Even with drastic emission reduction, the world will likely violate the internationally agreed-upon climate change threshold in about a decade and will continue to heat up to break the next warming limit around mid-century, according to a new study that is grimmer than prior projections.
The threshold is the point at which the global temperature rises by 2.0 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
If greenhouse gas emissions remain high, there is a 50% chance the globe will reach that catastrophic level by 2050, according to co-author and Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh. The likelihood of reaching 2.0 degrees Celsius before 2058 is 84 in 100. Earlier predictions had placed it closer to the end of the century.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict how much the climate has warmed in the past and how much it is projected to warm in the future based on current greenhouse gas emissions.
Generally, climate scientists will run a slew of computer model simulations to see which ones perform the best. According to Diffenbaugh, this is frequently based on how they performed in the past or simulations of the past. He claims that AI is now more focused on the climate system.
“We’re using this very powerful tool that is able to take information and integrate it in a way that no human mind is able to do, for better or for worse,” Diffenbaugh added.
According to prior research, the Earth would most likely breach the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold between 2033 and 2035. This is because the Earth has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
Even if the world significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, the current study indicates a high risk of reaching 2.0 degrees Celsius by 2065.
In either case, today’s kids will be dealing with significant climate change by the time they reach their 30s.