The Earth’s global average temperature is likely to warm anywhere from 4.1 ° F to 8.1 ° F (or 2.3 ° C to 4.5 ° C) if deforestation and burning of fossil fuels continue at the current rate, the Washington Post reports, citing a new important news study.
Because it is important: The best case scenario for this estimate exceeds the previous minimum range first established in a 1979 report, which expected the planet to warm to between 2.7 ° F and 8.1 ° F (1.5 ° C to 4.5 ° C) if the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment was twofold. The world is on track to reach that milestone in approximately the next 50 years, according to the Post.
The panorama: 25 researchers in a four-year study published in the Geophysical Reviews Wednesday, he found a 95% chance that doubling the amount of atmospheric CO2 would have dangerous ramifications, including intolerable heat waves and a “disturbing” rise in sea level, according to the Post.
Details: The researchers used data from instrument records, paleoclimatic records of ice cores and coral reefs that helped measure prehistoric temperatures and satellite observations to reach their findings, Andrew Freedman and Chris Mooney of the Post reported.
The bottom line: It now appears “extremely unlikely” that the Earth’s global climate sensitivity “could be low enough to prevent substantial climate change” if carbon emissions continue unabated, according to the researchers.
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