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Climate change is real and it already has an impact on humans.
Mike Berardino, IndyStar

Climate change is real and is increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. New research and studies conducted over the last six months only highlight the latest facts about man-made change in our global weather systems and its effects on our planet.

First of all, there is no doubt that rising temperatures and increasingly chaotic weather are the work of mankind. According to a February study, there is a 99.9999% chance that humans are at the origin of global warming. This means that we have achieved the gold standard for certainty, a statistical measure generally used in particle physics.

The mechanism is well understood. Humans burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. CO2 is the most greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

Lead author of the study, Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., Told Reuters that "the story that scientists do not know that the cause of climate change is wrong".

An important ice cap in western Antarctica is melting and its collapse could raise sea levels by almost two feet, which could take centuries. (Photo: AFP / Getty Images)

The hottest recorded

The last five years have been the five warmest since the start of record keeping in the late 19th century. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Earth has experienced 42 consecutive years (since 1977) with a global temperature above average.

Based on five separate datasets that track the Earth's climate change, the global average temperature for the first 10 months of 2018 was about 1.8 degrees higher than that of the end of the year. Nineteenth century. It is at this time that the industry has begun to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Australia had a record summer season in January. The city of Port Augusta has reached the hottest day since records were kept in 1962 with a temperature of 121 ° C, according to the guardian.

The heat was so intense that it dropped the bats from the trees, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Carbon dioxide up 46%

Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases released into the atmosphere by the industry, transport and energy production from fossil fuels reinforce what I 'd do. the natural greenhouse effect of the planet is called.

Carbon dioxide is the most common of all greenhouse gases produced by human activities, due to the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere for March were 411.97 parts per million and continue to increase. It has now reached levels of atmosphere never seen since 3 million years.

This represents an increase of 46% over the eve of the industrial revolution of the 1800s, when CO2 levels were about 280 parts per million. Levels began to rise when humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels to run factories and heat homes, releasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. .

Scientists say that to keep a planet habitable, we must reduce the level to 350 parts per million.

Oceans amounts

The melting of the polar ice caps, which raises the level of the oceans, is a consequence of the rising temperatures. A study published this month in the journal titled "Melting Glaciers" has allowed the seas of the world to rise about an inch in the last 50 years. Nature found.

The study suggests that the Earth's glaciers are currently losing up to 390 billion tonnes of ice and snow.

Global warming has melted more than 3 trillion tons of Antarctic ice over the last 25 years and a threefold loss of ice over the last decade, another study released in June said. .

Businesses are burning under a smoke-covered sky in paradise on November 9th. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON, AFP / Getty Images)

Kill Americans, costing billions

Extreme events exacerbated by climate change have killed nearly 250 Americans and cost the nation at least $ 91 billion in 2018, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Unusual heat in the western United States in 2018 contributed to the disastrous fire season that killed dozens of people. In monetary terms, western states have experienced the most expensive forest fire season ever recorded: $ 24 billion worth of damage.

Hurricanes Michael, who caused $ 25 billion in damage, and Florence, with $ 24 billion in costs, were the other two major weather disasters of 2018.

New York City with the weather of Arkansas

If the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is not reduced, temperatures will continue to rise. A study published in February showed how the climate in US cities would be different in 60 years if greenhouse gas emissions persisted.

the Nature A study revealed that on average, the future climate would resemble that of an area located 528 miles south today.

This means that by 2080, the city of New York could benefit from the climate of Arkansas. Minneapolis could be closer to Los Angeles than Kansas and San Francisco could have weather closer than its current foggy climate. Other cities further south may experience modern unparalleled climates in North America.

"The kids alive today, like my 12 year old daughter, are going to witness a dramatic transformation of the climate. It's already underway, "said Matt Fitzpatrick, lead author of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science study.

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