We just hit 1.5 C above per-industrial levels for the first time.

A decade ago, It was predicted that we would hit 1.5°C between 2050-2060, and even as recently as 2 years ago the prediction had moved forward to between 2030-2040.
The next decade or two are going to be very... interesting

The IPCC calculations were always criticized for being overly optimistic. Anyone following this debate knew that we would hit 1.5 C sooner rather than later.
We are definitely going to hit 3 degrees in our lifetime, once the melting tundras release their methane store.
- Melting tundra releases methane, accelerating the increase in temperature. Rising temperature reduces polar ice, making oceans absorb more heat, accelerating heating. Climate pattern changes cause more frequent and larger wildfires, accelerating heating.
  There are probably processes that work to reduce heating as it increases that I'm not aware of, but there are a lot of positive feedback processes which is concerning.
  I believe the IPCC 1.5C was criticized because it included effects of a carbon sequestering process that hasn't been invented yet. That's pretty optimistic.
- If anyone is curious about what 3C looks like, here's a solid video on how a 3C world would look.
  https://youtu.be/uynhvHZUOOo?si=yk8rvR1Bg3t4aKGe
  It's 16 minutes so as a TL;DW: Not "extinction event" but extremely bad. Areas of the globe will simply become unlivable - and these areas tend to be highly populated. The resulting mass migrations and shortages of water/food will lead to conflict, often between nuclear powers. End result: humanity will keep on living, but it will be a significantly more deadly environment and a significantly more conflict-prone political environment. Economic collapse will hit major metropolitan centers.
  If watching the video bums you out try to focus on the absolutely bonkers cool sideburns the climate scientist has. Cheered me up a little. Like a handsome person telling you that you have a bad disease.
  Anyway, vote for climate-positive outcomes wherever possible and consider joining a climate lobbyist group. I'm a member of this one but I'm sure there are others.
  https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
- At least we now get some attention by constantly overhitting the predictions.
what's worse is that it's actually 1.6 C
it says in the article here
Data released last week from Copernicus, a branch of the European Union Space Programme, shows August was 1.59C warmer than 1850–1900 levels, following a 1.6C increase in July.
- Yes but only for a couple of months, averaged over the whole year it's significantly lower than that. Probably still on track to hit the annual average of 1.5 sometime in the next 10-20 years. Still definitely a dire situation but not entirely out of left field based on the recent estimates.
  The recent records have now lifted the year-to-date global temperature to the end of August to 1.35C above pre-industrial levels, just 0.01C behind 2016 — the current record holder
Soooo 3 degrees bij 2050? We are so fucked.
- Yeah, it’s honestly horrifying to see the lack of reaction around the world. If you live anywhere near the coast, you better get the fuck out or tell your kids to.
- Still tracking for 8.5C by 2100!
Supposedly the new stringent heavy shipping emissions controls are having an impact on the greenhouse effect. Reduction of sulfur dioxide which had a reverse greenhouse effect is warming the oceans up more.
"Carbon Brief analysis shows that the likely side-effect of the 2020 regulations to cut air pollution from shipping is to increase global temperatures by around 0.05C by 2050. This is equivalent to approximately two additional years of emissions."
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-low-sulphur-shipping-rules-are-affecting-global-warming/#:~:text=Global%20emissions%20of%20sulphur%20dioxide,warming%20coming%20from%20greenhouse%20gases.
So this may be our first example of the threats of NOT enacting terraforming for climate change will have.
- It proves that creating cloud cover will impact ocean temperature. There are methods of doing this without creating acid rain. Just spray ocean water as a fine mist into the air and you should get some nice fluffy clouds. We have the capability to cover entire oceans in cloud cover to mitigate global warming.
  Obviously this would have some unpredictable impacts on weather patterns, but we're already dealing with that no matter what we do. We're at a point where we're desperate enough to try some crazy schemes like this.
- Hank Green had a pretty decent video in this.
  https://youtu.be/dk8pwE3IByg?si=lmRdxCnQS6OtYkqL
  We can do the same thing without the horrible pollution that ships produced.
I believe by "interesting," you mean "moist." At least, for everyone above/below ±35° latitude.
Also, I hope you enjoyed photosynthesis while it lasted because once the permafrosts at ±60° latitude thaw, we're in for a tough time.
- Hate to break it to you, but everyone in the world is either above or below ±35° latitude.

I have kids. I am fucking livid that the assholes who pretend climate change isn't happening have decided to sacrifice their kids and mine on the altar of making a quick buck.

You can't eat money, assholes. And you can't bring it with you when you die. If the future is nothing but more and more severe weather to the point that civilization collapses under the strain, then I hope you live long enough to see it and are unable to hide from reality anymore.

Why did you choose to have kids knowing what kind of future they would have? This is the reason I didn't, and also to reduce my footprint in the world. I mean even 20 years ago, it was obvious nothing was going to change. So I don't know why somebody would willingly have children these days.
- Sometimes, in an intimate relationship, babies.
- No kids = no future
They have the money and/or ignorance to continue hiding from reality
- They think they do. No amount of money will protect a person from the collapse of a civilization. Never has, never will. Their plans are very much predicated on the assumption that markets will somehow magically continue to function after the general populace has lost all faith in them
This is why we have 2A in the US. Maybe we should start thinking about using it.
- Every 2a person I've ever met who talks this way wants to shoot the wrong people.
  It's almost like maybe we shouldn't rely on the lowest common denominator to resolve complex nuanced issues, huh?
- No, it’s not. It also solves nothing.
  You sound unhinged.
- Yeah, violence is the answer... 🤡

We had a good run. Good luck to the next species to dominate the earth. May you avoid religious dogma, find an economic system that respects your natural environment, and a political system that respects the right to live a clean and healthy world.

Mosquitos are like “that species was delicious. I wonder what the next one will taste like”
We had a good run.
Did we, though?
- We created a lot of value for the shareholders.
- Depends on how you quantify it. We sure did make a lot of money, or at least the winners did.
- I mean, we left the planet. We created art. We did some good, and life will diversify again after we're gone.
- There were a couple of hundred thousand years of humans managing not to fuck up the entire planet, before the two centuries of doing so for the sake of money.
Realistically, extinction would be sweet relief compared to what is actually in store for humans with climate change. More likely that we hang around in smaller communities and death / suffering is even more widespread.
- I mean realistically it's all going to hell sooner or later. You'll start with millions of climate refugees, closed borders, violence. Then climate wars (a wall with machine guns isn't going to stop people who have no other way to survive). And if a country with nukes (like India) finds itself uninhabitable then things are really going south. Next up you have a possible nuclear war and the end of humanity as we know it.
  Sure, a small amount of humans might survive, but civilization will go down in chaos. Even areas that are inhabitable and have plenty of water will break down, because the local infrastructure can't support hundreds of thousands of refugees forcing their way in.
- Food and water wars.
I wonder if primates are incapable of building a global economic system that doesn't end in disaster
- Their current attempt says no.

Hope everyone enjoyed the coldest summer of the rest of their lives.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Haven't they heard of the american method? Don't they know the cure for X is more X?

We just need to add some more global warming and that will solve global warming!

Or is that just applicable to guns and debt?

Nah - it'll just pivot to "Well it's too late now - no reason to hold back".
I genuinely wonder why eco-terrorism isn't already a meaningful "problem" - I don't mean "some protestors blocked a road for a couple of hours or flinged some paint and soup around" - I mean "You're working to kill all known life in the universe, and we're doing whatever it takes to stop you."
- There's no one funding it. If some of the billionaires can direct their money to make renewables adopted in the mainstream we can be in a much better place now. But, you know to have that amount of money the switch that also governs your care for the environment gets switched off too.
You joke, but I've seen those kinds of arguments, especially online.
Some time back, someone argued that global warming was a self-solving problem because the oceans reflect light and heat energy back out into space, so as the earth warms and the oceans rise, the ability to reflect that heat will increase and we could even go back into an ice age because of it.
That is, of course, not really how it's going to go. Massive ecological collapse and possible human extinction would occur due to the initial warming, first off, even before you get to the arguments about... Everything else at the crux of that.
For a long time, one of the talking points of climate change denial wasn't that it wasn't happening but that it was normal for us to go through heating and cooling cycles, so just deal with it and wait it out, we survived the last ice age so we can survive this heat wave, right? But again, that's mostly bullshit.
- Well, the global warming is a self-solving problem. The nature will just make itself uninhabitable for humans.
  Congratulations to the small, niche organisms, waiting to fill the gap left by the mammals!
- I think snow and ice would be better at reflecting but we seem to get rid of those ice caps.. But when the ice melts, it cools down the ocean so of course, problem solved!
The homeopathic approach to climate change. Great.
- Hm? The homeopathic approach to climate change would be to dissolve a tree in 100,000m³ of alcohol, pour that into the ocean and wait for results.
- I am so glad that garbage uses homeopathic rather than holistic these days. You want a doctor that takes a holistic approach, they're looking at your whole body not just their specialty. Homeopathic =/= holistic.

eventually boil us alive!
eventually? https://www.wired.com/story/india-deadly-combination-heat-humidity/
eventually? don't trip in the street https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/heat-wave-second-third-degree-burns-illness-heat-exhaustion-rcna95107
sorry, eventually was like 2005. we've entered the lethal zone and it's only going to get worse.
I remember a time when Captain Planet villains seemed ridiculous.

I hope the corporation's and governments are ok poor loves.

The environment is ok and all, but we need to think about the economy.

Climate change must be stopped by any means necessary. Start doing what must be done. You know what that means.

Recycle harder?
- Consume local!
- I HAVE ALL THE PAPER STAWS* IM DOING MY BEST!!! *now with more cancer microplastics!
- I think he means vote or die.
Big words, why don't you go ahead and show us how it's done then? Or are you just going to chest pound from behind your monitor?
- Hello fbi
What does that mean? I'm a little slow over here, but happy to help.
- Economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare if necessary

Only 7 years early. Yay.

*7 years earlier than the recently revised predictions YAY.

Is there anything i could/can do to make a difference?

Apart from the voting which is above all else, if you REALLY want to do something on an individual basis, you should reduce your meat or become a vegetarian. It seems that's what experts claim has the biggest impact. Apart from that, don't have children, or 2 at most.
- There are other things you can do individually as well, like try using the car and AC less, and generally live more frugally.
  But remember that 100 companies make up 71% of all human made carbon emissions. It's good to act locally, but we need global action to stop these companies and their supporters, that means voting for competent government.
- Please don't have children. Think about the life you're condemning them to.
- If we don't have children because we care for our planet, we leave the world to those who don't care at all. Not sure if this is the right decision.
- Why vegetarian, not vegan? Cows are a major contributor to the emissions, and people tend to increase their dairy consumption when going vegetarian.
- Going vegetarian doesn't seem to be the most impactful when you look at the numbers, as per this video. Vegan diets still have the lowest GHG footprint and GWP of all diets.
  That being said, I went vegetarian first before going vegan. So your point is entirely valid.
- reduce your meat or become a vegetarian
  i'm dubious about this. don't get me wrong: i try to make sure at least half my calories come from soylent. i'm saying i have looked at the methodology, and it doesn't seem sound. HAVING READ THE RELEVANT STUDIES it's not clear to me that the researchers are even drawing correct conclusions.
  here's an example that i think can be extrapolated across many data points: cotton seed. first, cotton is grown for textiles. like, exclusively. like, the only reason to grow cotton is for textiles. BUT you can increase the profits from your cotton harvest if you sell the seed to cattle operations. so cattle are fed cottonseed. then the water and land-use costs of cotton get rolled into the costs of raising cattle. but that's nonsensical. cottonseed is purely waste product, and giving it to cattle CONSERVES resources.
  soybeans are another thing altogether, and the complexity of the whole agricultural system implies, to me at least, that maybe it's not so simple as "reduce your meat intake".
There are no peaceful ways to make a difference. Change my mind.
- Shall i give fatwa for Green Jihad?
- Depends on your definition of peaceful. Industrial sabotage that specifically targets unmanned equipment would still be peaceful by my definition, for example.
Vote!
- This, it's the only thing that really counts, we all need to pull together, the only way to do that, is to vote in politicians that actually give a shit.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure the deficit we could create on an individual basis will just be used by companies instead, so I'm just gonna agree with the others on voting being the most effective method of making a difference.
As others have said, voting is important. But also I'd guess that direct action will play a large role in the next few decades.
- the next few decades
  An optimist, I see!
Google the weather underground
Don't procreate. Or if you do just yeet the baby into a furnace to skip a few steps, same outcome really.
Some changes people (in the US or elsewhere) might want to check into:
See if your local electric utility has Green Power programs where you can elect to have your power come from renewables (via credits) for 2-5% of your bill/month extra
If you own a home, consider making switches to more electrified stuff like: induction cookstoves v. natural gas, heat pumps v. AC units, power tools that have batteries and/or cables v. gasoline or diesel, adding solar panels to your roof or property (only costs ~$20k these days), etc.
Start moving your pensions or stocks into greener index funds, or even consider adopting banks and credit unions that publicly disclose which projects and companies they invest your dollar in
Consider buying your groceries from local farmer's markets or farms that have mail-to-your-door programs (aka CSAs or Community Supported Agriculture programs); this is a good resource to learn more about the farms near you
Switch to non-red meat diets, and then after that switch to a vegetarian diet, and then after that switch to a vegan diet (all while consulting health professionals); this is a good resource on vegan diets if anyone is curious
Consider choosing a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV; 100% electric) or a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV; 50/50 electric/gas) as your new car; this resource can steer you in the right direction
Vote in primary elections where candidates prioritize climate action, then vote for them again in general elections when the time comes; this is a good resource to stay up on current civic events
Buy clothing/shoes used, or if you need to buy new, look for the GOTS and OEKO-TEX labels to make sure what you're buying is organic, is ethical, and doesn't pollute local environments of where your clothes/shoes are made
If we all stop breathing at the same time...

We did it boys, cold is no more

Side note, If you squint your eyes that picture kinda looks like a pizza.

The fuck kind of pizza are you eating?
- Probably some moldy pizza
- Almost Pizza! https://youtube.com/watch?v=KLHRjaUBb3o
And if you close your eyes and imagine, EVERYTHING looks like a pizza!

Tremendous, very smart people are saying it's the biggest change we've ever seen. Nobody has ever seen the numbers this high before. The best people are saying we have the highest numbers. Isn't that something?

We did it! 🎉🎊

Just goes to show what we can accomplish when, as a species, we put our minds to a goal.

2.5c here we come!

Pre

We're fucked aren't we?

As long as nothing change, yes
- Even if we made massive changes today we would still have immense suffering.
  We are fucked, the only thing we can change now is how severely we are fucked.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

This year is now almost certain to become Earth's warmest on record after a hot July and August saw global temperatures reach the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time.

Data released last week from Copernicus, a branch of the European Union Space Programme, shows August was 1.59C warmer than 1850–1900 levels, following a 1.6C increase in July.

This upward swing should ensure 2023 becomes the new warmest year on record, an assessment shared by the Bureau of Meteorology's Senior Climatologist Blair Trewin.

"If current 2023 temperature anomalies are maintained, or increase, over the last four months of the year that would be sufficient for an annual record to be set," he said.

Major global climatological records have fallen at a rapid rate across the Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere and cryosphere, including:

"A large part of it is the removal of the cooling influence of La Niña which has been suppressing global temperatures over the last two to three years," Mr Trewin said.

The original article contains 531 words, the summary contains 167 words. Saved 69%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

I'm sure it will all work out.

(later)

💀

Apocalypse, here we come!

Writing is firmly on the wall, gang. All I see is patch notes for the wars for arable land meta.

Money loves predictible crises

Since I read that this isn't an existential threat I'm feeling much more at ease, much less open to catastrophic outcomes and the narrative that we should throw our hands in the air and give up.

Ha I've never seen the full comic before - only the first 2 panels. And I even own a "this is fine" plushie that I bought from the artist's Kickstarter some years back

I live in one of the blue spots. It's not that I don't believe this, but we have been cooler than average.

Which is exactly what you'd expect given what the blue represents? Does that mean you ignore the rest of the planet? Do you understand that we're talking about the temperature of the entire earth, right?

Seems bad