The Climate Reality Project’s Post

The temperature scorecard is in for last year and it doesn't look good. We need to stop emitting greenhouse gases, but we also need to get creative in harnessing the cooling power of water in the climate. For those amongst you who have not thought about the role of water in climate interactions and its impact on temperature, you may wish to consider the following: Every single large city on earth experiences higher temperatures than its surrounding countryside, yet the carbon dioxide concentration is IDENTICAL everywhere. What is the explanation for observed higher temperatures in such urban heat islands...? How is this possible if the temperature is mainly dependent on carbon dioxide concentration...? Ambient air temperature is clearly influenced by other factors .... there is more to the climate story than carbon dioxide.

The Cooling Power of Water can stop the heating up of the Earth Photosynthesis turns liquid water into vapor, via the leaves of trees and plants. The water vapor transports heat up where it forms clouds and ejects the heat out into space, cooling the surface of the Earth in several ways. This process also creates the winds to carry rains into the interior of continents, in a process called the biotic pump. Understanding these intricate processes opens ways to fight climate change much more effective than just focusing on CO2. But we have to act fast, at some point in the near future our agency to act at the scale and speed necessary to avert collapse, will falter fast. https://lnkd.in/gXhgs3zU

In case you haven't been paying attention, #HayleySmith in the Los Angeles Times times explains how is #climatechange affecting heat waves in California and the West: "Climate change is transforming the character of the West’s hottest periods — making them more frequent, more persistent and more lethal. For almost all of human history, heat waves have been driven by natural variability — or the tendency of weather patterns to veer occasionally from their typical patterns. Now, however, the accumulation of #greenhousegases due to the burning of #fossilfuels is increasing the likelihood and severity of such extreme heat events." https://lnkd.in/g7MCwRQe It isn't complicated: it's the #greenhousegases stupid. #climatecrisis #stopburningstuff #electrifyeverything

🌍 Let's face the facts: Climate change is real, and it's wreaking havoc on our planet. The recent disasters are just a glimpse of what's to come if we don't act NOW. Human actions, especially burning fossil fuels, are driving up temperatures. We're already 1.2°C warmer, and without major changes, we're headed for 3°C . But here's the good news: WE have the power to change this trajectory. Let's transform how we travel, generate energy, and produce food. Together, we can make a difference! 💪 #ActOnClimate #wind #solar #batteries

« Scientists at Scripps, the organization that initiated CO2 monitoring at Mauna Loa in 1958 and maintains an independent record, calculated a May monthly average of 426.7 ppm for 2024, an increase of 2.92 ppm over May 2023’s measurement of 423.78 ppm. For Scripps, the two-year jump tied a previous record set in 2020. From January through April, NOAA and Scripps scientists said CO2 concentrations increased more rapidly than they have in the first four months of any other year. The surge has come even as one highly regarded international report offsite link has found that fossil fuel emissions, the main driver of climate change, have plateaued in recent years. » “Over the past year, we’ve experienced the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record and a seemingly endless string of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Now we are finding that atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing faster than ever. We must recognize that these are clear signals of the damage carbon dioxide pollution is doing to the climate system, and take rapid action to cut fossil fuel use as quickly as we can.” By Theo Stein June 6, 2024

A reminder that climate change is here now and not in the future and is accelerating not slowing down, so data 📈 says we are doing awful. If the world had a CEO he wouldn’t be happy at all. we know is accelerating as the ppm increase over year is also increasing, meaning we have a positively increasing Dppm/Dt (speed), meaning Dppm/Dt^2 is also positive ! (acceleration) if you remember some basic physics class from school. Floods and fires and drought will not get fixed by themselves! Canada is on fire 🔥 again. The reef 🪸 is bleaching globally. Floods 🚿 are taking over the world with extreme precipitation events. Water cycle : hotter atmosphere, more water capacity as clouds = bigger storms and precipitations, increasing for frequency and danger towards never seen in Holocene history faster and faster. We need urgent UN action among all countries like Covid but stronger… a global policy has to be defined for this very complex and difficult problem to solve https://lnkd.in/dqyGJZQ8

“The Earth climate system is out of energy balance, and heat has accumulated continuously over the past decades, warming the ocean, the land, the cryosphere, and the atmosphere. According to the Sixth Assessment Report by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this planetary warming over multiple decades is human-driven and results in unprecedented and committed changes to the Earth system, with adverse impacts for ecosystems and human systems. The Earth heat inventory provides a measure of the Earth energy imbalance (EEI) and allows for quantifying how much heat has accumulated in the Earth system, as well as where the heat is stored. Here we show that the Earth system has continued to accumulate heat, with 381±61 ZJ accumulated from 1971 to 2020. This is equivalent to a heating rate (i.e., the EEI) of 0.48±0.1 W m−2. The majority, about 89 %, of this heat is stored in the ocean, followed by about 6 % on land, 1 % in the atmosphere, and about 4 % available for melting the cryosphere.” #heat #energybudget #imbalance #climatechange #climateimpacts #fossils #greenhousegases #methane #co2 #oil #gas

The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth's atmosphere has surged to a new high, exceeding 427 parts per million (ppm) in May, marking a significant annual increase of approximately 3 ppm compared to the previous year. This rise, largely attributed to human activities like burning fossil fuels, contributes to intensified extreme weather events such as heatwaves, hurricanes, and floods. Urgent and robust measures are imperative to address the escalating climate crisis and mitigate its adverse impacts. #ClimateCrisis #CO2Emissions #ExtremeWeather #FossilFuels #ClimateActionNow https://lnkd.in/edahp7X7

CLIMATE CRISIS | CO₂ NOW AT 427 PPM "Carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels set a new *record high* in May 2024 - 426.90 ppm (seasonal max) ... "Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever..." Press Release: https://lnkd.in/eHkYgR54" Credit to Zachary Labe, climate scientist: https://zacklabe.com/ https://lnkd.in/eEB8MPds #science #data #weather #climate #co2emissions #climatechange