2016 hottest year ever recorded – scientists say human activity to blame.
2016 was the hottest year ever record, with scientists firmly putting the blame on human activities.
The final data for 2016 was released by three key agencies – the UK Met Office, NASA and NOAA. All in the United States.
Scientific research indicates the world was last this warm about 115,000 years ago. This makes it the first time the planet has experienced such high level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Also in 2016, global warming brought scorching temperatures around the world which resulted in extreme weather conditions.
According to scientist, the effects of climate change on people are coming sooner with more ferocity than expected.
Did you know that about 90% of the warming signal in 2016 was due to rise in greenhouse gas emissions? And scientist expects 2017 to be another extremely hot year.
New data from scientist shows the Earth has now risen about 1.1C above the levels seen before the industrial revolution. This is the time when large-scale fossil fuel burning began.
Note: Industrial Revolution is the era in which machines changed people’s way of life as well as their methods of manufacture. This means that people moved from hand production methods to machines which led to the rise of factory system.
“The wave of record-warm years that we have seen in the 21st century can only be explained by human-caused climate change.” This statement was made by Prof Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.
Furthermore, the effect of human activity on our climate today is no longer subtle, It’s as plain as day. This effects are in form of floods, droughts, storms and wildfires which is really affecting us and our planet.
“While there may be some cost in mitigating climate change, there are already major costs in damages.” Prof Kevin Trenberth, a scientist at the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research made this statement. He estimates that the costs run into tens of billions of dollars a year.
“Yet if sensible approaches are implemented the right way, it will lead to increase in energy efficiency. These approaches include but are not limited to: drastic reduction of carbon emissions and building resilience of the ozone layer.
These methods if well implemented can make it a net gain, not only for the planet but for everyone.