A new report by Stanford University scientists finds that the earth is warming ten times faster than it has at any time since the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. If the current pace of greenhouse gas emissions continues, the researchers say, temperatures in North America, Europe and much of Asia could increase 4 degrees by 2050 and 9 degrees by the end of the century.
Extreme weather events, including heat waves and heavy rainfall, are expected to become more severe and more frequent. Although we can’t stop some of the changes from happening, the researchers say how different the climate looks by 2100 will depend a lot on how we respond.
The work, a comprehensive study of climate models by scientists at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, was published in the journal Science.