Warming above 1.5°C would have lasting impact on ice, UN warns
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Defimedia
Illustrative image · Hugo Sykes · Pexels · Licence PexelsTwo UN reports warn that warming above 1.5°C would have major, often irreversible, effects on glaciers, sea ice and frozen ground. The planet is already 1.37°C warmer than in the pre-industrial era and could cross the threshold around 2030, according to the European Copernicus network.
Human activity has already caused the loss of 20% of Switzerland’s glacier mass, one of the reports notes. Global warming currently stands at 1.37°C above pre-industrial levels, and the European Copernicus network estimates that a breach of the 1.5°C threshold could be confirmed around 2030.
Expected impacts include the melting of glaciers and sea ice, thawing permafrost and an acceleration in sea-level rise. The reports link these changes to greater risks of flooding, ecological and economic damage, water shortages and hazards in mountain areas. They put the “safe temperature” for the cryosphere at around 1°C, or even lower.
Scientists also warn against crossing tipping points. Even if global temperatures fell back below 1.5°C, frozen regions would recover very slowly, the reports say. Glaciologist Chen Zhao, a contributor to the work and an Antarctic specialist, says a return below the threshold would not undo the effects of the warming experienced while it was exceeded.
