Is it too late, already?

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about the ongoing climate change and how its effects become more and more visible.

More than two years ago, I was celebrating that the Paris Agreement was adopted by all of the 196 UNFCCC member parties. Eleven months later, the Paris Agreement entered into force after being ratified by 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions. Both events set a strong signal to globally act on climate change by reducing CO2 emissions and trying to limit the global temperature raise to well below 2°C on average.

Now, more than a year later, I am more concerned than ever before that it might be too late, already. Personally, I get the impression that, although many people are speaking of the climate change, no one really takes action against it. Furthermore, I more and more start to experience it myself as I see strong changes in my region’s climate. Currently, at the end of December and beginning of January, we are experiencing temperatures of around 10°C in Germany. Some years ago, temperatures were around or even below freezing for several weeks. In addition, we also experienced the first strong storm of the year that brought a lot of rain which potentially will cause some floods…

The effects of an ongoing climate change are even more drastic in Arctic regions which are especially vulnerable for the a temperature raise. Last year, as I travelled to Iceland, I could see how far the old glaciers have retreated from their maximum extend. In addition, the decline of the glacier mass starts to increase in speed thus revealing more dark soil which, in the end, even contributes to the temperature raise as it heats up in the sunlight instead of reflectng it.

In general, the changes in the seasonal global climate strongly indicate the ongoing climate change that comes along with very strong weather phenomena. It is time that we start to act now before it is too late. Maybe we still have a chance to preserve this planet for future generations.

Also, it is very important to raise the global awareness and to demonstrate the effects of an uncontrolled climate change. This could be done with computer games that visualize the effects and hence make it easier to understand what currently is happening with our climate.

We finally need to wake up.