When it rains I wear a Gortex coat or carry an umbrella. When it's frosty or snows I wrap up warm & wear boots with a good tread. When it's very windy I find it difficult to walk against the wind. When it's very hot & sunny I tend to try to stay in the shade & cool. In other words, sensible people adapt to weather conditions.
The world is now experiencing more & more extreme weather events. Changing our clothing is not going to protect us from floods, droughts, heatwaves & forest fires. According to the European Environment Agency "Extreme weather events pose an increased risk to nature, buildings, infrastructure, and human health. These events, expected to increase in frequency and intensity because of climate change, are already causing substantial damage and loss. We must adapt and prepare for life in a changing climate". https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/extreme-weather-floods-droughts-and-heatwaves
People are being injured & are dying due to extreme weather events. Last year more than 61,000 people died from the heatwave in Europe. This year it is set to be worse.
According to ReliefWeb in 2022 "The Pakistan June-September floods affected 33 million people, causing 1,739 deaths and economic damage costing US$ 15 billion. Monsoon floods also struck India (2,035 deaths, US$ 4.2 B), Bangladesh (7.2 M people affected), and China (US$ 5 B)" https://reliefweb.int/report/world/2022-disasters-numbers
According to the EU Science hub the EU 2022 wildfire season was the second worst on record. Wildfires in 45 observed countries burnt an area about the size of Montenegro, hitting Natura 2000 protected sites hard. This year, France has already surpassed its annual average of fire-ravaged area. https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/eu-2022-wildfire-season-was-second-worst-record-2023-05-02_en
Extreme weather costs lives, impacts health, costs huge amounts of money & causes immense human suffering. Extreme weather is a reality now & scientific research shows that events are increasing exponentially. The UN Climate Change report 2023 by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that "the world is likely to surpass its most ambitious climate target — limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures — by the early 2030s. Beyond that threshold, scientists have found, climate disasters will become so extreme that people will not be able to adapt. Basic components of the Earth system will be fundamentally, irrevocably altered. Heat waves, famines and infectious diseases could claim millions of additional lives by century’s end".
Time is running out to actually take action. We are asleep at the wheel & continuing on putting a sticking plaster on a real existential threat. There have been 5 great Mass Extinctions in earth's history. This could be the 6th.
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