Scientists Reveal Climate Change to Occur 10 Times Faster Than Once Thought

Climate change may be happening faster than any of us thought. Stanford scientists have revealed that the rate of change over the next century will be at least 10 times quicker than any climate shift that's occurred in the past 65 million years. This could cause some drastic shifts for ecosystems, wildlife and humans.

Climate change can cause major issues across the globe. It can melt polar ice caps and glaciers, causing sea levels to rise. It can affect the acidity of the oceans so that shelled animals, such as corals and mollusks, have a harder time forming shells and adapting. It can also shift weather patterns, causing some areas to become inundated while others remain bone dry. That's why researchers decided to take a look at how fast these changes might occur.

The scientists conducted a targeted but at the same time broad review of scientific literature that dealt with aspects of climate change that can affect ecosystems. They then investigated how recent observations and projections for the next century compare to past events in Earth's history. For example, the planet experienced a 5 degree Celsius hike in temperature 20,000 years ago as Earth emerged from the last ice age. They tried to determine whether this change was comparable to the high-end of the projections for warming over the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

So what did they find? It turns out that 20,000 years ago as the ice sheet covering most of North America receded northward, plants and animals recolonized areas that had been under ice. As the climate continued to warm, though, these plants and animals moved northward, as well. Obviously, massive shifts were in place. But how fast could these changes occur in modern day?

The scientists reviewed results from two-dozen climate models to describe possible climate outcomes from present day to the end of the century. In general, extreme weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall, are expected to become more frequent and severe. By the end of the century, temperatures over the northern hemisphere will tip 5 to 6 degrees C warmer than today's averages.

"It's not easy to intuit the exact impact from annual temperatures warming by 6 C," said Noah Diffenbaugh, one of the researchers, in a news release. "But this would present a novel climate for most land areas. Given the impacts those kinds of seasons currently have on terrestrial forests, agriculture and human health, we'll likely see substantial stress from severely hot conditions."

The findings are crucial for understanding exactly what we might see in terms of Earth's climate in the future. It could also allow officials to make better policies in order to help mitigate the impact of climate change.

The findings are published in the journal Science.