Much discussed climate change will surprise many people in the coming years, including accustomed to hot summers Middle Easterners. However, while in some parts of the world the climate phenomena will include rising temperatures and floods, countries in the Middle East will face a different kind of challenge – snow.
That was revealed by the draft of an upcoming report which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will publish in just a few days from today. The report shows a future that is grimmer than what initial forecasts predicted.
According to it, the first wave of dangerous climate change effects is already here. Among the events that prove that are the flood in Nepal, Russian, India, central Europe, India and many other countries. Another example of the global warming are the extremely low temperatures which were registered in the U.S. and Europe over the past few months, as well as the draught in Brazil and China.
The Middle East has also started to witness a few climate rarities of its own. Last December, some countries in the region saw the first big winter storm in decades. The countries that were affected by that were Jordan, Northern Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, as well as a few smaller territories. Moreover, in Cairo, this was the first snowfall for more than 100 years. Scientists warn that this is about to become a regular climate event in the region.
According to researchers behind the report, they now have a clearer picture on what is to come and how it can affect people’s lives. The report’s draft states that as degree rise up, costs will do too. However, scientists share that they find it hard to predict the exact scale of price jumps. However, they assume that a warming of around 2.5 C will spike costs by 0.2% – 2% of the global annual income. If that number does not say anything to you, we would clarify that it equal to hundreds of billions of dollars… a year.
The report also outlines the main threats that climate change will offer to humanity. It listed five main perils. Among them are rising seas, which are expected to many areas in SouthSoutheast and East Asia in danger.
Droughts are also said to become a common climate event over the next one century. According to the draft, whenever temperatures rise by 1 C, water resources would fall by 20%. The other perils include flooding and loss of various animal and plant species.
In addition, all of these factors will boost global poverty, hunger and migration. Moreover, the competition for resources between countries is predicted to reach turbulent levels.
Nevertheless, scientists are positive that if the world decreases its carbon emissions in the next few decades, this can reduce the negative effect of global warming and stabilize the climate.
