2019 was the 2nd hottest year in history, and yet … some are still saying global warming doesn’t exist. Last year marked the world’s hottest decade in 140 years. Every decade that passes the planet keeps getting warmer and warmer. The average global temperature from the beginning to the end of last year was 0.95 degrees celsius, which is higher than the long term predicted average from 1901 to 2000. 0.95 degrees celsius is approximately 0.98 degrees warmer than the average during the years of 1951 to 1980. Since mid-century, the average temperature of the world was 0.99, which is the highest mean record in the history of the world. the temperature in 2019 broke several records worldwide and fuelled the wildfires in the Amazon, and Australia. In the Arctic, the level of sea ice was the third-lowest ever recorded since September 2019.
Due to all the evidence seen years before, the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 was created. It was meant to restrict warming from rising 2 degrees, but scientists have since proposed that by that time, the world could lose 99% of its coral reefs and see 70% of its coastlines decline below rising sea levels. The World Meteorological Organization has estimated that by the end of the century, current levels of carbon dioxide emissions will likely bring the world to somewhere between 3 and 5 degrees of warming. The year 2020 started where 2019 left off – with high-impact weather and climate-related events. Wildfires in Australia are just the beginning. Without rapid action towards preventing climate change the world we all know and love will disappear in a matter of years.
