To worry that the planet is heating faster than we have been led to expect and whether we can cope?

[100thingstoknowaboutspace]

I understand that extreme weather events, including spikes in temperatures and longer heatwaves, are a result of smaller incremental rises in global temperature. But the rate of heat records and large jumps in the temperatures during those spikes and heatwaves that we have experienced during the last 10 years feels off the scale for me, and I am wondering how we can actually cope if it continues at this pace? Climate experts talk about 2 degrees warming by mid century, but if we experience heatwaves that are 5 or more degrees hotter or go on longer than this one, I genuinely don't understand how we will cope. At the moment my flat is only just tolerable - with every measure of cooling I could think of. A few degrees more, and survival is literally threatened. Whereas humans may be able to cope with 5, 10 etc degrees lower, as it is easier to heat up, it seems we are reaching the edge of survivability in terms of being able to stay cool enough to maintain life. Not only here in the UK obviously.

I do believe there is still action that we as individuals and as a country (which in turn may impact other countries) can take, but I am scared that things are worse than even experts, in their carefully hedged or caveated statements and predictions, cause us to believe. I am worried I won't be able to keep my child safe as they grow up.

Grateful if anyone can talk me down from this climate anxiety - and also, grateful for insight about what might be most effective for us to do.

This is the issue. Idiots like this ^ who completely ignore the evidence.

And we haven't even got into the profound impact on other countries.

Countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, who consume vastly less resources than us in the UK, are at the top of the vulnerability list due to monsoon flooding, glacial melting and coastline erosion.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, countries like Chad and Mali are warming at a much faster rate than us and experiencing both flooding and droughts and the resultant impact on food supply.

For them it isn't a future disaster, they are bearing the brunt now.

Do you have kids? Did they do this? Do you want them to die?

UK contributes 0.6% of carbon emissions.

China and India combined more than 50%.

By all means replace your boiler with a heat pump, but please don't think you're saving the planet by doing so.

Yes it seems some people are happy with human anhiliation - strange and unnecessary

Actually, human beings contribute something like 96% of global carbon emissions.

If you want the planet to survive, then the human race would need to die out.

Thanks for these questions, personally I don't think that human life is the only life that matters, however I do love some human individuals and in general what we have created, all the goodness and beauty in the world, art, literature, Mumsnet! I do occasionally comfort myself with the thought of our beautiful earth flourishing without humanity, but that's cold comfort ultimately.

No it just means you are awake and not a brainwashed moron

I wouldn't worry about us here, in the West.
But people in South-east Asia, Africa... this will lead to lack of resources, like food and water, national debts soaring, wars, civil wars and mass migrations on a scale we haven't dreamt of.
Here, in Europe, we will deploy drones to the channel and Mediterranean to disable boats. Europe will become a stronghold. And us? We will be fine with our AC units. I doubt we will ever be short of food or water.
We are in the best place we can be for now.

ok so you’re saying it’s not worth individuals taking action / other countries taking action ?

What if India & China took no action ?

The Paris Agreement makes it a team approach. All need to do their bit.

Including us.

No, but you might well save the UK from no electricity, end to farming and general resilience in the future in an increasingly fraught world. China is moving to renewables faster than anyone. They will be in a much better position as a result.

Why? We have caused this and climate change is getting WORSE not better.

Tell Spain, Italy and the south of France that the desertification they’re increasingly seeing - even Switzerland’s Rhone valley is seeing it - is “nothing to worry about”.

The UK doesn’t contribute such a small amount / we off source production to India and China - some of their bill is ours really

Thinking this through rationally, and I say this as a fully signed up, plant based believer in the climate crisis - what is your actual concern? That your children will die imminently? How?

The climate crisis is very real. We did this to the planet. It is bad - maybe even as you say, worse than we thought.

That does not mean the entire human population will be wiped out in our lifetimes.

I don't think many scientists are predicting that, even the more pessimistic ones (but could be wrong).

If you are really spiralling and imagining your kids dying in the immediate future due to climate change, I think that is too much.

If on the other hand you are just pointing out the unfairness then yes, correct. It is horribly unfair. Nobody is choosing this and we have very little control over the situation. That is hugely unfair, as is the fact that less developed countries are suffering more than first world countries. It is very unfair

So you’re saying just don’t bother?

China is the largest overall emitter in the world, responsible for about 30% of global emissions due to its massive manufacturing and population size. However China is the global leader in green infrastructure. It installs more wind and solar capacity than the rest of the world combined. In fact, China's clean energy growth is so aggressive that its national CO₂ emissions have recently plateaued or begun to fall, despite continued economic growth.

Thank goodness everybody doesn’t have such a defeatist attitude.

My cousin has a daughter whos husband studied climate science at university. I didn't know him when I met him the first time and the conversation got into climate change I said I don't believe a lot of it ie explain the little ice age around 1300-1850 and especially 1312-1315. Also why if increased beef herds are an issue why the decimation of the American buffalo and passenger pigeon between 1870 and 1912 didn't have a massive positive effect. The buffalo dropped from approx 60 million to 30,000 in 10 years and the pigeon from a billion to 3. Yes 3 in 1912... the two males fault to death in a new York zoo. He didn't have an answer.

That said I batch cook, have solar panels and a battery, was an early adopter of halogen and then led lights, don't put the heating on but an extra jumper. I walk or cycle most places. I turn everything off, boil just one kettle a day and put it in glass in flasks, have 6 water butts..... because it saves me money... and there I might be wrong.

But the weather has always fluctuated, hence the grapes of wrath dust bowls.

Also anyone thinking ‘why should WE (ie UK) bother - it’s well worth looking at the transcript from a military professional about the impacts of civil unrest and infrastructure

https://www.nebriefing.org/expert-briefings/national-security

India and China didn't cause all this. We did.
India is already a 2-tier dystopia. It will only get worse. They were exploited for centuries, we shouldn't demand even more now after what we have done to them.
We - the rich West - are destroying everybody else for profit. Read about Indian ladies with cameras on their heads folding clothes or stitching for free - teaching our western AI to create future machines and robots for our profit. And the amount of energy this needs, the volume of water required, etc.

Of course not, why would I have kids if I thought the world is doomed?

Do you have the per capita figures ?

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, 2024 (ourworldindata.org)

Pointing out facts is not defeatism.

If the UK economically bankrupted itself ending all fossil fuels and reducing its population by about 50%, we'd reduce global carbon emissions by about 0.06%

That's about how much China and India increase emissions every few weeks.

Your friends in China with all their solar panels?

They'd be laughing themselves silly at what plonkers we've been.

And those solar panels you think are so great?

They contribute massively to carbon emissions.

The only way the world can realistically resolve this issue is by going nuclear.

Why aren't you advocating for that?

I think you’ve misunderstood the scientist. The 2 degrees quoted would mean the UK regularly hitting 40 degrees. It doesn’t mean that every day is 2 degrees warmer. If we hit 3-4 degree increase the effects would be catastrophic.

If anything, I think it that they underplayed it - this is warm, but not ruining my plants and the birds and insects don’t seem much different to usual and my pond is still pretty full, and I haven’t seen a change in available produce in the supermarket. I was and am expecting much worse.

The weather has always fluctuated and that can often cause great hardship and death for many many people

in this case the weather is not changing naturally
we are pushing it towards a much worse for us pattern. why make life much harder ? It’s not natural - this is man made

people die naturally
but that doesn’t mean we don’t have seat belts and dietary advice and medicines

not trying to prevent climate change is like vaccine denial

You might care about the oer capita figures.

But you know what doesn't as it only cares about total emissions?

That would be...

The environment.