{"id":124923,"date":"2021-08-10T19:00:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T13:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=124923"},"modified":"2021-08-11T11:28:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T05:58:20","slug":"ipccs-sixth-assessment-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ipccs-sixth-assessment-report\/","title":{"rendered":"IPCC\u2019s Sixth Assessment Report: Findings and Suggestions – Explained, pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its Sixth Assessment Report, titled \u201cClimate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis<\/strong>\u201d. The report states that human activities are causing climate change, and the planet is irrevocably headed towards warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius<\/strong> over pre-industrial times in the next two decades<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The report predicts that based on existing commitments by countries to curb their emission, the world is on track for global temperature warming by at least 2.7\u00b0C by 2100<\/strong>, calling it \u2018Code red for humanity\u2019<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report also mentions that unless extremely deep emission cuts are undertaken by all countries immediately, the 2015 Paris Agreement goals are unlikely to be met. The report recommended that countries should strive to achieve net-zero emissions \u2014 no additional greenhouse gases are emitted \u2014 by 2050.<\/p>\n

About the IPCC and their reports<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) produces assessment reports that are the most comprehensive scientific evaluations of the state of the earth\u2019s climate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So far, 5 assessment reports have been produced, the first one was released in 1990. The 5th assessment report was released in 2014, in the run-up to the climate change conference in Paris.<\/p>\n

IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The IPCC does not itself engage in scientific research<\/strong>. Instead, it asks scientists from around the world to go through all the relevant scientific literature related to climate change and draw up logical conclusions.<\/p>\n

The IPCC reports are created by three working groups of scientists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0Working Group<\/td>\nConcerned climate research<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Working Group-I<\/td>\nDeals with the scientific basis for climate change<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Working Group-II<\/td>\nDeals with the likely impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation issues<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Working Group-III<\/td>\nDeals with actions that can be taken to combat climate change.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
About the IPCC\u2019s Sixth Assessment Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\"IPCC\n

The first part (Working Group I) of IPCC\u2019s Sixth Assessment Report<\/strong> release follows a two-week-long plenary session held virtually from July 26 to August 6, 2021. The two remaining parts would be released next year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The report updates the scientific consensus<\/strong> and charts the future state of the climate since the 5th Assessment Report<\/strong> of 2014.<\/p>\n

The latest scientific assessment will influence discussions on the Conference of Parties meeting in Glasgow later this year<\/strong>\u00a0when countries are expected to announce plans and steps they have taken to curb emissions.<\/p>\n

Key findings of the IPCC\u2019s Sixth Assessment Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\"IPCC-6\"<\/p>\n

The report justifies India\u2019s position that historical cumulative emissions are the source of the climate crisis that the World faces today<\/strong>. Climate change is described by many as a far greater threat to humanity than COVID-19, because of its irreversible impacts.<\/p>\n

Global temperature has already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times and warn that the 1.5-degree-Celsius threshold was likely to be breached before 2040<\/strong>. The 2\u00b0C warming is likely to get exceeded by the end of this century. To limit that, the global emissions must peak by 2025 to keep warming at 1.5\u00b0C<\/strong>. But that is unlikely to occur.<\/p>\n

This is the first time that the IPCC has said that the 1.5 degrees warming was inevitable,<\/strong> even in the best-case scenario.<\/p>\n

The report mentions that more intense and frequent heat waves, increased incidents of extreme rainfall, dangerous rise in sea levels, prolonged droughts, melting glaciers will occur all over the world.<\/p>\n

The report mentions that the benefits of immediate action can begin to show results over time scales of 10 to 20 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tropical Cyclones<\/strong><\/h6>\n

The frequency of cyclones has increased by more than 50%.<\/p>\n

Tropical cyclones are getting stronger and wetter with the increased global warming. Sea level increase, High sea surface temperature, the presence of surplus moisture in the atmosphere results in intense cyclonic events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more<\/strong>: Floods in Europe and lessons for India \u2013 Explained, Pointwise<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Green House gases and CO2 emissions<\/strong><\/h6>\n

\"IPCC-3\"<\/p>\n

Humans have emitted 2,400 billion tonnes of CO2 since the late 1800s. The carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere \u2014 at around 416 parts per million<\/strong> \u2014 are the highest they have been in 2 million years<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity have raised global temperatures by 1.1 degrees Celsius since around 1850.<\/p>\n

The concentrations of lethal air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), ozone (O3) and Particulate Matter2.5 are at their highest in south Asia.<\/p>\n

\"IPCC-4\"<\/p>\n

Global warming<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Currently, the global mean temperature rise is 1.1\u00b0C<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The temperatures during the most recent decade (2011-2020) exceed those of the most recent multi-century warm period, around 6,500 years ago<\/p>\n

Sea level rise<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Oceans are warming, and sea level is increasing by 3.7 mm, or about 0.1 inches, a year.<\/p>\n

Sea-level rise has tripled compared with 1901-1971. The\u00a0Arctic Sea ice is the lowest it has been in 1,000 years<\/p>\n

Rainfall<\/strong><\/h6>\n

A phenomenon such as heavy rainfall over land, for instance, could be 10.5% wetter in a world warmer by 1.5\u00b0C<\/strong>, and occur 1.5 times more often<\/strong>, compared to the 1850-1900 period.<\/p>\n

At a global scale, extreme daily rainfall events would intensify by about 7%<\/strong> for each additional degree Celsius of global warming<\/p>\n

Heatwaves<\/strong><\/h6>\n

At 2 degrees of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and human health.<\/p>\n

Snow<\/strong><\/h6>\n

There has been a 40 percent decrease in Arctic sea ice since 1979.<\/p>\n

Snow-covered areas and snow volumes will decrease during the 21st century, snowline elevations will rise and glacier mass is likely to decline<\/strong> with greater mass loss in higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios.<\/p>\n

Rising temperatures and precipitation can increase the occurrence of glacial lake outburst floods<\/a> and landslides over moraine-dammed lakes.<\/p>\n

Mountain glaciers will continue to shrink and permafrost to thaw in all regions where they are present.<\/p>\n

Large Volcanic events<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Before the end of the century, there will be at least one large volcanic eruption.\u00a0<\/strong>Large volcanic eruptions shoot out aerosols (small particles) into the upper atmosphere. These reflect sunlight and induce a long-term cooling effect on the surface<\/p>\n

The compound of extreme events<\/strong><\/h6>\n

The report mentions that two or more climate change-induced events are happening back to back, triggering each other<\/strong>, or occurring simultaneously. Concurrent heat waves and droughts are likely to become more frequent.<\/p>\n

For example, a recent event in Uttarakhand<\/strong>, involving heavy rainfall, landslides, snow avalanche, and flooding, is a good example of a compound event.<\/p>\n

Other findings<\/strong><\/h6>\n