NASA: 2021 Was Sixth Hottest Year On Record, But We Can Still Save Earth And Us
On Thursday, NASA experts in a virtual briefing said that the last five years have been heavy on "extremes" and things are only destined to get worse
The last year was the sixth hottest ever recorded in the history of data keeping. 2021 set heat records for a quarter of the global population, data that has been maintained since 1880s showed.
On Thursday, NASA experts in a virtual briefing said that the last five years have been heavy on "extremes" and things are only destined to get worse. Expect more heatwaves, unpredictable rainfall, and flooding. Essentially, erratic weather patterns and natural disasters will become only more common here on.
NASA
"We can stop making it worse"
In conversation with Global News, Gavin Schmidt, the Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies said that while global warming will continue to negatively impact weather patterns across the globe owing to a degree Celsius rise in Earth's temperature, "we can stop making it worse".
According to Schmidt, humanity has already reached a point of no return for temperature management of Earth. But he added that we can reduce its ill-effects by making some radical changes like halting the emissions of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide.
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"One piece of science that¡¯s helpful and I think gives us a little bit of hope is that... the increases in temperatures that we may see are almost entirely due to the future emissions that we¡¯re going to make... so we are in control of our destiny," Schmidt said.
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The annual report by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that the global temperature in 2021 was 1.1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Also read: Earth's Getting A 'Black Box' To Record Planet's Death By Climate Change
According to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, the oceans are "Storing a heck of a lot of heat", adding that if it weren't for oceans' storage capacity, "the atmosphere would've warmed a lot more rapidly."
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Are your local governments and administrations taking the threat of climate change seriously? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
References
Al-Hakim, A. (2022, January 14). NASA predicts more extreme weather events but ¡®we can stop making it worse.¡¯ Global News.
Milman, O. (2022, January 13). Nearly quarter of world¡¯s population had record hot year in 2021, data shows. The Guardian.
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