The world today is much different because of climate change, as we now have the most detailed picture of it. Today's publication by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) was the most complete report on climate change.Climate change is a problem that's here right now. Inger Andersen (Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme), stated today that nobody is safe and that it is getting worse. Climate change must be treated as a threat immediately.It is clear that extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts have become more frequent. Scientists are more certain than ever that human greenhouse gas emissions, which include carbon dioxide and methane, are responsible for the increase in extreme events like droughts and heatwaves.No one is safe.The world has been warming for many decades. But this report shows that recent climate changes are rapid, intense, and unprecedented in thousands upon thousands of years. This was stated by Ko Barrett, vice-chair of the IPCC in an August 8th press conference. Climate change is a result of human activities. This is undisputed.The IPCC is a world-leading authority in climate science. Its new report features more than 230 contributors from 66 countries. The current findings are an update of a 2013 similar report and incorporate all the research published in scientific journals.Since 2013, researchers have improved their ability to assess how climate change impacts individual weather events. This makes a huge difference. In July, for example, hundreds died after a record-breaking heatwave hit the US Pacific Northwest and Southwest Canada. A team of international researchers discovered that extreme heat without climate change would have been almost impossible in less than two weeks.According to the IPCC's new report, almost every region in the world other than polar has seen an increase in extreme heat events over the past 50 years. According to the IPCC report, extreme heatwaves are now occurring five times more often than they did between 1850-1899 (a baseline commonly referred to as pre-industrial period). Some regions are also more vulnerable to drought because of heat. Droughts, which were once in a decade before the industrial revolution, are now 70% more common than they were.However, the consequences of climate change are numerous and extensive. Another problem is severe storms and flooding. These once-in-a decade downpours are now occurring 30 percent more often. There is a higher percentage of tropical cyclones (ranked a Category 3 or higher), which means hurricanes and typhoons are stronger.Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently across the globe.Yesterday's press conference was given by Paola Andrea Arias, one of the IPCC report's authors. She stated that extreme weather is increasing in frequency all over the planet. These changes can now be attributed mainly to human activity.The bad news is that things will only get worse if we don't take drastic measures to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. To avoid the worst-case scenario that climate change might create, leading climate experts have set a goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius below pre-industrial levels. Already, we have reached 1.1 degrees Celsius of global warming. The report suggests that we could even exceed that 1.5 degree threshold in the next few decades.What does this mean for extreme weather conditions? You can expect more extreme events, basically things that are unprecedented. Five ways are predicted to occur in the future, according to the report authors: Extreme events will become more extreme. They will be more common. Extreme events are more likely to occur back-to-back or multiple types of disasters at once. They will occur in unexpected places. These catastrophes' timings are unpredictable.This is a reality-check.The new report also highlights other issues, such as vanishing glaciers, rising sea levels and frightening tipping points that could increase the speed of the climate crisis. The IPCC will publish two other key reports in the coming year. One that examines how these changes to the planet could impact human life and the other one that offers potential solutions. Today's report will be the last to be available in time for November's United Nations climate conference, where world leaders are expected discuss increasing their commitments to reduce planet-heating pollution.The report is a reality-check, Valrie Masson Delmotte, cochair of the IPCC working groups responsible for the report, stated in a press release. This report gives us a better understanding of the past, present, and future climate. It is crucial for understanding where we are going, what we can do, and how we can prepare.Updated August 9, 5:00 AM ET: An additional statement was issued by the IPCC press conference.
