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Extreme weather events and climate change
The number of extreme weather events and other natural catastrophes seems to have increased recently. On the news you hear about heat waves across Europe, cold spells in the spring, droughts in Australia, hurricanes and storms on the East Coast of the US and floods in the UK for example. All these events have a significant impact on the people who live through them. Their consequences are often tragic.
Australia's devastating fires
Even though Australia has always experienced bush fires, the country had never seen anything like the fires that ravaged it in late 2019. Some may have been the result of arson but they spread fast and could not be put out easily because of climate change. As a matter of fact in December 2018 Australia set a new temperature record with an average of 41C. The Australian Prime Minister refused to acknowledge the link between climate change and the scale of the fires but most scientists agree that "Global warming has pushed up the odds of such extreme fires events occurring in southeastern Australia by at least 30 percent" (Scientific American, March 4, 2020).
California wildfires
In 2018 and 2019, parts of California were also destroyed by wild fires. An article in The Los Angeles Times explains that "Climate change is also linked to drier autumns in California and a delayed onset of autumn rains." (LA Times, Oct.29 2019). In California whole towns were wiped out by the fires. People lost everything, many died.
Impact on biodiversity and health
Climate change also has an impact on biodiversity. A study by the UN Environment programme claims that an estimated billion animals died during Australia's fires "when forests burn, the biodiversity on which humans depend for their long-term survival also disappears in the inferno. Extreme weather events such "megafires" become an increasing matter of concern for species survival." According to WHO "There is much evidence of associations between climatic conditions and infectious diseases."
Covid-19 pandemic and climate action
With the Covid19 pandemic, many people saw an opportunity to tackle climate change. Because of lockdown, people no longer commuted by car, airplanes stayed on the ground and pollution levels went down. The BBC news website announced in April 2020 that "Tackling climate change must be woven into the solution to the Covid-19 economic crisis, the UK will tell governments next week. Environment ministers from 30 countries are meeting in a two-day online conference in a bid to make progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The gathering is called the Petersberg Climate Dialogue".
Climate change in popular culture
The fight against climate change concerns everyone on the planet of course and that is probably why it has inspired some of Hollywood's most popular blockbusters. In the Day after Tomorrow, a 2004 film directed by Roland Emmerich, the Northern Hemisphere is suddenly covered in ice because of global warming of course. However, Hollywood being Hollywood an American scientist named Jack saves the day and mankind.
