A year ago I posted Some Tips for Living in a Warmer World, which was rather long on dire predictions and short on tips. I hope to flesh out those tips in this series.

First, the original post:

Some Tips for Living in a Warmer World (March 5, 2024)

“Limiting warming to 1.5°C and 2°C involves rapid, deep and in most cases immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions.” -  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2023: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report.

Given that global emissions are still rising, we are not going to limit warming to 2°C by 2100. Per a recent McKinsey report, it’s looking more like 2.4°C:

 

So what does that mean for humans and the planet? Some predictions:  unpredictable weather, extreme heatwaves,  heat stressed cities, increased wildfires, severe droughts, water scarcity, increased frequency, intensity and/or amount of heavy rain and flooding, loss of species/mass extinctions, deforestation, lower crop yields, reduced food security, and widespread economic hardship. These problems will vary by region and local preparedness. Worst off will be countries that lack the resources or political will to build resilience and adapt to the coming onslaught of troubles.

What to do? To simplify: accelerate decarbonization, explore geoengineering, build resilience, and adapt - without triggering a backlash. That would entail careful planning, flexibility, and a willingness to find common ground with political adversaries.

Reference: IPCC, 2023: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 1-34, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001

And here’s what I hope to cover over the next month or so:

How to Build Resilience and Adapt to:

  • Unpredictable Weather

  • Extreme Heatwaves

  • Urban Heat-Stress

  • Increased Wildfires

  • Severe Droughts

  • Water Scarcity

  • Increased Heavy Rain and Flooding

How to Prevent or Reverse:

  • Plummeting Biodiversity and Mass Extinctions

  • Deforestation

  • Lower Crop Yields

  • Reduced Food Security

  • Widespread Economic Hardship

My assumption is that warming since preindustrial times will have increased no more than 2.4°C by the end of this century, which is the time frame for these posts.

Wish me luck!