This story includes details about the impacts of climate change that may be difficult for some readers. If you are feeling overwhelmed by this crisis situation here is a list of resources on how to cope with fears and feelings about the scope and pace of the climate crisis.
Every region of the world will “increasingly experience concurrent and multiple changes” in climate events if global warming continues to rise, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
As climate scientists have warned in every past IPCC report, changes in several climatic impact drivers (physical climate system conditions or events that affect society or ecosystems) will become more widespread if global temperatures rise above the maximum threshold of 1.5°C. At that level, writes the IPCC, heavy precipitation and flooding will intensify in most regions. And if global warming increases to 2°C or above, the dire predictions, and the level of confidence scientists have in making them, will grow much stronger.
One climatic impact driver cited in the report is a sharp increase in fire weather—a combination of weather conditions that increase the likelihood of wildfire—as evidenced by recent wildfires in Canada, the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
It is “very likely to virtually certain” that sea levels will continue to rise along two-thirds of global coastline throughout this century, and extreme sea level incidents that occurred once per century in the recent past will become annual events at most locations by 2100, it predicts. Cities intensify human-induced warming and further urbanization, combined with more frequent hot extremes, will increase the severity of heat waves.
“Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its manifestations and consequences are different in different regions,” the report notes, adding that “the need for accurate climate information at the regional scale is increasing.” High-resolution global climate models provide detailed information at the regional scale, but the number of simulations per model is limited.
The IPCC’s regional predictions have media outlets around the world reporting on the probable climate dangers on their beats. One BBC World Service story details the growing incidence of cyclones and landslides in developing nations, with the International Institute for Environment and Development identifying 46 least-developed countries that need US$40 billion a year to develop adaptation plans to “climate proof” their territory.
The IPCC, too, highlights the wide reach of climate change impacts. “Every region of the world will experience concurrent changes” by mid-century, challenging countries’ resilience and adaptation capacity, the report says.
“The current climate in most regions is already different from the climate of the early or mid-20th century,” the IPPC explains, with climate change shifting the magnitude, frequency, duration, and seasonality of some indicators. “Several impact-relevant changes have not yet emerged from the natural variability, but will emerge sooner or later in this century depending on the emission scenario.”
The expected changes in weather conditions will pose challenges for energy production, river transportation, ecosystems, infrastructure, and winter tourism, along with numerous other impacts, and CO2 will increase in all scenarios until net-zero emissions are achieved.
IPCC scientists are hoping their latest report will prompt policy-makers at the UN climate summit in Glasgow this November to set an ambitious path for climate action by all the world’s nations. “Climate change is already resulting in significant societal and environmental impacts, and will induce major socio-economic damages in the future,” they write. “Society at large benefits from information related to climate change risks, which enables the development of options to protect lives, preserve nature, build resilience, and prevent avoidable loss and damage.”
