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Exclusive: Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds
Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed.
Almost 80% of the respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), foresee at least 2.5C of global heating, while almost half anticipate at least 3C (5.4F). Only 6% thought the internationally agreed 1.5C (2.7F) limit would be met.
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Exclusive: Survey of hundreds of experts reveals harrowing picture of future, but they warn climate fight must not be abandoned
“Sometimes it is almost impossible not to feel hopeless and broken,” says the climate scientist Ruth Cerezo-Mota. “After all the flooding, fires, and droughts of the last three years worldwide, all related to climate change, and after the fury of Hurricane Otis in Mexico, my country, I really thought governments were ready to listen to the science, to act in the people’s best interest.”
Instead, Cerezo-Mota expects the world to heat by a catastrophic 3C this century, soaring past the internationally agreed 1.5C target and delivering enormous suffering to billions of people. This is her optimistic view, she says.
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The climate crisis is making the farming business unsustainable – and without support for us, food security will suffer too
Farming has always been a risky business. To the chaos of Brexit and the relentless squeezing of the supermarkets, we can add the rapidly escalating threats associated with climate change. In most industries, at the point where risk is judged to outweigh the potential commercial reward, both capital and people tend to make a swift exit, following economist Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” of self-interest.
The problem with farming is that most farmers are emotionally invested in their work. An exit is seldom considered – perhaps we should be more like the bankers, but they wouldn’t be much good at growing potatoes.
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Climate chaos is threatening food production, trade and lives, says World Meteorological Organization
Hunger and disease are rising in Latin America after a year of record heat, floods and drought, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown.
The continent, which is trapped between the freakishly hot Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, probably suffered tens of thousands of climate-related deaths in 2023, at least $21bn (£17bn) of economic damage and “the greatest calorific loss” of any region, the study found.
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Devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul state have about left 90 dead with survivors seeking food and shelter
Heavy rains that began last week have caused rivers to flood, inundating whole towns and destroying roads and bridges across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The local civil defence agency said the death toll had risen to 90, while 131 people were unaccounted for with 155,000 homeless. A state of emergency has been declared in 397 of Rio Grande do Sul’s 497 towns and cities as rescue efforts continue.
The Taquari River in Rio Grande do Sul. Photographs: Maxar Technologies/AFP/Getty Images
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Charity asks people to charm worms to the surface and count their numbers to contribute to worm map of UK
Dancing for worms may seem an odd pursuit, but an environment charity is calling for people across the UK to charm the creatures from the depths in order to count them.
The Soil Association is trying to get a nationwide picture of worm abundance, to track their decline and see where they need the most help.
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Sustainably grown fibres, traceable from farm to garment, could be the antidote to climate-destroying fast fashion. But can this trend ever reach the high street?
Picture the scene. Kendall Roy, the longtime heir apparent to the media empire at the heart of HBO’s Succession, is in a dark bar in New York. The embodiment of hyper-privilege, he is explaining to anyone that will listen that the cashmere in his half-zip sweater was harvested by indigenous herders on the rangelands of Mongolia. Regenerative fashion is the future of the industry, and the world, he insists.
It is a fictional scenario, but it is not hard to imagine. Quiet luxury, which was arguably the biggest trend of last year and claimed Roy as its poster boy, is not about logos. Instead, it is about less obvious codes, such as quality cloth and tailoring created with fibres so precious that their provenance and the way they are cultivated is a selling point. So it should come as no surprise that the ultrarich are turning to brands that are working to protect the landscapes where materials such as cashmere, silk and cotton are grown.
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The Atacama desert has become a ‘global sacrifice zone’ of used fast fashion. Activists and designers organised an event to raise awareness of the devastation to the land and people
Draped in layers of denim, Sadlin Charles walks the catwalk of sand between piles of discarded clothes and tyres in Chile’s Atacama desert. His outfit has been made from items found in the surrounding heaps of rubbish, which are so vast they can be seen from space. Almost all of this waste has come from countries thousands of miles away, including the US, China, South Korea and the UK.
A staggering 60,000 tonnes of used clothing is shipped to Chile each year. According to the latest UN figures, Chile is the third largest importer of secondhand clothes in the world. Some of these clothes are resold in secondhand markets, but at least 39,000 tonnes ends up being illegally dumped in the Atacama desert. The desert is one of the country’s most popular tourism destinations, famed for its otherworldly beauty and stargazing, but for those living near the dump sites it has become a place of devastation.
Sadlin Charles models denim salvaged from discarded garments at Atacama fashion week
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Also known as ‘devil birds’ for their haunting scream, they are just starting to arrive from sub-Saharan Africa
May Day dawns cold and breezy, with sullen grey clouds promising rain. Hope seems very far away. But then, a distant dark streak scythes through the skies over the Avalon Marshes, stiff-winged, direct and determined. A single swift, my first of the year.
As I do every spring, I silently recite the words of the poet Ted Hughes: “They’ve made it again, which means the globe’s still working … ”
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People living in Nairobi’s Mathare slum fear that if catastrophic flooding does not bring down their homes, the government will
Jane Kalekye trudges through the narrow muddy alley to her tin-roof house in Mathare, one of Kenya’s largest slums. Ever since the devastating floods that forced her out of her home last month, she and other residents who live by the rubbish-choked Mathare River, which runs through their area of Nairobi, have begun an anxious countdown.
It is only a matter of time before their homes are brought down, they say, either by another bout of flooding, or by the government’s ongoing demolition of houses along riverbanks prone to flooding.
Continue reading...A leading NHS boss says firms are deliberately targeting areas where nurses are in short supply.
The firm said the decision was taken because of a decline in demand for the vaccine.
Kate McDougall gave her son injections to treat his haemophilia which unknowingly led to his HIV infection.
As legal assisted dying receives more support, the actress expresses deep concern for disability rights.
A Jewish doctor speaks of being abused by a colleague, as reports to the GMC of antisemitism surge.
Abi Vance, who cared for a friend with terminal cancer, said "normalising" death might help people.
Tia Gordon, 11, was given painkillers for tummy bugs and migraines before the tumour was discovered.
The NHS needs more doctors so why have some medical students been left in limbo waiting for a job?
A final compensation scheme could be running by the year's end after ministers agree to a Labour-led demand.
Steve Young is part of the tests to see if an mRNA jab can stop the deadliest skin cancer returning.
A sweeping analysis of more than 600 conservation efforts — some dating back a century — found that they’re making a big difference for nature.
Around the world, more than 3 billion people have been affected by extreme weather over the past 20 years — but those impacts are very unevenly distributed, according to a new Conservation International study.
Countries around the world are trying to bring fish populations back from the brink after decades of overfishing. But some marine protected areas are falling short with a certain type of fish. Here’s why.
In the third year of the sweeping global PBS series “Changing Planet,” Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan explores how climate change is affecting some of Earth’s most vulnerable ecosystems — and the groundbreaking science that’s offering hope.
A new documentary takes viewers on a trip around the world to explore one of nature’s most powerful — yet overlooked — climate allies: blue carbon.
Kenya’s Reteti Elephant Sanctuary — the first community-owned elephant sanctuary in East Africa — provides a place for injured elephants to heal and a home for elephants orphaned by poaching.
Earth lost 3.7 million hectares (9.2 million acres) of tropical forest last year, an area nearly the size of the Netherlands. Yet amid these sobering findings, there are signs of hope.
Earth has lost 2 billion metric tons of “irrecoverable carbon” since 2018 — an amount greater than the United States’ annual greenhouse gas emissions — underscoring the need to halt deforestation and expand protected areas.
As dangerous heatwaves shatter records around the world, a new study provides the most comprehensive review yet of how to stop deforestation — a major cause of climate-warming greenhouse gases, second only to fossil fuel emissions.
Every day, billions of cups of coffee are consumed around the world — and experts say demand could triple over the next 30 years. So, how will all those lattes, espressos and cold brews affect the environment?
