Climate change has started transforming planet Earth, and in coming years, we are going to experience more dramatic change.
You might have already witnessed several changes weather and wondered: What will climate of the future be like? Welcome to the era of extreme heatwave and unbearable humidity. Would you like to check how your locality actually look like after 50 years? Now, you can! Let's find out key insights about Earth's condition in upcoming decades.
University of Maryland spatial ecologist Matthew Fitzpatrick used data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to predict future climate condition in 40,581 places across the globe.
This newly prepared interactive map, named as The Future Urban Climates will allow you to explore your locality’s climate. The map is predicted based on high and low green house gases (GHGs) emission.
Extreme heatwave, forest fire, flood, storms, drought, let's find out key insights from the prediction.
“In 50 years, the northern hemisphere cities to the north are going to become much more like cities to the south,” explained Fitzpatrick.
“Everything is moving towards the equator in terms of the climate that's coming for you,” he added.
For example, in a high GHG emission scenario, today's northern Mississippi condition will provide the actual feel of the New York City is by 2080. The report further claimed over half of our planet would shift into new climate zones by the end of this century.
According to the predicted climate map, For high GHG emissions, summers in Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru are expected to be 4.5°C (8.1°F), 3.4°C (6.2°F), 4.5°C (8.1°F) and 4.5°C (8°F) warmer respectively. Consequently, the winter would be 4.3°C (7.8°F), 4.5°C (8.1°F), 4.9°C (8.8°F), and 3.8°C (6.8°F) warmer respectively for Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru.
Moreover, the summer months will become more drier and winter season will be more wetter.
At least 40 % of the global population stay in equatorial regions. So, over 3.3 billion people will be facing extreme climatic conditions in coming decades. Due to rise in temperature and humidity, tropical regions might become uninhabitable if human body cannot tolerate that extreme weather.
This change is already happening. By 2010, at least 6 % land area of Earth had shifted towards warmer and drier climatic zone compared to 1950. Continents like Europe, North America, and Oceania are facing most shocking changes. As per predictions, summer in London will become 4.6°C (8.3°F) warmer. Lakhs of people are dying across the globe every year due to heatwave and climate change. The situation is getting worse every passing day. “I hope it helps people better understand the magnitude of the impacts and why scientists are so concerned,” Fitzpatrick mentioned.
This innovative and interactive map indicates stark reality of the impact of climate change on weather patterns globally. We can still reduce the rate of global warming by succesful implementation of effective strategies.
