CNN —
The number 1.5 has served as a symbol of the struggle against climate change for many years.
Since nations came to an agreement in 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the number has come to represent a means of averting catastrophic climate change.
But what if we’ve already lost the fight to prevent global warming from surpassing this threshold?
Prominent scientists contend that it has, and that sugarcoating the facts would be irresponsible. Some believe that viewpoint to be not just incorrect but also “dangerous.”
Renowned climate scientist James Hansen was the one whose remarks ignited the controversy. The 1.5 degree limit, he said in November, was “deader than a doornail,” and that the scientific community had failed “to make clear to the political leaders what the situation is.”
He stated during a news conference in November that the globe is going to surpass 1.5 degrees of warming because the rate of global warming is increasing. “That’s something that anybody who knows physics knows.”
Hansen is mostly recognized for being the first scientist to openly raise the alarm about climate change in the 1980s, thus his remarks carry weight. However, several scientists have strongly objected.
Michael Mann, a renowned climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, stated of Hansen, “I can tell you that Jim is wrong. I have three degrees in physics.” He told CNN that politics, not science, is the issue. “And political roadblocks are surmountable.”
Even more direct was the remark from Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. “That seems like a really dumb thing to say,” she said to reporters in November. “At this point, (1.5 degrees) is doable, and denying it will only make the waiting period for action even longer.”
Even more direct was the remark from Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. “That seems like a really dumb thing to say,” she said to reporters in November. “At this point, (1.5 degrees) is doable, and denying it will only make the waiting period for action even longer.”
Since our globe is a very complicated system, disagreements among experts are common when it comes to climate research and consensus-building.
However, the discussion about 1.5’s future is becoming abnormally heated as global warming intensifies extreme weather, including heat waves, cyclones, and even powerful winter storms like those that have ripped across sections of the United States.
Abnormally high temperatures
It can be difficult to remember precisely how hot 2023 was at times when many regions of the US and Europe are dealing with an Arctic blast of extremely cold air. Global temperatures reached record highs last year, shattering heat records all throughout the world.
Abnormally high temperatures
It can be difficult to remember precisely how hot 2023 was at times when many regions of the US and Eu.
2023 became the warmest year on record due to a combination of El Niño, a natural climate phenomena that tends to raise the planet’s average temperature, and the long-term trend of global warming. Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that the year came dangerously close to exceeding 1.5 degrees.
The record heat of 2023 was a clear warning sign, even though experts are more worried about long-term warming spanning many years rather than just one. Scientists predict the long-term effects of climate change will begin to outweigh ecosystems’ and humans’ capacity for adaptation if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees.
However, every degree counts, and turmoil related to climate change is already beginning to emerge.