Why does just 1.5C° of heating make such a significant difference on Earth’s climate and environment?
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Because it’s an average over the entire year, and it’s doubly so an average across the entire globe.
So places in the equator will only increase 1.2 degree, but for example Europe will increase 2.4 degrees. The North Pole will increase even more, which is particularly problematic. (these are made up numbers but not far from the truth, I don’t remember the exact temperature distribution from equator)
When you remove the averages from the yearly data what you’ll get is a lot of abnormal spikes far above 2.4 degrees for Europe, so we’re talking 5 or even 10 degree heat waves or cold snaps in areas outside the euqator, all because of that 1.5 degree average increase.
While heat waves and cold snaps get the most news, the biggest problem with these weather events is that they annihilate crops and lead to sudden mass food shortages. These most affect the poorest parts of the world who simply cannot afford to pay more for food. Europe and America can always stop buying the latest iPhones and Teslas, but poor nations living on the edge of falling into famine have no financial safety net. They need global food crops to be steady to live.
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