Knowledge of climate impacts low

Rising temperatures due to climate change are bringing serious consequences, with a wide range of potentially extreme events. For example, according to research, we will have to deal with drought, floods or forest fires more frequently in the future - something that is already evident today.

Models from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology study show that by 2070, more than 2 trillion people worldwide will be affected by extreme heat waves with average temperatures of over 29 degrees Celsius. To date, approximately 30 million people in the Sahara and Gulf Coast regions have been affected by such temperatures.

Rethinking action is necessary

Thus, the study's researchers advocate a new "climate endgame agenda" that outlines what should be done to counteract climate change and its consequences in addition to existing measures. So far, too little research has been done on the potential consequences of climate change, according to the study, so that they may be more severe for society and humanity than previously expected.

Society must prepare itself for the possibility of extreme increases in temperature. However, in order to be able to finally assess these risks and their consequences and, at best, to prevent them, further and, above all, more in-depth research is necessary. Only then can climate protection measures be taken, resilience improved and policy informed. Based on this, emergency measures can ultimately be defined.

The potential risks posed by climate change must also be factored into planning for one's own trade, the researchers said. The realization that changes to our planet's ecosystems can bring about a strong interaction has become particularly apparent in recent years. For example, the highly complex organism with feedbacks and interactions could change from cooling to warming quite suddenly. For example, large rainforests could change from former carbon sinks to sources of global warming. Together with the continued large-scale emission of greenhouse gases and the steadily increasing rate of climate catastrophes, a rethink must now take place - throughout society.

Source: PNAS Study