global warming

Research published in Nature shows that the Eurasian ice sheet may have retreated up to 600 metres a day on the Norwegian continental shelf during the last deglaciation at the end of the last Ice Age, around 20,000 years ago. This would indicate that retreat rates in this region may have far exceeded previous estimates and would be much greater than any observed from satellites. According to the authors, the research "is a warning from the past about the rate at which ice sheets are physically capable of retreating".

Almost a decade after the previous edition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has presented the synthesis report of its sixth assessment cycle (AR6) on Monday in Switzerland. "This synthesis report underlines the urgency of taking more ambitious action and demonstrates that, if we act now, we can still secure a sustainable and liveable future for all," said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee. 

The document includes the main findings of the three Working Group reports of 2021 and 2022 (Physical basis, Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and Mitigation of climate change) and the three special reports of 2018 and 2019 (Global warming of 1.5°C, Climate change and land, Ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate). With this document, which is primarily addressed to policy makers, the IPCC closes its sixth assessment cycle.

As rising temperatures melt glaciers, meltwater can accumulate and form lakes nearby. These bodies of water represent a natural hazard because of the floods they cause if they overflow. Researchers have estimated that 15 million people are at risk from these floods, and more than half of them live in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru and China. The research is published in Nature Communications.

Although in 2020 the covid-19 pandemic caused confinement and economic paralysis in many countries, the rate of methane growth in the atmosphere peaked, reaching the highest level since 1984. Research published in Nature claims that the main source would be the warmer, wetter wetlands of the northern hemisphere.

After two long weeks of negotiations and outside the official deadline, COP27 has reached an agreement to create a loss and damage fund to help the most vulnerable countries face the impacts of the climate crisis. However, other issues such as greater ambition in mitigation strategies to avoid exceeding 1.5ºC of warming and less dependence on fossil fuels have not achieved the commitment of all parties. 

The latest IPCC report shows that we are not close to limiting the rise in temperatures to 1.5ºC. Fortunately, he points out that climate action in the form of policy and law has increased, and that there is hope to cut emissions by at least half by 2030. In this sense, the retrofitting of existing buildings and the adequate design of new ones will play a fundamental role.