The planet is sounding a red alarm. Among 35 climate indexes used by researchers to track change, 16 are nearing critical limits. Floods, massive fires, and heat waves are spreading across the globe, and scientists link these extreme events to global warming. A group of researchers, alarmed by political inertia and lack of coordination, decided to warn humanity about the dangers ahead.
They published a new article in the bioscience journal Climate Emergency 2022 Warning by World Scientists. Look at the heatwaves, fires, floods, and gigantic storms marching across the world; climate change is arriving with undeniable force, states the lead author, William Ripple from the University of Oregon.
In the report, scientists emphasize that today 16 of the 35 indicators used to gauge climate change have hit unprecedented thresholds. The data show hotter heat waves, faster forest loss from fires, and a rising spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes drawing attention. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is at record levels, around 418 parts per million.
Destruction of rainforests snowfall
“With the spike in these climate disasters, we are in the midst of a major climate crisis”, asserts Wolf. If current practices continue, the worst is still to come.
“Climate change is not a minor issue”, adds Saleemul Huq, a coauthor and professor at a Bangladeshi university. To prevent severe human suffering, he argues for protecting nature, cutting most emissions from fossil fuels, and supporting climate adaptation. Areas with fewer resources, he notes, are often the most vulnerable.
As temperatures rise, the frequency and intensity of some weather disasters will also grow, according to study coauthor Thomas Newsom from the University of Sydney.
warning since 1992
This is not the first call to action from scientists warning about humanity’s fate if truth is ignored. In 1992, more than 1,700 scientists signed an early warning document on which this report builds. They warned of the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions rising since then by about 40 percent.
The authors urged a dramatic reduction of environmental destruction and warned that a fundamental shift in how Earth and its living systems are managed would be necessary to avoid widespread human misery.
road traffic pollution pixabay
Scientists have voiced concerns about current or imminent damage to Earth in relation to ozone depletion, freshwater scarcity, marine life loss, dead zones in oceans, forest loss, biodiversity decline, climate change, and growing human populations.
In 2017, a second warning signed by 15,000 scientists from 184 countries stressed that time was running out. They criticized decades of inaction and described the need for urgent action to turn the tide.
Today, the article reiterates the importance of uniting scientific voices around a common goal: to halt the devastating consequences of unstoppable climate change.
References and notes: bioscience source citation. Rising awareness of the urgency is reinforced by peer-reviewed evidence and ongoing international discourse.
Notes about data and ongoing discussion appear throughout, reinforcing that coordinated, evidence-based action is essential for a livable future.