From WIRED · Brian Kahn · · 1m 40s
Earth's vital signs hit record extremes as El Niño looms
A new climate report finds seven of sixteen planetary vital signs at their worst ever, with a strengthening El Niño set to push temperatures higher and threaten vulnerable ecosystems.
In brief
A new climate report finds seven of sixteen planetary vital signs at their worst ever, with a strengthening El Niño set to push temperatures higher and threaten vulnerable ecosystems. Oregon State University researchers found seven of sixteen planetary vital signs at record extremes, with warming accelerating and El…
Climate checkup shows serious decline
Oregon State University researcher Bill Ripple led a new paper published Wednesday in BioScience examining Earth's climate. Seven of the sixteen planetary vital signs tracked have never been in a more extreme state.
“If Earth were a patient coming in for an annual physical, I would say its condition is serious and getting worse.”
Carbon dioxide and ice at record extremes
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is fifty percent higher than preindustrial levels due to burning fossil fuels. Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have shrunk to record lows while ocean heat has soared to record highs.
Warming pace has accelerated sharply
Climate change quickened warming from about zero point zero five degrees Celsius per decade from eighteen eighty through nineteen seventy to zero point three six degrees Celsius per decade since twenty ten, according to the…
El Niño could push temperatures to records
The global average temperature may reach a record extreme by year's end as El Niño strengthens.
“A strong El Niño could temporarily push global temperatures even higher, while bringing additional heat and drought to vulnerable regions.”
Coral reefs and Amazon face critical threats
Ocean heat will likely fuel mass coral die-off known as coral bleaching.If the planet warms beyond one point five degrees Celsius, most of the world's coral will be unlikely to survive.
Amazon risks crossing irreversible tipping point
The Amazon risks crossing a tipping point where it shifts from tropical rainforest into savanna.Warming, drought and deforestation could push it toward widespread forest degradation.
“The climate emergency is not something waiting for us in the future. We are already living through it.”
The headline
Oregon State University researchers found seven of sixteen planetary vital signs at record extremes, with warming accelerating and El Niño expected to push global temperatures higher and threaten coral reefs and tropical forests.
