SPECIAL REPORT ON THE OCEAN AND CRYOSPHERE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

The world’s oceans and ice caps are being transformed by climate change, posing greater threats to life and human society than scientists had realized, according to a special assessment of climate science focused on oceans and ice, released by the United Nations. The new report, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stresses that the watery parts of the planet are already entering a new state. Melt from the Antarctic is posing a greater threat this century than previously thought, and thawing permafrost is hounded by uncertainties over how much carbon it will release to the atmosphere, and how fast. The ocean is changing in structure and chemistry while heat waves increasingly strike its inhabitants. Although no amount of action now can stop some sea level rise, the worst of these effects can still be held off by cutting carbon emissions, the report says.

By Paul Voosen

Sep 27th, 2019