"Summary of the IPCC Summary, Part II"
More highlights from the IPCC Report.
Climate Conditions Around Us:
• “Mountain glaciers and snow cover have declined on average in both hemispheres. Widespread decreases in glaciers and ice caps have contributed to sea level rise.”
• “There is observational evidence for an increase of intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic since about 1970, correlated with increases of tropical sea surface temperatures….There is no clear trend in the annual numbers of tropical cyclones.”
• “More intense and longer droughts have been observed over wider areas since the 1970s, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. Increased drying linked with higher temperatures and decreased precipitation have contributed to changes in drought. Changes in sea surface temperatures (SST), wind patterns, and decreased snowpack and snow cover have also been linked to droughts.”
• “The frequency of heavy precipitation events has increased over most land areas, consistent with warming and observed increases of atmospheric water vapour.”
• “Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations has lead to increasing acidification of the ocean.”
Impacts We Can Expect in the Future:
• “Sea ice is projected to shrink in both the Arctic and Antarctic under all projected scenarios.”
• “Future tropical cyclones (typhoons and hurricanes) will become more intense, with larger peak wind speeds and more heavy precipitation…”
• “Both past and future anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions will continue to contribute to warming and sea level rise for more than a millennium, due to the timescales required for removal of this gas from the atmosphere.”