six degrees our future on a hotter planet

Today, climate change is rapidly changing, a phenomenon unlike anything Earth has experienced. In Earth's history climate change has played out over thousands or millions of years. The pace of climate change today is unprecedented. Not only has climate change brought vineyards to Britain, but also olive trees now grow well in Britain's warmer climate. Weather patterns would rearrange where certain crops, such as grapes, could be grown. If the average temperature of the earth rises one degree, English would transform agriculturally.

A rise in temperature by one degree could turn the Western part of the USA into a vast wasteland of searing heat. The 1930s provided a glimpse of the fragility of the land. Ranchers live in sync with the weather and rely on its patterns. Ranch Land: Then and Now (01:10)Ī rancher recalls the greener days of his childhood and the constancy of the creeks.

Grass is sparse, and ranchers must keep the herds moving. Spring rains are more sporadic and unreliable for crops and animals. Nebraska farmers haul tons of water to distant cattle herds. Flooding takes out millions of home, hurricanes increase, and drought devastates crops worldwide. If the world warms by one degree the Arctic is ice-free half the year. As the amount of CO2 rises, so does the average temperature over the planet. Increase of Carbon Dioxide (01:26)Ĭarbon dioxide (CO2) rises into the atmosphere from energy that powers all of humankind's modern conveniences. Finally, the climate all over the world would be radically affected. The effects of a rise in six degrees would start high above the earth. Six degrees in terms of a global average temperature change is the difference between today and the last ice age. A small shift in Earth's temperature, just 6 degrees, can have extreme consequences. Experts predict a rise in 11 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years. Global warming changes the way global systems operate. Some people remain to try to save their homes from bush fires. Many families are forced to leave their homes with little notice. Less than one degree of warming is enough to transform Australia. Today, the threat of even more fires is imminent. Fire personnel battled over 900 fires in 2001. Signs of global warming including massive bush fires in Australia.

In four decades, glaciers in the Himalayas could be gone within 50 years, Greenland's melting ice sheets could be unstoppable by the end of the century, the Amazon rain forest could be an arid savanna. Collected data reveals what lies ahead for the planet. Thousands of ships and weather stations around the world, as well as satellites in space track Earth's vital signs.

Six degrees our future on a hotter planet