Perspective: Extreme weatherScientists Warn of Weather Extremes as “New Normal”

Scientists warned that faster and stronger climate change is threatening the Earth and humankind as extreme weather has become the “new normal,” according to a report presented to UN climate chief.

The report — The 10 New Insights in Climate Science — found that climate change is forcing people to reconsider the notion of an extreme event. What was once considered unlikely or rare – is becoming part of the “new normal.”

CGTN notes that the record-breaking extreme weather and climate events have continued to dominate the headlines in 2019, with the impact of such events going beyond mere record setting and environmental damage, according to the report.

CGTN adds:

Based on some of the latest findings in climate science and compiled in an easy-to-read guide, the report highlights the most recent advances over the last 12 months in the scientific understanding of the drivers, effects and impacts of climate change, as well as societal responses.

The report says that undernutrition will be the greatest health risk of climate change with declining agricultural productivity, particularly in drylands in Africa and high mountain regions of Asia and South America. Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide will reduce the nutritional quality of most cereal crops.

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The report also notes that climate change is now threatening biodiversity. Failure to address and adapt to climate change would have disastrous consequences for hundreds of millions of people, mainly the very poorest, who are most vulnerable to climate-related disasters like floods and drought.

Climate change will also impact on society. The report says that public opinion polls indicated that an increasing number of citizens in various countries are seriously concerned about climate change, and recent massive civil protests are getting close to the thresholds where the society could expect “tipping” of some socio-economic systems, according to the report.