceptible to climate change, 53 percent of people concerned about climate change.

In sum, global warming is the culprit behind sea level rises through melting ice caps, extreme weather events from wildfires, negative health implications through heat, decline in wildlife numbers through changing weather, as well as water scarcity through droughts.

Scientists predict higher sea levels still more in the near future, almost one foot above 2000 levels by 2035, and above three feet by 2100, reaching as much as 6.6 feet on the average, if the world keeps watching and not taking any significant action.

Extreme weather events could increase significantly in the coming years, with 250,000 additional deaths possible from them between 2030 and 2050, as much as 1.2 billion forced to become climate refugees as a result of the situation, especially as nations and individuals struggle to their standards of living and economic output.

Wildlife could continue to be under the pressures of extreme climate shifts and natural disasters with time, half of all species becoming extinct by 2050, 23 percent of all habitats gone by 2100, 65 percent of Antarctica's animals and plants gone by then, from one million species on the brink of extinction today.

It's amazing that the world watches, while the numbers point at sea levels rising at astronomical rates, extreme weather events taking place with regularity, health impacts from this escalating at rates never seen before.

Nations need to scale up renewable energy, restore coastal ecosystems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and invest in adaptation and resilient strategies to slow down alarming negative indicators.

What to Eat

Vegan food from Haiti, Credit, Foodaciously