2°C: BEYOND THE LIMIT. Extreme Climate Change Has Arrived in America

In an article published today, the Washington Post presented an analysis of temperature data across the Lower 48 states, finding that major areas are nearing or have already crossed the critical 2 degree Celsius threshold of temperature increase. In these areas, residents are already feeling the acute effects of warming temperatures, including encroaching sea levels, the loss of winter-dependent industries, and the proliferation of harmful bacteria and pests.

“That’s what people who live in 2-degree Celsius zones are discovering: that climate change seems remote or invisible, until all of a sudden it is inescapable.”

Parts of the Bay Area, including much of the South Bay, show up on the Washington Post's map as being at or near a 2 degree Celsius temperature increase. A few parts of California have already exceeded this mark, including Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties. 

"The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that if Earth heats up by an average of 2 degrees Celsius, virtually all the world’s coral reefs will die; retreating ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could unleash massive sea level rise; and summertime Arctic sea ice, a shield against further warming, would begin to disappear."

Read the full article here.