By Theodora Filis
Our planet’s CO2 level is too high. The current global average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is (0.04%) 421 ppm as of May 2022. This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century.
Late June 2023 ushered in a significant shift in weather and melting for Greenland, particularly for the southern portion of the ice sheet, known as South Dome, where melting is currently at a record pace. Melting along the northern rim of the ice sheet is also greater than average. These changes are a result of a shift in the air circulation, associated with negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index values.
The world is blasting through climate records as scientists sound the alarm: The likelihood is growing that 2023 could be the hottest year on record, and the climate crisis could be altering our weather in ways scientists don't yet understand.
There is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record.
o Highest temperatures ever recorded
o The fastest melting of sea ice ever seen in the Arctic
o Record rainfalls
o Global Raging Wildfires
Our planet’s CO2 level is too high. The current global average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is (0.04%) 421 ppm as of May 2022. This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century.
Unless we are able to return to below 350 ppm in this century, scientists say we risk reaching the tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet this century may drive more water than previously thought toward the already threatened coastlines of New York, Boston, Halifax, and other cities in the northeastern United States and Canada, according to new research led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
"If the Greenland melt continues to accelerate, we could see significant impacts this century on the northeast U.S. coast from the resulting sea level rise,"
says NCAR scientist Aixue Hu.
"Ocean dynamics will push water in certain directions, so some locations will experience sea level rise that is larger than the global average."
“The northeast coast of North America is especially vulnerable to the effects of Greenland ice melt because of the way the meridional overturning circulation acts like a conveyer belt transporting water through the Atlantic Ocean. The oceans will not rise uniformly as the world warms," warns NCAR scientist Gerald Meehl.
As levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide continue to surge, leaders around the world face mounting pressure to commit to more aggressive plans to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Last year’s climate summit in Egypt, known as COP27, was widely viewed as a disappointment on this score, with little progress achieved on binding measures to reduce emissions.
Arctic warming is disproportionately high. Compared to the 1991-2020 average, the temperature anomaly is predicted to be more than three times as large as the global mean anomaly when averaged over the next five northern hemisphere extended winters.
Predicted precipitation patterns for the May to September 2023-2027 average, compared to the 1991-2020 average, suggest increased rainfall in the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska, and northern Siberia, and reduced rainfall for this season over the Amazon and parts of Australia.
The world is blasting through climate records as scientists sound the alarm: The likelihood is growing that 2023 could be the hottest year on record, and the climate crisis could be altering our weather in ways scientists don't yet understand.
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