From an ice age emergency to a devastating hurricane, scientists have long warned of doomsday events, and now some governments and experts are taking steps to begin preparing for them. the worst.
For example, many climate scientists recently sent a letter to the leaders of northern Europe, warning of a major change in the Atlantic Ocean due to human-caused climate change – which could cause a sudden change in climate change and environmental degradation worldwide.
It’s another development of long-standing concerns about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which also served as fodder for the movie “Day After Tomorrow” (which took a lot of liberties with the scientific consensus ).
“I think it makes sense for the Nordic countries to think about how they can prepare for the shutdown of the AMOC,” said Baylor Fox-Kemper, professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University, in an email to USA TODAY. “Similarly, Florida should be thinking about stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels, California should be thinking about large wildfires, and India should be thinking about more extreme heat.”
Governments around the world are facing and preparing for severe disasters that may occur in the next few decades as climate change continues. Here are a few:
What if the AMOC falls?
Climate change could lead to the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a system of ocean currents that transport warm water into the North Atlantic and give Europe its mild climate. Such a fall could cause rapid changes in weather and climate in the US, Europe and elsewhere. If it were to happen, it could bring an ice age to Europe and a rise in sea levels in cities like Boston and New York, as well as severe storms and hurricanes along the East Coast.
“Such a change in ocean circulation could have serious and irreversible consequences, especially in the Nordic countries, but also in other parts of the world,” said the scientists in an October letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers, which consists of five countries, including Denmark and Sweden. , and three independent sites.
The letter urges the council to take action that could include asking for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“Preparedness involves science and certainty about the magnitude of the impacts, who will be most affected, and what can be done,” Fox-Kemper said. “In the case of the AMOC, only emissions reductions can reduce the risk that its change presents. These countries and countries can also reduce emissions, although that has proven difficult, in part because they emit they are often far from those who will be affected.”
The United Kingdom is facing climate change
The AMOC is not the only climate-related issue that governments are concerned about.
In the United Kingdom, the government’s new Advanced Research and Invention Agency (similar to the USA’s DARPA) is focusing on two climate-related issues, according to MIT Technology Review. One is the rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which could significantly raise sea levels. One is the weakening of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, a large current that rotates south of Greenland that may have played a role in the onset of the Little Ice Age. About the 14th century.”
By creating an early warning system, “we may be able to change the way we think about climate change and think about our preparedness,” said Sarah Bohndiek, program director of the research program. and professor of biomedical physics. University of Cambridge.
Fox-Kemper said, “preparing for climate change is something that countries have within their control, even if it is likely to be expensive and somewhat ineffective.”
Pacific early warning system
In the Pacific Ocean, on the small island of Timor-Leste, climate change is “bringing major challenges to the country’s development due to rising temperatures, rising sea levels, tropical cyclones, floods and prolonged drought,” according to the United Nations Environment Program. .
The new United Nations early warning system will help expand and improve Timor-Leste’s climate information and early warning systems.
“Early warning systems are a proven disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation approach that have been shown to save lives, livelihoods and ecosystems in the face of climate-related risks,” the UN said.
With climate change, the frequency and intensity of weather-related hazards are expected to increase, the UN said. Early warning systems “have the potential to prevent disaster risk and reduce loss and damage caused by climate-related hazards by supporting science-based and informed decision-making .”
Giving just 24 hours notice of an impending disaster can reduce damage by 30 percent, while investing just $800 million in early warning systems in developing countries can prevent the loss of $100,000. 3 to 16 billion per year.
Rain forests are under siege
A new early warning system uses satellite data to sound the alarm about growing threats to the world’s tropical forests, including worsening drought and logging, and aims to prevent it from reaching the point of no return. With the support of the National Society for Civil Society and the Swiss watchmaker Rolex, about 60 international scientists developed the method in response to the rising risks in the rainforests, which are important for protecting the climate and nature.
The new Tropical Forest Vulnerability Index examines and assesses the impact of climate change and land use – such as deforestation – on the region’s forests, as well as how they respond to environmental conditions. such a stress.
Contributing: Reuters
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