Global warming still a bigger threat than virus
WHEN Covid-19 first impacted on our everyday lives it took a while for each of us to realise the full extent of what was involved in social distancing, self-isolation, cocooning, and all the other new behavioural changes that were suddenly foisted upon us.
Some people were quicker than others to appreciate what we needed to do leading to accusations in the news media that some people “just didn’t get it” and were either unintentionally blissfully unaware of what was required or were intentionally defiant and socially irresponsible.
Hopefully, after several recent weeks of battling with the steepness of the new learning curve, most people are now fully aware of what needs to be done to continue to try to stem the unfettered spread of the highly contagious new viral pandemic.
Our single-minded, relentless focus on Covid-19 and our preoccupation with it resulted in other issues like Brexit and global warming being temporarily side-lined. Publication of the recent United Nations (UN) World Meteorological Organisation ( WMO) review of 2019 hardly got a mention.
The WMO report established that last year was the second-hottest year on record and confirmed increasing heating of the planet, accelerating sea level rises, more frequent extreme weather and a growing negative impact on people and wildlife. Global average temperature is now 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels and rising.
In 2019 oceans were at the hottest on record. It was the 32nd year in a row in which more ice was lost than gained. The melting of land ice combined with thermal expansion of water pushed sea levels up to the highest mark since records began. The long-term decline of Arctic sea ice also continued.
António Guterres, UN Secretary General, warned that governments are “way off-track” in dealing with the climate emergency and that time is fast running out. Like the call for action during the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak some people “just don’t get it” when it comes to climate change.
WMO scientists say the threat is greater than that from the coronavirus, and world leaders must not be diverted away from decisive climate action. There is growing acceptance that aspirations that we will reach climate neutrality by 2050 are unlikely to happen without very significant lifestyle and behavioural changes and drastic cutbacks in aviation and meat production.
Covid-19 and global warming continue to force us to reflect on the scale of the very significant changes that are now required of us.