Climate: Africa’s Human Existence Is at Severe Risk
“Africa’s human existence and development is under threat from the adverse impacts of climate change – its population, ecosystems and unique biodiversity will all be the major victims of global climate change.”
This is how clear the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is when it comes to assessing the negative impact of climate change on this continent of 54 countries with a combined population of over 1,200 billion [1.2 billion] inhabitants. “No continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as Africa.”
Other international organisations are similarly trenchant. For instance, the World Bank, basing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, confirms that Africa is becoming the most exposed region in the world to the impacts of climate change.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, extreme weather will cause dry areas to become drier and wet areas wetter; agriculture yields will suffer from crop failures; and diseases will spread to new altitudes, say the World Bank experts, while alerting that by 2030 it is expected that 90 million more people in Africa will be exposed to malaria, “already the biggest killer in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Global warming may be far worse than thought, cloud analysis suggests
Climate change projections have vastly underestimated the role that clouds play, meaning future warming could be far worse than is currently projected. A doubling of C02 could result in a global temperature increase of up to 5.3C – far warmer than the 4.6C older models predict.The analysis of satellite data found that clouds have more liquid rather than ice, than has been assumed. Clouds with ice crystals reflect more solar light than those with liquid, stopping it reaching and heating the Earth’s surface, which means that models showing future warming are misguided
Arctic ice loss
Since 2003, Greenland has lost more than 272 Tkg of ice a year, and that affects the way the Earth wobbles in a manner similar to a figure skater lifting one leg while spinning. On top of that, West Antarctica loses 124 Tkg and East Antarctica gains about 74 Tkg, helping tilt the wobble further. They all combine to pull polar motion toward the east
Here’s What Science Has To Say About Convincing People To Do Something About Climate Change
The best way to motivate people to support action to limit climate change is to explain the dangers of not taking action. While that may not seem surprising, it is only recently that the immorality of inaction have been a key focus of top US politicians.
Radioactive boars run wild around Fukushima
Communities in northern Japan are being overwhelmed by radioactive wild boars which are rampaging across the countryside after being contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The animals’ numbers are increasing as the boar breed unhindered in the exclusion zone around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, and they are causing damage to farms well beyond the area poisoned by radiation. Hunters are shooting the boars as fast as they can, but local cities are running out of burial space and incinerator capacity to dispose of their corpses.
