BENGALURU, India (AP) 鈥� Global average temperatures have risen and , so the short answer to whether it's too late to stop climate change is: yes. But there's still time to prevent cascading effects, as every degree of additional warming has exponentially disastrous impacts, experts say.
A provided new analysis of the chance the world has to cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) or 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times in the coming decades, in line with global climate goals.
Although scientists estimated it's still possible to stay within these limits, they said it would require immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It鈥檚 more likely that global temperature will reach or exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, the report said.
The 1.5-degree goal is 鈥渙n life support," has said.
___
EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: This story is part of an ongoing series answering some of the most fundamental questions around climate change, the science behind it, the effects of a warming planet and how the world is addressing it.
___
Without major action to reduce emissions, the global average temperature is on track to rise by 2.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, scientists say.
And researchers warn that the situation will get very serious before then: Once the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is reached, there will be increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons. When the 2 degrees Celsius mark is crossed, critical tolerance levels for agriculture and health will be reached.
But all hope is not lost, they urge.
At the time of the report's release, Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London, said achieving the 1.5-degree goal 鈥渋s still possible from a physical science point of view."
"If we reduce emissions globally to net zero by 2040 there is still a two thirds chance to reach 1.5 degrees and if we globally achieve net zero emissions by the middle of the century, there is still a one third chance to achieve that,鈥� she said.
If all human emissions of heat-trapping gases were to stop today, Earth鈥檚 temperature would continue to rise for a few decades but would eventually stabilize, climate scientists say. If humans don鈥檛 emit any additional planet-warming gasses, then natural processes would begin to slowly remove the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and global temperatures would gradually begin to decline.
鈥淭here is a direct relation between delay and warming, and between warming and risk of what we would call extreme impacts," said Ajay Gambhir, a senior research fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, based at Imperial College London. 鈥� 鈥� whether it鈥檚 extreme heat waves, increased risk of crop failures, forest fires or bleaching coral reefs鈥� already happening.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭he further we delay action on addressing climate change by reducing our emissions, the warmer the world will get.鈥�
___
Follow AP鈥檚 climate and environment coverage at
___
Follow Sibi Arasu on Twitter at @sibi123
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP鈥檚 climate initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press
