[imagesource: rawpixel.com / The African Union Mission in Somalia]

This week, a team of 15,000 distinguished scientists from 163 countries around the globe issued a stark warning that human-driven climate change has pushed us into “uncharted territory”.

The scientists expressed their alarm and fear for reaching this dire crossroads, warning that the climate crisis could threaten the lives of up to six billion people this century.

Writing in the journal Biosciences, the coalition of researchers revealed that “As scientists, we are increasingly being asked to tell the public the truth about the crises we face in simple and direct terms. The truth is that we are shocked by the ferocity of the extreme weather events in 2023”, per Forbes.

The new report, led by Oregon State University ecologist William Ripple, warns that 2023 was a particularly devastating year of extreme wildfires, floods, heatwaves, and other natural disasters that are amplified by climate change.

We have all been shocked by the record climate anomalies seen around the world in 2023 and the scientists are saying that further extreme weather, along with climate tipping points, could arrive sooner than expected.

The all-time high temperature records along with record low levels of sea ice, are all signs that human activity is “pushing our planetary systems into dangerous instability.”

Per VICE, the authors have spent years monitoring 35 of Earth’s “vital signs,” such as global tree cover, greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean temperatures, and populations of humans and livestock. The new report cautions that 20 of those signs are now at record extremes, which is up from 16 in 2022.

The El Niño weather pattern and the 2022 eruption of an underwater volcano have added to these extreme weather anomalies, the paper said, but stressed that human-driven climate change is only exacerbating many of these natural processes in ways that will generate more frequent and catastrophic anomalies in the coming decades.

They warn that this instability could push six billion of the Earth’s almost eight billion people out of regions that are no longer habitable due to climate impacts such as extreme heat and dwindling food supplies.

Unfortunately, the people who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change tend to live in less wealthy nations, which is why the paper also highlights the need for environmental justice movements.

The 15,000 signatories are calling on all governments to make serious and rapid changes to current, high-emitting economic systems or face “untold suffering” worldwide.

In their conclusion, the authors call for governments and communities to change their perspective on climate change, “from being just an isolated environmental issue to a systemic, existential threat.” They point out that rising temperatures are just one, interconnected part of a larger problem that incorporates biodiversity loss, fresh water scarcity and pandemics, all of which are caused by the increasing demands of humans and “overexploitation of our planet.”

The researchers further warn that simply switching to renewable energy from fossil fuel sources won’t suffice, pleading for the implementation of policies that help reduce resource consumption, by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

They’re also asking for the reorienting of economic measures to prioritise human well-being over financial growth and asking for more support towards women and girls’ education and rights, which will lead to the stabilisation of the human population.

“This is our moment to make a profound difference for all life on Earth,” they write. “We must embrace it with unwavering courage and determination to create a legacy of change that will stand the test of time.”

Read the full report, ‘The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering Uncharted Territory, here.

[source:vice&forbes]