Climate change story – IBM blog

What do global climate change and global warming look like? Surface temperature statistics provide a compelling picture of our changing climate. According to European Union climate monitor Copernicus, 2023 was the warmest year on record. It was almost 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels.

But to gain a holistic understanding of the current climate crisis and future climate impacts, it is important to look beyond the global average temperature record. The impacts of climate change can be organized into three categories:

• Severe extreme weather events
• changes in natural ecosystem
• Harmful to human health and well-being.

extreme weather

Climate change is defined as changes in long-term weather patterns, but its impacts also include increased severity of short-term weather events.

• Heat waves: Dangerous heat waves are becoming increasingly common and are one of the most obvious impacts of climate change as global temperatures continue to rise.
• Drought: Higher temperatures cause water to evaporate faster, making dry areas drier. Changes in atmospheric circulation associated with climate change could further worsen drought conditions as rain diverts dry areas.
• Wildfires: Drought and rapid moisture evaporation can dry out vegetation and lead to larger and more frequent wildfires. Even areas that are generally rainy are more vulnerable to wildfires, and wildfire seasons are extending globally, according to NASA.
• Heavy rain and tropical storms: Climate change is altering precipitation patterns, and NASA reports periods of excessive precipitation are becoming more frequent. Scientists expect tropical cyclone rainfall to increase further, especially as atmospheric moisture content increases.
• Increased coastal flooding: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), rising sea levels associated with global warming are making low-lying coastal areas more vulnerable to flooding.

changes in natural ecosystem

Due to climate change, natural ecosystems are experiencing long-term changes and biodiversity loss. Here are some examples:

• Sea ice loss and melting ice sheets: Declining Arctic sea ice levels threaten the habitat of species such as polar bears and walruses. Polar bears hunt seals in their Arctic sea ice habitat, while walruses rely on ice as a resting place when not diving for food. Melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are raising sea levels and threatening coastal ecosystems around the world.
• Damage to coral reefs: From Australia to Florida, rising ocean temperatures caused by warmer climates are causing coral reefs to lose their colorful algae, a phenomenon known as “coral bleaching.”
• Ocean Acidification: Marine life is at risk from ocean acidification due to greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is absorbed into seawater, causing chemical reactions that make the ocean more acidic. Shellfish are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification, which NOAA describes as having “osteoporosis-like effects” on oysters and clams.
• Spread of Invasive Species: Warmer temperatures allow invasive species to move into new areas, often harming native wildlife. For example, the spread of the purple loosestrife plant in North America has reduced nesting sites and led to the decline of some bird populations.
• Harmful to estuarine ecosystems: Droughts reduce freshwater flows and increase salinity in estuaries, while increased rainfall increases stormwater runoff, bringing in more sediment and pollution. These changes threaten wildlife that depend on specific estuary conditions to thrive.

Harmful to human health and well-being.

Climate change is increasingly affecting the quality of life on Earth, affecting people’s health and economic well-being.

• Illness and Deaths: Rising global temperatures create conditions for the spread of infectious diseases, and extreme weather events cause not only disease but tragic loss of life. For example, poor air quality from wildfire smoke can worsen asthma and heart disease, and heat waves can cause heatstroke. In 2022, more than 60,000 people died due to heat waves in Europe.
• Food Insecurity: Drought, water shortages, severe storms, extreme heat, and invasive species can lead to crop failure and food insecurity. According to the World Bank, most of the people at risk of climate change-related hunger are in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
• Financial Consequences: Climate change can harm the financial well-being of businesses and individuals. For example, changing climate patterns have endangered wine production in California, and rising sea levels are threatening the future of Caribbean coastal resorts. Meanwhile, insurance companies are increasingly reducing their property insurance offerings in areas vulnerable to extreme climates, putting homeowners in those areas at greater financial risk.
• Damage to infrastructure: Wildfires, powerful storms and floods can not only damage energy grids, causing power outages, but can also damage transportation networks, hindering people’s ability to access services and goods for their everyday needs. Compromise of one type of infrastructure can have consequences for other types. As the U.S. government’s National Climate Assessment notes, “Disruptions to the power grid can impact everything from water treatment to public health.”

hope for the future

Although some of our impacts on global climate are irreversible, a variety of organizations in the public and private sectors are working on climate action to address the causes of climate change. This includes ongoing mitigation strategies and targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

Achieving these goals will depend in part on growth in clean, renewable energy production that will reduce the world’s dependence on energy derived from fossil fuel combustion. Other climate science innovations can also contribute to climate change mitigation measures, from carbon capture technologies to methods to neutralize ocean acidity.

Existing sustainable technologies can also help companies reduce their carbon emissions. For example, artificial intelligence-based analytics can help companies identify which parts of their operations produce the most greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon accounting can inform strategies to reduce these emissions.

Scientists say the most important thing is to act quickly.

“If we act now, we can secure a livable and sustainable future for everyone,” IPCC Chairman Lee Hoe-seong said in a 2023 statement.

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