Some impacts of global warming – such as sea level rise and coastal flooding – are already locked in and unavoidable, according to a major research project.
Some impacts of global warming – such as sea level rise and coastal flooding – are already locked in and unavoidable, according to a major research project.
Global temperatures have already risen by around 1°C, and a further 0.5°C warming is expected. The full impacts of current warming have not yet been seen, since ice sheets and oceans take many decades to fully react to higher temperatures.
But more severe impacts can still be avoided if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
More than 50 scientists from 16 institutions in 13 countries have worked on the HELIX project (High-End Climate Impacts and Extremes), which has just finished after four years. The project examined the possible effects of warming of 1.5°C, 2°C, 4°C and 6°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
Read more at University of Exeter
Image: This is the Brahmaputra River. (Credit: Guwahati Assam)
