Starting this week, United Nations climate change talks are set to take place in Durban, South Africa. And as the discussions begin, the spotlight is on strange weather patterns the world has seen so far this year. From widespread wildfires to disastrous tsunamis, we've undoubtedly experienced some rare conditions in 2011.
In a statement released by Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), he asserts that our extreme weather is linked to global warming. "Our science is solid and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities," Jarraud said.
It therefore comes as no surprise that 2011 will go down as one of the hottest years on record. The Huffington Post reports that "2011 was tied as the 10th hottest year since records began in 1850. Arctic sea ice, a barometer for the entire planet, had shrunk to a record low volume."
An important issue at the climate conference will be to build a new strategy that will contain greenhouse emissions and manage global warming. The current treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, was created in 1997 and features binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the agreement expires next year, at which point all participating nations should have reduced levels by 5.2% from 1990. If temperatures rise in excess of 2 degrees Celsius each year, the world will see irreversible alterations, catastrophic events and mass extinctions, reports the Los Angeles Times.
It's great that international climate negotiators are meeting in order to address the issues at hand, but is it too late? According to R.D.J. Lengoasa, Deputy Director for the WMO, "Climate change is real, and we are already observing its manifestations in weather and climate patterns around the world."
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