Our planet has warmed faster since the turn of the century than ever recorded, almost doubling the pace of sea level rise and exacerbating heat-related deaths says a new report from the United Nations.
“The decadal rate of increase between 1991-2000 and 2001-2010 was unprecedented,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in a statement. “Rising concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are changing our climate, with far-reaching implications for our environment and our oceans.”
The report underlines the challenge the globe faces in containing temperature gains since industrialization to the 2-degree Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) ceiling set by UN climate-treaty negotiators. The planet is on course to warm by 4C degrees by 2100 because emissions are still rising, the World Bank says.
The World Bank has prepared the following video to show the devastation that would occur with 4C degrees temperate rise. The video also shows actions that could prevent that warming.