ARCTIC WARMING CAN CAUSES EXTREME WEATHER ACROSS THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. The catastrophic and costly storms, heat waves and other extreme weather hammering the world’s cities and regions have been linked to changes in the rapidly warming Arctic. Between 2010 and 2019, record-breaking storms, floods, and other natural disasters were the costliest in modern history with losses totaling US$2.98 trillion.
SEE THE DATASOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST POPULATED PLACES ARE ON THE SHORES OF RISING OCEANS. Seas are rising faster now than over any century in the past 3,000 years. Coastline flooding of low-lying cities and regions as well as devastating coastal erosion will worsen and happen more often in the decades ahead.
SEE THE DATAThe UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the world’s most authoritative source on climate change. It reviews all published literature to provide comprehensive and objective scientific information.
ARCTIC MELT-WATER UPS THE RISK OF FLOODED COASTAL CITIES
Heavy rains, growing worse since the 1950s, will continue to get 7% more intense with every 1°C of global warming, according to the UN’s latest special report on climate science, and devastating category 4 or 5 cyclones will happen more often. Cities are projected to suffer more frequent and intense heatwaves, as well as heavier rains and runoff. In the world’s many coastal cities, sea level rise and storm surges will combine with more intense rains and storms to make severe flooding far more common. Elsewhere, heatwaves and droughts are expected to occur together more often, including in crop-producing areas.
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
The following gauges show up-to-date data regarding key indicators in the Arctic. These indicators clearly point to the crisis at hand.