Georgie Moore
(Australian Associated Press)
UNITED NATIONS REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
KEY FINDINGS:
* Global warming is on track to reach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by the early 2030s
* About 41 per cent of all CO2 emitted since the Industrial Revolution is from the past 30 years
* Greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for about 1.1C of warming since between 1850 and 1900
* Greenhouse gas levels are higher than they have been in the last 800,000 years
* It is unequivocal that human activity has warmed the atmosphere, land and ocean
* The best-case of five global emissions scenarios equals 1.6C of warming within 20 years, dropping to below 1.5C by the end of the century
* The worst-case scenario shows likely warming of 4.4C by 2100
* Climate change will bring more intense rainfall, flooding and sea level rise will continue
* Further warming will amplify permafrost thawing, the loss of seasonal snow cover, ocean acidification, and ice sheet and glacier melt
* The Arctic is warming faster than any other part of the world
* Globally, the sea level has already increased by 20cm
* It’s on track to increase by another 30cm to one metre, or more, by the end of the century depending on future emissions
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AUSTRALIA?
* Land areas have already warmed by about 1.4C
* Under an intermediate emissions scenario, excessive temperature thresholds of 40C are expected to increase between 100 and 200 per cent by the century’s end
* This is set to be particularly evident in the north of Australia
* Ongoing drying in southern Australia is set to intensify for every degree of global warming
* This would be countered by heavy rainfalls during extreme weather
* Fire weather is expected to become more intense, frequent and longer
* Marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, heat extremes are expected to increase
* Cold extremes, snow cover and depth are expected to decrease
(Source: United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
