How Would Just 2 Degrees of Warming Change the Planet?


Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care

Excerpts;

Why are climate scientists so alarmed about a worldwide temperature increase of just 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius)?

Right now, the world is about 2.1 degrees F (1.2 degrees C) warmer than it was during preindustrial times.

The 144 countries participating in the 2016 Paris Agreement announced that the world should limit the global increase in this century to 2.7 degrees F (1.5 degrees C).

To put 2.7 degrees F into perspective, just about 9 degrees F (5 degrees C) separates the modern world from the last ice age, which ended about 11,700 years ago. During that time, sea levels were about 350 feet (76 meters) lower than they are today, because an extensive amount of water was stored as ice at the poles. During that ice age, about 32 percent of Earth was covered in ice, compared to just about 10 percent today…

Read Full Article, LiveScience (04-29-2017)

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