Climate Emergency 2020: Turning up the Heat

This week, I want to share some terrifying facts on how the global climate crisis has impacted the world around us over the past few months, reminding us all of the urgency to slow down global warming now.

??2020 has a 75% chance to be the hottest year on record.

...this will make the last seven years the seven hottest on record. FYI - If you're under 35, like me, you've never experienced a cooler than average month (using 1951 to 1980 baseline temperatures).

??The Arctic hit 100°F (38°C) in June...and is on fire.

June 23, 2020. Credit: NASA

The 100°F threshold was crossed in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk which is known for sharing the Northern Hemisphere's cold record temperature of -90°F (-67°C). It is now also known for what may be the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic circle.

The average high temperature for Verkhoyansk in June is only 68°F (20°C).

The Arctic's average temperature was 17°F (9.4°C) above normal in April (...yes, over the course of the entire month).

?? Cyclone Amphan displaces millions of people in India and Bangladesh

This was the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, likely because ocean temperatures were up to 5°F (2.8°C) warmer than usual.

Over 3 million people evacuated their homes. At least 100 people died (though the official number is going up) from collapsing buildings, falling trees, and electrocution from power lines. 

Thousands of homes were destroyed, as were many livelihoods (e.g. farmlands destroyed by saltwater flooding will be infertile for years to come).

*Here's what locals are saying*

“Never seen such a disaster before...At one end there is this small Covid virus that is terrifying people - this was another virus from the sky.” - Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal’s chief minister

“With the current COVID-19 pandemic measures requiring social distancing, it will be extremely difficult for people in cyclone shelters...a double emergency." - Saleemul Huq, Climate scientist 

“Our village has been reduced to rubble,” - Israar Kamal

"Sometimes I feel that the international community has also abandoned us. They have left us to die slowly. The West is largely responsible for global warming, which has resulted in higher sea levels. We are the ones who have to suffer because of it. Still, we don't see any international initiative for our protection." - S M Shahin Alam, 19-year-old Bangladeshi

Action to take: Join Crowdsourcing Sustainability on Slack

I'm seeing and hearing that people within the slack group are starting to connect with each other - this is music to my ears :)

And I'm still blown away reading introductions from so many amazing people around the world who are passionate and actively working on climate.

If you haven't joined yet and would like to, I'd encourage you to:

1. Read the brief manifesto.
2. Email [email protected] if this action-oriented, collaborative community sounds right for you.
3. Introduce yourself to everyone and upload a profile picture!
4. Click the channels "+" button to see what people are teaming up to talk about and work on together.
5. Share the climate-related problem you're currently trying to tackle and see if anyone can help out in the #problem-solving channel. Let's help each other get to solutions faster by putting our heads together.

Best,

Ryan

This newsletter is actually a segment out of the originally published article on the Crowdsourcing Sustainability website. Click here for the full article!

P.S. If you enjoy reading Crowdsourcing Sustainability's newsletter please forward it to a friend! This is about crowdsourcing sustainability after all. The more people working together toward solutions, the better off we'll all be.

And, if you'd like, you can sign up for my main sustainability newsletter here to get all of my work.