In 1861 the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927, Nobel Prize 1903) anticipated a 5 degree C rise of temperature in 1896. However, the global warming did not start until 80 years later.
In 1988 the UN established the climate panel IPCC, which now recommends nuclear power to be included as a stable type of energy in order to curb the global warming.
Global warming is taking place twice as fast in the Arctic region as in the rest of the world. The permafrost is melting, and the frozen tundra releases methane, which is twice as powerful a gas as CO2. Due to the melting sea ice, polar bears are having difficulty in finding food and are in danger of becoming extinct.
In the Antarctic the ice is melting as never before, and the melted ice is moving north. If the whole Antarctic melted the sea level would rise about 58 m. If all the ice on both Poles melted, the sea level would be 70 m. higher than it is today.
When the temperature rises to 27 degree C the warmer air can hold more moisture. When the water laden clouds cool in colder strata they burst, resulting in heavy rainfall. Australia has been hit by frequent droughts and floods. On one day alone in 2013 there were 80 forest fires near Sydney, and torrential flooding elsewhere in the country. In 2020 California has been hit by huge forest fires, which has never been seen before.
Fast political action is imperative. If we hesitate, the costs will be exorbitant, in the end inestimable and perhaps even too late to implement.
