When climate change skeptics mock the fears about a rise of a “few degrees” in temperature, we should remind them of how it feels to have a fever. A few degrees above normal can mean the difference between life and death, species survival and extinction. Further to that, a melting ice-cap can have calamitous effects on ocean-atmosphere interactions, including albedo effects and impacts on the thermo-haline circulation. A rapid change in one part of the Earth System, outside of the Earth’s natural variability adaptive capacity, could result in more extreme floods, fires, droughts, or more intense and frequent cyclones/hurricanes. While there still remains some uncertainty over tipping points and their impacts, it is unequivocal that anthropogenic induced climate change will have massive economic, social and political implications; this will be particularly so in developing nations where poverty and inadequate resources to deal with the impacts will exacerbate the situation. The Daily Panda brings you updates on interesting and important happenings around the world which are creating a climate for change on climate change.
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