Unchecked Global Warming Could Collapse Whole Ecosystems

Global warming is about to destroy Earth’s delicate web of life. As some key species go extinct, entire ecosystems like coral reefs and forests will crumble, and some will collapse abruptly, starting as soon as this decade, a new study.

In Antarctica, climate change is having surprising impacts

Background

Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.

Details

Ø Many scientists see recent climate-related mass die-offs, including the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and widespread seabird and marine mammal mortality in the Northeastern Pacific linked to a marine heat wave, as warning signs of impending biodiversity collapse.

Ø Many species live in small geographic areas under a narrow range of climatic conditions. As global warming heats their habitat to the point that it is intolerable, many species have no place to go. Some will go extinct, with a domino effect that affects scores of other species.

Ø At the current rate of warming, abrupt exposure events in tropical oceans will begin before 2030 and spread to tropical forests and higher latitudes by 2050.

Ø The risks decrease and arrive more slowly if global warming is capped at less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, as per the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Ø Even an immediate curb on greenhouse gas emissions doesn't preclude warming of up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century because the current amount of warming could be magnified by big increases of heat-trapping methane in the Arctic or by changes to cloud processes.

Ø In the study, the team assessed temperatures ranges for more than 30,000 land and sea species, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and other marine animals and plants, to estimate when they will start experiencing unprecedented temperature conditions.

Ø Results show very clearly that it is not too late to act to delay the risk or even avert it entirely for many thousands of species. By holding warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), we can effectively flatten the curve of how climate risks to biodiversity accumulate over time.

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➥Inside Climate News

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India Unemployment Rate Increased After Lockdown

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said that the unemployment rate shot up in March. The employment rate in the economy fell to an all-time low of 38.2 percent in March 2020. Background With the coronavirus outbreak severely affecting every country, its impact on an already hobbling Indian economy is set to be devastating if the latest data on unemployment rate is taken as an indicator. Details Ø The Labour Participation Rate (LPR) in March 2019 was 42.7 percent. This is the first time the LPR has fallen below 42 percent. Ø The monthly figures from the CMIE that were released recently also show a curious inversion. In urban India, unemployment among the uneducated is at a higher level than those with a graduate degree (13%), for the first time since early-2016. Ø Most of the people are employed in service sector jobs in construction, repair, or unorganized transport, all of which have come to a standstill due to the current lockdown.

Antarctica experiences first known heat wave

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Universe expansion may not be Uniform

Astronomers have assumed for decades that the Universe is expanding at the same rate in all directions. A new study based on data from ESA's XMM-Newton, NASA's Chandra and the German-led ROSAT X-ray observatories suggests this key premise of cosmology might be wrong. Background Researchers set out to verify a new method that would enable astronomers to test the so-called isotropy hypothesis. According to this assumption, the Universe has, despite some local differences, the same properties in each direction on the large scale. Details Ø Widely accepted as a consequence of well-established fundamental physics, the hypothesis has been supported by observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Ø A direct remnant of the Big Bang, the CMB reflects the state of the Universe as it was in its infancy, at only 380 000 years of age. Ø The CMB's uniform distribution in the sky suggests that in those early days the Universe must have been expand

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