To feel really worried about climate change in this heatwave

[Fulbe]

This heatwave has been caused by climate change but there seems to be hardly any discussion about this at all. It seems that people are focused so much on getting air con or massive paddling/ swimming pools without thinking how that might be actually contributing to the problem. People outside the school gates idling their engines to keep their air con turned on whilst creating more pollution.

I think I remember reading somewhere that we've released 6 million years' worth of CO2 in the past 150 years. Something needs to stop but consumption and car use seem to be increasing.

Am I the only one to be concerned about this and that we're just slipping into a future of more dangerous heatwaves?

This heatwave has been caused by climate change

No. Just the weather moving up from the heat from the Sahara. It was on the news online.

Climate always changes.

I'm enjoying a summer holiday type weather. Right here at home.

It’s the whole planet you have to think about and whilst there’s an immediate reason for this hot patch, it’s the frequency with which it happens and happens worldwide that you have to consider.

Climate scientists have been right so far. For the immediate future Annual global mean near-surface temperatures during 2026–2030 are predicted to range between 1.3°C and 1.9°C above the 1850-1900 average. It is likely (86% chance) that one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the warmest year on record, according to the update.
And.. *

• Arctic temperatures over the next five extended northern hemisphere winters (November-March) are predicted to be 2.8°C above average temperatures for 1991-2020, an anomaly more than three and half times that of global mean temperature anomaly over the same period, it says.
• Predictions of Arctic sea-ice for March 2026-2035 suggest further reductions in sea-ice concentration in the Barents Sea, Bering Sea, and Sea of Okhotsk.
• Precipitation predictions favour wetter than average conditions at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere for the next five extended winter seasons (November to March). The pattern of increased precipitation in the tropics and high latitudes compared to the 1991-2020 reference period, and reduced precipitation in the subtropics, particularly in the southern hemisphere, is consistent with expectations of a warming climate
• Predicted precipitation patterns for May-September 2026-2030 suggest that wet anomalies in the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and Siberia, and dry anomalies over the Amazon, are more likely in this season.*

That is more than just hot air from the Sahara.

Er because humans have caused climate change? In the eyes of some, even more humans will help because the next generation will fix everything🙄is it hope or delusion?

I'd bet a one child reduction in everyone's family planning would make all the difference. It'll never happen though, that's the one thing people wouldn't be prepared to give up. People with large families should be taxed more would be a start.

I saw that film recently. It was shocking and I can't believe it's not being widely shown and talked about.

Instead there are idiots on SM, joking about how it's summer, how much they love the sun and having a beer in the garden. The vast majority of people either don't know what's happening or don't care.

On the weather forecast a couple of days ago they said it's currently 15° higher than the average temperature for June. But people want more and more, and continue to purchase shit - a bigger car, plastic tat, fast fashion clothes, new devices, more more more. It's a toxic combination of late stage capitalism and climate change. The climate crisis is happening now. It's only going to get worse from this point on.

China is one of the biggest responders to adapting to climate change.

Ever since earth was a baby hasn't the climate always changed? sure worry but what will the worrying do?

I agree. I feel the same way about floods too. Everyone moans about road closures but then they get fake grass. They’re just accelerating the problem.

There are too many people on the planet. Everyone wants more stuff.
In richer nations, they want to fly, have nice houses with all mod cons.
Poorer nations also want more.
Big corporations are selling shit to people. Everyone buys stuff. Population numbers are the issue.
What the world needs is a human extinction event, a proper virus or a massive volcanic eruption for a ‘quick’ solution.
Left to our own devices, nothing will change the trajectory of climate change until it’s too late.
As for emailing your MP, hilarious.

I'm sure your children will be thankful to be given that responsibility...

Fine by me. I just feel sorry for the children who will have to suffer the consequences. I'm glad I haven't put anyone in that situation myself as I find it hard enough to cope with the suffering of other people's children.

Other animals don't run scientific studies or have access to global news in the way that humans do. Their lives are completely different. Maybe some humans procreate on instinct or to create workers (carers for old age, money makers for the family, etc.) but I just can't relate to that. Taking the child's best interests into account, it must be more than a biological urge or it's entirely selfish. As I said, it's not me who suffers the consequences, it's the children of these people. They have to live with that.

Thank you for posting this. I am going to watch it.

China is one of the biggest responders to adapting to climate change.

Even though they have 1200 coal fired power stations?

China is one of the biggest problems regarding climate change also.

I worry a lot about this, especially the fact that nobody seems to do anything. People seem to think that their actions are irrelevant, when what has brought us to this point are also (not exclusively of course) the actions of every single one of us. Yet people aren't willing to do their part, however small. Everybody's continuing consuming as if nothing mattered at all. Of course I'm not going to stop some huge corporation from destroying the planet, but I do have choices - the choice not to give them my money for example.
I think we're pretty much fucked, and it's down to human greed and the inability and indecision of politicians to curb that greed with restrictive laws.

I agree.

Comparing us to animals in terms of making the decision to have children is ridiculous, as is the concept of people deciding to have children and considering the very real threat of climate change and concluding “we will have them anyway because theres always hope”. The planet is fucked.

Of course environment changes patterns of behaviour but the innate drive to reproduce is biological. It’s like criticising rabbits for having sex. Animals are controlled by their hormones and we are animals.

We (humanity) have known about climate change for 50 years. We chose to let it happen. Its literally too late to do anything about it now.
People did try - scientists, protesters - even a few politicians but they were ridiculed and shut down.
It is what it is now unfortunately.

As a species we don’t care

Climate change will kill a lot of us off whether we believe in it or not.

And the UK isn’t really, in the grand global scheme of things, going to be that bad, and certainly not first.

Everywhere that was already hotter is also getting hotter.

But we still don’t care.

I am thoroughly enjoying the heatwave and could not be less concerned about climate change scare stories.

Where I live its usually grey, cold and wet, so bring on the sun and heat!

I'm genuinely amazed that climate alarmism is still popular with people. For 50-odd years we have had this rubbish touted at us and every scare story and every doomsday prediction has turned out to be a lie. And every proponent of it a discredited charlatan, from Al Gore to Greta Thunberg.

I could not think of a more thoroughly discredited idea.

I remember a zany protestant pastor in the US, a years ago, kept predicting some end of the world scenario called "the rapture" was going to happen. His followers would get all upset and freak out, yet - every time - it wouldn't happen and the guy looked a fool. Yet, next time, he still expected to be taken seriously.

Well, that is about as credible as climate change imo.

Note how even the term "climate change" is completely neutral and doesn't actually imply anything about the kind of supposed change. Weird huh?

You would almost think people want us to invest in the concept, but dont want to actually hang their hat on any inconvenient details.

If you friend asked you to go and see "film" about "story" starring "actor" - you would really want more info, yeh? You wouldn't accept such vague, nebulous terms - yet we eat up "climate change"?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the climate and nothing bad is going to happen. Of course the climate changes, it goes through cycles on its own. Just like the tide goes in and out on its own. No one freaks out that the tide might not come back in.

CO2? Bruh, its 0.043% of the atmosphere.

Relax and go and enjoy your day in the sun! Let go of fear mongering and worrying about the future.

Be not therefore solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof

Matt 6:34

Human Voluntary Extinction.

I don't think you're wrong to be worried about it, but equally, I don't think anyone is wrong for trying to survive it in the here and now, i.e. using air con etc.
Agree with the above, we're already past the point of no return and it's the big corporates causing the issues. We're just the little people at the bottom who can't do anything about it but try to keep ourselves and our kids cool.

My biggest bug bears in life are corporate flyers, party/ decorative eg balloon arches, plastic packaging on food, chat gpt … when you look at all of this - I just think we get worse year on year

We (and those before us, since the start of the industrial revolution) have, unfortunately, totally ballsed it up for future humans, unless we can somehow turn the tide. AI could possibly give us some ideas, but rest assured your children and your grandchildren will have to deal with a radically different world - some of the most populated parts of the world will become uninhabitable, and those people will need somewhere to go - they won't (all) simply die off. Society will have to crisis-manage, basically.

I’m a geologist, fossil record shows creatures come and go (and one day it will be us) but the planet survives and continues.

I agree though, we have messed up and I do wish humans treated the earth, and the non-human inhabitants on it with more respect.

The planet would thrive without humans. Animals don’t need humans to survive but humans need animals.

Humans are a plague on the earth!!!