This past year has by far been the most extreme year when it comes to climate change. From severe temperatures to natural disasters, the effects of climate change have been apparent all around the world. However, climate change doesn’t just cause biodiversity loss and the extinction of species, it also has affected us. According to the World Meteorological Organization, “the number of people who are acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million people before the COVID-19 pandemic to 333 million people in 2023.” Furthermore, climate change has led to devastating natural disasters, displacing a countless number of people all around the world, causing billions of dollars of damage to infrastructure, and taking thousands of lives.
For example, in late September, Hurricane Helene hit the coast and was the deadliest hurricane to affect the continental United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
It spanned across several states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and had winds recorded up to 140 miles per hour. In addition, catastrophic flooding contributed to billions worth of property damage and hundreds of thousands of residents were left without power.
Barely a month later, severe flooding in Valencia, Spain caused over 200 deaths. The region faced a year’s worth of rainfall in less than a day, damaging infrastructure, and destroying livelihoods. The floodwaters “drown[ed] people in their houses, garages and cars and [carried] others off to more distant deaths.”
Additionally, devastating wildfires in California have burned over 40,000 acres since Jan. 1. Tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate from their homes as entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ash and rubble. Residents have lost businesses, homes, and loved ones. It is unlike anything LA has ever seen.
The year of 2024 has faced extreme temperatures from both extremes. It was the warmest year on record, with the highest temperature in the United States last year reaching 129 degrees in Death Valley, California. Contrastingly, unprecedented snowfall and extreme cold temperatures have affected the Southern states with up to eight inches of snow recorded in New Orleans and single digit temperatures in Texas. The temperatures of oceans has also reached a record high, and “the rate of global mean sea level rise in the past ten years is more than twice the rate of sea level rise in the first decade of the satellite record.” Furthermore, The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that “in 2020 global warming reached 1.1°C, above pre-industrial level, driven by more than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use.” The dangerous impacts on nature and people will only increase with each additional fraction of warming. If the world continues at this level of inaction, warming will reach three-five degrees Celsius. To understand the gravity of the situation, the world was only five degrees Celsius colder than it is today during the Ice Age. If the level of warming increases another five degrees from what it is today, the world could be facing a warming at a similar magnitude of an Ice Age.
The window is quickly closing; however, it may not be too late to avoid the worst effects of climate change. According to NASA, there are two important steps to achieve this. First, there is “mitigation,” which is “reducing the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.” Try conserving energy by turning off the lights when you leave the room, choosing more environmentally friendly forms of transportation like walking, biking, or public transportation, and recycling. Secondly, there is “adaptation” – “learning to live with, and adapt to, the climate change that has already been set in motion.” For instance, you can lend a hand to natural disaster recovery efforts and donate to various nonprofits and organizations. We may be the last generation to save this planet from climate change: it is time to act.
