Myth-buster: Why two degrees of global warming is worse than it sounds » Yale Climate Connections

Source: Myth-buster: Why two degrees of global warming is worse than it sounds » Yale Climate Connections

Acouple of degrees Celsius might not sound like a lot. But in terms of global warming, it’s a big deal.

In fact, every tenth of a degree that the Earth warms in the future will make a difference in the impacts that people experience worldwide and in your neck of the woods.

Picture yourself:

• In Phoenix, Arizona, where you have to endure roughly nine additional days of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit per year than people here used to. 
• In Montecito, California, where if you’re not shopping for new air filters due to expected wildfire smoke, you’re practicing your evacuation plan in preparation for the mudslides that are becoming more common on fire-scarred hillsides.
• In a Gulf Coast community, where hurricanes are getting more frequent and more severe — like Hurricane Ian, which was 10% wetter than it would have been if not for climate change.

Those are just some of the impacts we’re already seeing as a result of the one degree Celsius the world has already warmed since the late 19th century.

And the consequences to everyday life will only get more severe with every degree of change. That’s why the world’s governments pledged in the Paris climate agreement to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) — and preferably to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 F).