I’m not denying that it’s bad, I know it’s bad and a horrible thing, but I wanna know how changes that are only 1.5° affect it so much and matter so much.
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One aspect, very much simplified:
Some places are cold and are always covered with snow. (mountains, glaciers, …)Other places are warm and never have snow. (deserts, normal land, …)Increasing global temperatures will decrease the snow covered area by a certain amount, while simultaneously increasing the non-snow covered area. (Think with averages.)
The non-snow covered areas absorb light from the sun, turning it into heat.
The snow covered areas reflect light back into outerspace before it turns into heat.
There is a balance to maintain.
It is calculated that after an increase of around 1.5°C it will cause a runaway effect: the additional heat from absorbed sunlight in non-snow covered areas is enough to further increase temperatures, which will further decreasing the snow-covered areas, which will futher increase temperatures, etc…
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