• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

“The Very Fabric Of Life On Earth Is Imperiled,” Says 2024 State Of The Climate Report

October 8, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

The 2024 State of the Climate Report makes for some damning reading. Along with highlighting how our planet has been pushed to the brink of disaster due to reckless human activity, the report highlights the many ways in which the world is already starting to feel the burn of climate change.

In the annual report published today, an international coalition of scientists provides an update on how Earth is faring against climate change, measuring dozens of categories called “planetary vital signs”. The report states that at least 25 of these 35 vital signs have already reached record extremes. 

Advertisement

“We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled,” the study authors write in their introduction.

For one, Earth’s average surface temperature is at a record high. Three of the hottest days on record came in July 2024, peaking with the hottest on July 22 when the planet had an average temperature of 17.15°C (62.87°F), breaking the record set the previous day. 

Following a record-breaking summer, this year is well on track to be the hottest on record, set to swipe the title from the previous record-smasher: 2023.

The mounting heat is already having a negative effect on the planet, not least through the thawing of ice sheets, glaciers, and permafrost. In turn, the changes are impacting biodiversity, as well as human health and wellbeing.

Advertisement

“Since the publication of our 2023 report, multiple climate-related disasters have taken place, including a series of heat waves across Asia that killed more than a thousand people and led to temperatures reaching 122 degrees Fahrenheit [50°C] in parts of India,” William Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University (OSU) and director of the new report, said in a statement.

“Climate change has already displaced millions of people, with the potential to displace hundreds of millions or even billions. That would likely lead to greater geopolitical instability, possibly even partial societal collapse,” Ripple added.

Baking hot surface temperatures are just one aspect of the problem, though. Unprecedented ocean heating is also occurring, as well as waters becoming more acidic due to the increased absorption of carbon dioxide.

Advertisement

All of these effects can be directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions, the vast majority of which are the product of burning fossil fuels.

Despite recent efforts to curb emissions, the annual consumption of fossil fuels climbed by 1.5 percent in 2023, bolstered by increases in the use of coal (1.6 percent) and oil (2.5 percent). Renewable energy increased too, although it still only accounts for around 1/14 of fossil fuel use.

“The growth rate of methane emissions has been accelerating, which is extremely troubling. Nitrous oxide, which is potent and long-lived, is also at a record high,” explained former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf.

First and foremost, the world needs to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the researchers argue. They also suggest some vaguely more practical solutions, such as introducing a global carbon pricing mechanism to curb emissions from wealthier sectors, while generating funds that can be reinvested in further climate initiatives, plus improving energy efficiency and conservation efforts to support the transition away from fossil fuels.

Advertisement

The world’s population could also play a part, the report says, by eating more plant-based foods and receiving better education about the risk of climate change. 

“Despite six reports from the International Panel on Climate Change, hundreds of other reports, tens of thousands of scientific papers, and 28 annual meetings of the UN’s Conference of the Parties, the world has made very little headway on climate change,” Wolf said. 

“Humanity’s future depends on creativity, moral fiber and perseverance. If future generations are to inherit the world they deserve, decisive action is needed, and fast.”

The report is published in the journal BioScience.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Cricket-Manchester test likely to be postponed after India COVID-19 case
  2. EU to attend U.S. trade meeting put in doubt by French anger
  3. Soccer-West Ham win again, Leicester and Napoli falter
  4. Was Jesus A Hallucinogenic Mushroom? One Scholar Certainly Thought So

Source Link: "The Very Fabric Of Life On Earth Is Imperiled," Says 2024 State Of The Climate Report

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • New Nimbus COVID Variant Present In The UK, Infections Could Spread This Summer
  • Scientists Have Finally Measured How Fast Quantum Entanglement Happens
  • Why Earth’s Magnetic Pole Reversals Are So Fascinating
  • World First Artificial Solar Eclipse Created, The “Closest Thing” To HIV Vaccine Gets FDA Approval, And Much More This Week
  • “Remarkable” Pattern Discovered Behind Prime Numbers, Math’s Most Unpredictable Objects
  • People Are Only Just Learning What The World’s Most Expensive Cheese Is Made Of
  • The Physics Behind Iron: Why It’s The Most Stable Element
  • What Is The Reason Some People Keep Waking Up At 3am Every Night?
  • Michigan Bear Finally Free After 2 Years With Plastic Lid Stuck Around Its Neck
  • Pangolins, The World’s Most Trafficked Mammal, May Soon Get Federal Protection In The US
  • Sharks Have No Bones, So How Do They Get So Big?
  • 2025 Is Shaping Up To Be A Whirlwind Year For Tornadoes In The US
  • Unexpected Nova Just Appeared In The Night Sky – And You Can See It With The Naked Eye
  • Watch As Maori Octopus Decides Eating A Ray Is A Good Idea
  • There Is Life Hiding In The Earth’s Deep Biosphere, But Not As You Know It
  • Two Sandhill Cranes Have Adopted A Canada Gosling, And It’s Ridiculously Adorable
  • Hybrid Pythons Are Taking Over The Florida Everglades With “Hybrid Vigor”
  • Mysterious, Powerful Radio Pulse Traced Back To NASA Satellite That’s Been Dead Since 1967
  • This Is The Best (And Worst) Sleep Position
  • Artificial Eclipse, Dancing Dinosaurs, And 50 Years Of “JAWS”
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version