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Thousands of researchers sound the alarm about the world’s health

The researchers, who are part of the group of more than 14,000 scientists who have signed that the world is facing a climate crisis, say that world leaders have consistently failed to deal with the cause of climate change: “overexploitation of the earth”.

It is more urgent than ever to protect life on earth, the researchers point out in an article published in the journal BioScience on Wednesday.

Since a similar assessment in 2019 There has been “an unusually large increase” in climate-related disasters, the researchers point out. They include floods in South America and Southeast Asia, heat waves and forest fires in Australia and the United States, and devastating cyclones in Africa and Asia.

Disappointing records

Of the 31 vital signs, which measure the health of the planet and include greenhouse gas emissions, the thickness of glaciers, the distribution of sea ice and deforestation, the researchers found that 18 set new disappointing records.

For example, the level of CO2 and methane gas in the atmosphere has never been as high as this year, despite the corona pandemic leading to emissions cuts.

In Greenland and Antarctica, the ice is melting 31 percent faster than just 15 years ago, the researchers write in the article.

Both sea temperature and sea level have risen since 2019, and deforestation in the Amazon in Brazil last year reached its highest level in twelve years.

As other studies have pointed out, the researchers emphasize that fire, drought and deforestation lead to parts of the Amazon now emitting carbon instead of absorbing the gas from the atmosphere.

Requires an end to fossil fuels

Professor Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter in the UK is a co-author of the article and says the heat wave in the western United States and Canada shows that the climate has already begun to behave in a “shocking and unexpected way”.

– We must act when we see clear evidence that we are about to reach a climate tipping point, says Lenton.

The research group demands, among other things, that an end date be set for the use of fossil fuels and better protection of biological diversity.

– The extreme climate events that we have witnessed in recent years, not to mention the last few weeks, show that it is urgent to deal with the climate crisis, says CEO Philip Duffy at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

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