Don’t forget climate threat, Earth Hour activists urge
Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge darkened lights for an hour on Saturday, kicking off a global sequence also set to leave Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque and the Eiffel Tower in Paris in the dark.
The initiative, started in 2007 by the environmental group WWF, asks firms, local authorities and people to douse lights briefly from 8:30 p.m. local time.
More than 100 landmarks were expected to take part in the event, with 360 cities set to participate in Germany. Locked down by the coronavirus pandemic in many locations, participants have instead shared photos and videos online. Artists also performed via social media.
All mass events have been canceled to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more: Will it soon be too late to save the climate?
‘Rethink our strategy’
“It’s a time to really rethink our strategy,” said Katie Eder of the youth alliance Future Coalition, which is helping to coordinate Earth Hour.
“We are really looking at this as a way to reimagine what a social movement can look like in a digital age,” said Eder.
Glasgow, Scotland is due to host the United Nation’s next climate summit in November, COP26, the 26th on tackling climate disruption blamed on fossil fuels.
Host Britain, itself facing a traumatic COVID-19 outbreak, said Friday it was keeping summit planning “under careful review” and was in frequent contact with the UN climate agency in Bonn and partners, including pandemic-hit Italy.
“Other means such as video and phone conferences” may become essential for pre-COP26 planning meetings, a British spokeswoman told Reuters. Talks are also planned for Bonn in early June on advancing the COP26 agenda.
Read more: Coronavirus and climate change: A tale of two crises
Reduce travel ‘footprint’
Dhaka-based climate expert Saleemul Huq said it was time to consider new ways of organizing the international climate process, taking into account complex logistics and reducing the carbon footprint.
“We need to be thinking innovatively about making these kinds of global meetings more efficient in terms of outcomes and less dependent on thousands of people from all over the world flying into one city,” said Huq.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
A California day at the South Pole
In Antarctica, scientists measured temperatures on par with Los Angeles. In February, a record 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit) was measured at the Argentinean research station Esperanza Base in the north Antarctic. This was the highest temperature since measurements began there, according to NASA. The warm weather led to quickly developing melt ponds (pictured right).
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
More frequent and stronger storms
As oceans warm, the intensity of tropical cyclones will increase. The hurricane or typhoon season will last longer and there will be significantly more hurricanes, especially in the North Atlantic and the northeast Pacific. Extreme weather conditions will result in extremely destructive storms in the future, even in regions that have so far been spared.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Rising sea levels and storm surges
Oceans warm along with the rising temperatures of the Earth’s atmosphere, albeit with a delay. This leads to a thermal expansion of the water masses, causing sea levels to rise further. The habitats and livelihoods of numerous coastal inhabitants — especially in poorer regions — will be lost.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Forest fires as a result of extreme weather
While there will be heavy precipitation and flooding in some places, extreme weather conditions elsewhere will cause very dry periods. Crop failures and devastating forest fires will be the result. The fire season will last much longer in many places, and the number of fires will increase dramatically.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Relocating entire ecosystems
Warmer oceans will drive species, and eventually entire marine ecosystems, into colder regions. Fish and marine mammals will migrate toward the poles, just like land animals. The cod populations in the North Sea, for example, are already shrinking faster than can be explained by overfishing alone. Fishing regions further north could benefit from this development.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Acidified seas
Heating causes CO2 to dissolve directly in surface water, the pH value of seawater then decreases and the water “acidifies.” Mussels, starfish, corals, crabs and sea urchins lose their ability to form exoskeletons or endoskeletons in these conditions. This means that they will disappear, leading to unfiltered water and a lack of food for other marine life.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Less plankton as fodder
As the pH value decreases due to increased CO2 absorption, small algae aren’t able to absorb as much iron. But plankton needs this mineral for strong growth. Since many phytoplankton species also form calcareous skeletons, they are likely to be affected by acidified water.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Oxygen decreases
Warmer water stores less oxygen, so warming oceans lead to expanding areas that are oxygen-poor. In many rivers, lakes and lagoons, oxygen-poor “death zones” already exist where animals can’t live because too little oxygen is dissolved in the water.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Explosive algae blooms
In warm, oxygen-poor water, toxic algae bloom and can multiply explosively. Their poison kills fish and other sea creatures. Algae carpets are already threatening the fishing industry and tourism in many places. Here is a picture from Chile’s coast, where red algae killed thousands of fish with their nerve poison.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Empty white coral skeletons
Warming oceans cause coral to lose not only its color but also its ability to reproduce, as a result of heavy coral bleaching. Coral reefs die off and provide no protection, no food and no hunting grounds for a variety of marine life.
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Catastrophes triggered by warming oceans
Changing ocean currents
If the North Atlantic Current were to be interrupted by ocean warming, it would result in a severe cold spell throughout western and northern Europe. This is because the current ensures the continuous circulation of seawater as dense surface water sinks into deeper, cooler layers. The other oceanic currents would also be affected by such an interruption.
Too early to decide on Glasgow
But Nairobi-based climate expert Mohamed Adow said — while it was too early to decide on delaying the Glasgow summit — single-place summits involving many thousands were needed for the quick flow of decision-making.
Climate diplomacy was difficult when officials, for example, in Africa, lacked online access or had poor connection quality, said Anna Schulz of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development.
Huq said the main task for COP26 would be to accelerate the unfinished work of phasing out fossil fuels and protecting people from climate impacts.
Read more: Corona stimulus plans overlook ‘historic’ chance for climate crisis
Pandemic shows action possible: Thunberg
Prominent Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg, herself in isolation in Stockholm with a suspected case of COVID-19, said Tuesday the world’s reactions to the pandemic showed that rapid action on climate change was possible.
“The coronavirus is a terrible event … there is no positive to come out of it,” said Thunberg.
“But it also shows one thing: That once we are in a crisis, we can act to do something quickly, act fast,” she said. “We can do it online and at home. We just need to be creative and find new ways.”
In 2019, the youth climate strike movement that Thunberg inspired brought millions of citizens, young and old, onto streets around the world.
ipj/aw (Reuters, dpa, epd, AP)
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