Study: 85 percent of global population has been affected by human-induced climate change
Researchers have found that about 85 percent of the world's population has experienced weather events exacerbated by human-induced climate change.
In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, the scientists wrote that they analyzed data from more than 100,000 events that could be linked to global warming, including floods, heat waves, and crop failures, as well as changes in temperature and precipitation caused by carbon emissions. They were able to make a connection between more extreme weather and human activities, and determined climate change has affected 80 percent of the Earth's land area, where 85 percent of the population lives.
"We have a huge evidence base now that documents how climate change is affecting our societies and our ecosystems," the study's lead author, Max Callaghan of Germany's Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, told The Washington Post. "Climate change is visible and noticeable almost everywhere in the world."
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This summer, Americans died in the Pacific Northwest due to extreme heat waves and in New York and Louisiana because of flooding caused by an intense hurricane. Madagascar and Afghanistan are both experiencing record droughts, which could cause mass starvation, and some island nations are facing rising sea levels. Callaghan said that as long as the world continues to burn fossil fuels, "things will get worse. Until we reach net-zero, things will continue to get worse." Read more at The Washington Post.
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