Shocking Climate Change Facts You Need To Know

 

Did you know that many changes to our climate are irreversible and if we don't reduce our impact we could reach a point of no return?
Read these shocking facts to learn about the dangers our world faces and open your eyes to the scary reality we live in:

1. More than 1 million animals are facing extinction

The usual extinction rate is 1-5 species a year, however currently we are losing species at a speed of 1000-10,000 times faster, meaning we lose tens of animals each day. If we don't reduce this rate we could lose almost half of our species by 2050.

2. Climate change is causing a refugee crisis

Due to adverse weather conditions, caused by climate change, people are having to leave their homes to flee the flooding from extreme storms and drought from the increasing temperatures, leaving many homeless. The International Organisation on Migration stated that an estimated 200 million people could be left homeless by 2050 because of climate change.

3. Half of our coral reefs have died

Half of our coral reefs have died over the last 30 years and more damaged through bleaching caused by rising temperatures. It is also predicted an extra 25% will be threatened by 2050 if we don't take action. Coral reefs are important to our eco system, they absorb around 70-90 billion tonnes of carbon per year (Frankignoulle & Gattuso, 1993) and they provide protection to our coastlines and threat of tsunamis as they reduce wave impact by 97%.  They are home to over 6000 coral, fish and mollusc species and their value is estimated £6 trillion each year due to their contribution to tourism, employment, and coastal protection.

4. We would need 1.7 planets to support the use/demand of resources we use

The 7 most powerful countries, including the UK and US use double the amount of resources we are able to produce, bringing us closer to Earth's overshoot day (the date when we have used up more resources than the earth can renew). If we carry on consuming at this rate we would need 1.7 Earths to support the demand on the ecosystem.

5. 1 million plastic bags end up in landfill EVERY MINUTE

Like I mentioned in my previous blog (Cheap Green Hacks) the world uses over 500 billion plastic bags a year meaning 1 million bags end up in landfill every minute. Every plastic bag takes 10-100 years to decompose in landfill. That would mean for only 1 minutes worth of bags, it would take a minimum of 10 million years to decompose.

Landfill Timeline:

6. It is estimated that by 2050 over 570 cities will be affected by rising sea levels

A sea level rise of just 0.5 metres could effect 570 cities by 2050 and half of the worlds sandy beaches will be underwater. Additionally, by 2100, 200 million people will be threatened by the rising sea levels expecting land to be under sea level.

7. Roughly 8 billion tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year

Imagine emptying one garbage truck into the sea every minute, that would be similar to the 8 billion tonnes of plastic that enters our oceans each year. The plastic waste in the sea, entraps marine animals and is often mistaken as food which poisons or chokes them. Over 100,000 marine animals have died because of this.

8. 300,000 dolphins die each year from entanglement in fishing nets. 

Fishing nets get discarded and dumped in the sea, leaving traps for dolphins, turtles, and other marine life to get tangled and die.

9. There are at least 405 dead zones in the sea

Dead zones are areas in the sea where oxygen is so low, animals suffocate and die and no plants can survive. In 2017, a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico was detected and estimated to be the size of New Jersey.

10. There is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way

For more surprising facts on Ocean Pollution: Click here
I found it really interesting and eye opening.

11. It takes 450 years for a disposable face mask to degrade

3.4 billion face masks are discarded everyday and each one takes 450 years to dispose leaving thousands of microplastics in the oceans.

12. 1 football pitch sized forest is lost each second

Since 2016, each year we lose 28 million hectares of trees, that's 1 football pitch a second and an area almost the size of Italy per year. If we don't stop this, we will have no rainforests in the next 1oo years. Rainforests are key to our eco system. They provide habitats for many animals, the trees are key to our water cycle and absorption of C02.

 

If these facts have shocked you, and you want to make a difference check out my previous post "Top Hacks for being Green on a Budget" for easy and cheap ways to reducing your environmental impact.

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Sources:
National Geographic

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

World Animal Foundation 

Ecotricity

Ocean Climate

National History Museum

This is Plastics

We Forum

Conserve Energy Future

The World Counts