‘I’ve seen the damage first-hand’
Journalist Nada Farhoud spent weeks in the Arctic reporting on the devastation of global warming. Here she sums up the issues…
When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a special paper on oceans and cryosphere (that’s the frozen parts of the planet such as the ice caps and glaciers), it made for a sobering read.
The work of 104 climate scientists from 36 countries, with reference to 6,981 individual reports and more than 31,000 expert comments, it asks the question: what will happen if greenhouse gas emissions do not fall rapidly?
Sea levels are rising twice as fast as during the 20th century as the melting of the largest ice reservoirs accelerates, leading to extreme weather patterns and dwindling marine life.
But far worse impacts will hit if urgent action isn’t taken to cut fossil fuel emissions, including an eventual sea-level rise of more than four metres – an outcome that would redraw the map of the world and harm billions of people.
The ramifications of climate change are most pronounced in the world’s coldest regions, such as the Arctic, which is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. It’s where I travelled to in Greenland, to witness the impact first-hand.
This summer, the area endured a record 22°C heatwave (normal average temperatures do not exceed 10°C), which led to record icemelting, pushing up sea levels with the impact felt all over the region.
Worryingly, I found out it is not just the ice that is melting. The Arctic’s large layer of frozen ground, called permafrost, is thawing quicker than scientists anticipated – another looming crisis.
Globally, permafrost holds 16,000 gigatons of CO2 and methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2 – twice the amount that’s already in our atmosphere.
In Greenland, permafrost thawing is already taking its toll on the local community, with collapsing buildings and frequent landslides.
It is estimated half of homes in the north western part of the island will need to be pulled down in 10 years as a result of the rapid melt. Scientists say there is still much to be learnt about the implications of this change – affecting an area twice the size of the USA – yet only a small amount is monitored.
If it melts on a wider scale it will kick off a vicious loop, with released carbon driving further warming and melting.
Climate change is not a future threat. It is happening now and speeding up. The science could not be clearer on the need for urgent action.
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet