In this week's edition of Climate News, we have many fresh updates for all of you.
UN: Climate Crisis Could Disrupt Global Food Supply Before 1.5°C Temperature Rise
Alarms about an impending water shortage catastrophe for global agriculture have been raised by Alain-Richard Donwahi, President of the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP15. Donwahi highlights that the world's food supply might be disrupted far before temperatures rise above the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement due to the convergence of the climate catastrophe, water constraints, and unsustainable farming practices.
Referring to climate change as a swiftly spreading "pandemic," Donwahi emphasizes how the climate is deteriorating more quickly than previously anticipated. Although the 1.5°C target has received most of the attention, Donwahi points out that severe impacts including desertification, water scarcity, and soil degradation might occur much before this threshold.
The escalation of extreme weather phenomena, such as heat waves and droughts, due to climate change increases the burden on water and land resources that are already under stress. Subpar farming methods that cause soil erosion and degradation and eventually lower food yields exacerbate these problems.
Donwahi emphasizes, nonetheless, that this is a problem that the world cannot ignore. In order to strengthen global agriculture and improve agricultural yields, he urges greater private-sector investment, emphasizing the pressing need to address the current issue.
Ocean sea levels are rising faster than the global average, according to research.
Research by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicates that sea levels in the Southwest Pacific Ocean are increasing more quickly than average for the world. This year's 4mm annual water rise in some oceanic regions is more than the rise in global mean temperature, according to the WMO's State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2022 report. The paper states that rising sea levels threaten low-lying islands and that the warming and acidification of the ocean are causing harm to sensitive marine ecosystems.
Although the three-year La Niña episode had a cooling influence on ocean temperatures, the most "prominent and persistent" heat waves hit a vast area of ocean in the Solomon and Coral Seas, south of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia.
According to NASA data, there has been a consistent rise in sea levels worldwide since 1900, mostly due to two processes associated with atmospheric warming.
Over 90% of the surplus heat brought on by the climate issue is absorbed by the planet's oceans. Approximately 40% of the observed global mean sea-level increase is attributed to the thermal expansion of seawater caused by warming temperatures. Ocean levels are also raised by the melting of glaciers and ice sheets brought on by climate change.
Technical Terms used in this article:
Desertification: Desertification refers to the process by which fertile land becomes progressively degraded and transforms into desert-like conditions.
Acidification of the ocean: Ocean acidification refers to the ongoing process of the Earth's oceans becoming more acidic due to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
Credits
Images: NASA, Freepik
Information: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/08/food-supply-impact-nature-and-climate-change-stories/
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