While most of the world has been scorched by heat, especially South Asia and Europe this summer, the planet’s polar ice caps are displaying symptoms of vulnerability and risk. Temperatures in the Antarctic polar ice cap were just over 17.7 degrees Celsius, an extremely moderate figure for a region known for its ice fields and the winds that blow across it. Greenland, one of the world’s northernmost countries, experienced greater temperatures than ever before. The reasons are due to an increase in greenhouse gases, which accelerates global warming. Carbon dioxide and methane emissions have reached all-time highs.
More of the world has warmed as a result of climate change in the last eight years, impacting our planet terribly. Since 2016 there has been a steady change in temperatures according to the European Climate Monitor in Paris, 2016 was the hottest year worldwide, while 2020, 2019, and 2017 also showed record heat. Pakistan became the first-hand victim of climate change in 2022, due to severe climate-change-related catastrophes. Floods and heat way destroyed agriculture and inundated tens of thousands of people. Some people are still living in substandard shelters, suffering disease-related death.
However, millions of people around the world are already recognizing the real risks they face and anticipating others shortly. We may reach a point when the life of many types becomes impossible far sooner than expected. Human life may become impossible in some of the world’s hottest regions in the coming years, according to forecasts. One of the reasons this is not the case is that there are still those who deny the facts we have on record.
Scientists have been telling us that the increase in CO2 levels has reached 417 parts per million, the highest amount in over two million years. Methane levels reached 1,894 parts per million, the highest in 800,000 years. These estimates are astounding in and of themselves, and the fact that concentrations show no indications of abating shows exactly how vulnerable the world is.
