Climate Change - UN Report 'Limiting the Overshoot' shows 1.5°C increase has been crossed

The United Nations latest report on climate change released this week finally acknowledged what many climate scientists, environmental leaders and organisations already knew - that limiting the increase in the world's temperature by only 1.5°C (the Paris Agreement) was already lost.

The Report states that the most optimistic scenario for the climate will see a temperature rise peak at 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels. Most other scenarios that have been modelled predict higher peaks with even more disasterous results. This result will deliver a hell-on-earth living environment unless effective counter-measures are enabled notably decreasing the temperature increase.

Above 1.5°C, the impacts on the planet will intensify with every extra fraction of a degree and with every year. The anticipated impacts (some of which already occur) include intensified extreme weather, ecosystem loss, submersion of the Small Island Developing States as well as low-lying coastal cities. Other impact include severe damage to human health, food production, water supplies, the environment in general, cities, infrastructure and correspondingly to economies. 

The Report further warns that crossing irreversible tipping points becomes increasingly likely with the magnitude and duration of higher temperatures. In some measure this is already visible in parts of the world and will only accelerate. The tipping points include destabilisation of major ice sheets, degradation of the Amazon rainforest and disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the significance of this change relates to the regulation of the climate itself as that current moves warm surface water North and cold deep water South). 

The UN attributes this situation to years of inaction and warns that only returning the increase in temperature to below 1.5°C can provide an hope of mitigation. This is putting it mildly.

The full report can be accessed at this link: UN Report ''Limiting the Overshoot''