The Hottest Decade in History
The 2010s has been the hottest decade in Earth’s history. As such, it’s taken a toll on the planet and is opening eyes to the urgency for change.
According to The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), global temperatures in 2019 were 1.1 °C (2 °F) above the pre-industrial average between 1850 -1900. While this one degree increase may seem insignificant, it has fuelled deadly heat waves in Europe, Japan, and Australia, caused superstorms to devastate southeast Africa, and sparked raging wildfires throughout Australia, California, and the Amazon.
Oceans, which absorb 90 percent of excess heat produced by greenhouse gases, also hit record temperatures, and the world’s seas have become a quarter more acidic than 150 years ago. These changes threaten marine ecosystems, which in turn affects billions of people who rely on these for food and jobs.
“Once again in 2019 weather and climate related risks hit hard,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Heatwaves and floods which used to be ‘once in a century’ events are becoming more regular occurrences.”
In addition to new temperature highs, 2019 is also breaking records for atmospheric carbon concentration (which further locks in heat). Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, building infrastructure, growing crops, and transporting goods, are largely responsible for this man-made catastrophe.
The United Nations has outlined ways in which climate change is outpacing humanity’s ability to adapt to it. These include:
- Rising sea levels (the global mean reached its highest on record in October 2019, after 329 billion tonnes of ice were lost from the Greenland ice sheet in 12 months)
- Melting glaciers
- Frequent and heavy downpours
- Intensified heat waves
- Vaster wildfires
- Stronger hurricanes (in more areas and with more rain travelling further north)
These changes to the climate have caused more than 10 million people to be internally displaced in the first half of 2019; seven million of which were due to extreme weather events such as storms, flooding, and drought. Experts say this number could reach 22 million by the end of the year.
A recent poll in Canada shows that 82 percent of participants see climate change as extremely dangerous, with 42 percent saying it’s an emergency, and another 20 percent saying it’s not an emergency yet, but will be in the next few years.
The statistics surrounding Earth’s temperatures and the hottest decade, coupled with the fact that we are seeing the consequences of a changing climate on such a grand scale, leaves little room for skepticism.
The solution is simple. We must act now, and do our part to cut carbon emissions and limit the impact of this climate crisis.