Life in some regions on the planet is rapidly reaching the point where it will be too hot to survive for the species that live there, international climate experts said in a report Monday, February 28th. Hans-Otto Pörtner, German scientist & co-chair of Working Group II for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which produced the report released in Berlin, said, “With climate change, some parts of the planet will become uninhabitable.”
The report assessed scientific literature documenting the devastating effects of human-caused climate change on ecosystems and society worldwide. The group studied the vulnerability of ecosystems and people to the changing climate and how adaptation could help reduce the risks, said Pörtner and co-chair Deborah Roberts of South Africa. “Human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people, beyond natural climate variability,” the report stated.
The panel concluded that urgent action is needed to curb rising temperatures and limit the effects climate change is already having on mental and physical health and well-being. Some anticipated consequences won’t be prevented, but the authors emphasized that swift and significant action could help stave off the worst.
