\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMajor Findings\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- The predictions of the recently released reports point to precipitation anomalies and an increase in marine heat waves as compared to marine cold spells.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- The <\/span><\/span><\/span>El Ni\u00f1o<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which is currently brewing, will further strengthen this year, resulting in a 98% possibility of witnessing temperatures higher than 2016 at least in one of the years in the 2023-27 period.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- Global surface temperature: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>The annual mean global surface temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be 1.1-1.8 degree Celsius higher than the baseline temperature of 1850-1900 or pre-industrial levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- In 2022, it was 1.15 degrees above the baseline, and by 2027, the average will exceed 1.5 degrees, a critical point beyond which there may be no return.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- The cryosphere is shrinking, and there is a mass loss of glaciers in High-mountain Asia, Western North America, and South America.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- Due to the alarming rate of warming of the Arctic Ocean, the Greenlandic ice sheet is melting at a faster pace, contributing to the increase in sea level.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What is the 1.5 degree Celsius target?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- The 1.5 \u00b0C is the goal of the Paris Agreement which is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- Its overarching goal is to hold \u201cthe increase in the global average temperature to well below <\/span><\/span><\/span>2\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d and pursue efforts \u201cto limit the temperature increase to <\/span><\/span><\/span>1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Why is it needed ?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- In recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C by the end of this century.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- That\u2019s because the UN\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5\u00b0C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Issues\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Historically, developed countries are responsible for a major chunk of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- Therefore, they are expected to assume more responsibility and implement climate action.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- However, the Climate Performance Index over the years has shown otherwise.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- Countries like Australia, the U.S., Japan, Russia and Canada have made little progress in meeting their pledges.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Additionally, polluters like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia <\/span><\/span><\/span>rank low in climate performance.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- The <\/span><\/span><\/span>pandemic pushed the world into a socio-economic crisis<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>. On the road to recovery, countries pledged measures to build-back.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- However, in most cases <\/span><\/span><\/span>there is little to no consideration<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> for building-back in a sustainable manner.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- The<\/span><\/span><\/span> Ukraine conflict<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> has further added to <\/span><\/span><\/span>woes and sparked <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>an energy crisis threatening climate goals.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- \u00a0For example, warming greater than the global average is being experienced in the Arctic, with the term \u2018polar amplification\u2019 gaining more traction.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Global Impacts\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Climate risks and hazards impact human population and the ecosystem depending on exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
\n- It has exacerbated food insecurity, displacement, and deaths.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Climate change has been affecting crop yield negatively and the risks posed by agricultural pests and diseases have also increased in the past few years.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- Countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan are facing acute food shortages resulting in malnutrition and hunger, demanding urgent humanitarian assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- However, food insecurity in these countries is due to the complex interaction of climate conditions with other factors such as droughts, cyclones, and political and economic instability.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- The heatwaves in Pakistan and India in 2022 resulted in a decline in crop yields.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- The <\/span><\/span><\/span>floods in Pakistan<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> affected croplands in southern and central parts of the country and displaced eight million people within the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n