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I don't think it would matter. One (or four) degree(s) is a similar change in either scale. I think the larger issue is the disconnect between global average te

I don't think it would matter. One (or four) degree(s) is a similar change in either scale. I think the larger issue is the disconnect between global average temperature and local weather systems. I think people read "4 degrees warmer" and think that all of their weather forecasts are going to be 4 degrees higher than they used to be. It seems like a small change when viewed like that, but of course that's not what is going to happen at all.

skinnymuch 7y ago
I’m concerned about climate change. I know about the flooding, glaciers and ice melting, coastal areas and islands filling up with water. I understand some of the natural ecosystem of the world would be messed up with some animals dying out as well. But I have no concept of how much of the latter will be done or how much it’ll effect things. However as I don’t know too much, why would 4 C increase result in a lot of South Asia being uninhabitable and making most of America into hostile land. The other link said most of it would be desert land. And that Siberia and north west Antarctica would be green inhabitable. Wouldn’t part’s of Siberia and any part of Antarctica still be crazy cold and awful places to be? I guess I’m a “dummy” because I also don’t get how global weather increase will mess and change things so much outside of what I acknowledged in my first paragraph. Though again I’m all for fixing up our behavior wrt environment and controlling climate change.
- brandmeyer 7y ago
  Here's one example: increasing average temperatures raises the incidence of extreme heat waves. There is an upper limit of temperature+humidity above which humans cannot survive. Under business-as-usual rates of CO2 emissions, those conditions will start to happen, and India is one of the earlier areas to see it. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-change-to-cause-humid-heatwaves-that-will-kill-even-healthy-people https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-...
- jbattle 7y ago
  I don't know why you were downvoted, I think it's a good question. My understanding is that this is a 4 degree difference in the average temperature. Meaning there might be times of the year that don't change much at all but other seasons get dramatically hotter. That affects rainfall distribution, the speed that snow melts (and wether snow ever falls in the first place), etc. My guess is that "uninhabitable" in this context refers to specific critical periods that are deadly short of water or deadly hot which last long enough to make building/maintaining cities in those places a losing (i.e. prohibitively expensive) proposition
  - skinnymuch 7y ago
    Maybe people thought I was against believing in man made climate change? I remember a year ago I posed a similar question amongst a liberal crowd (of which I’m one as well) and someone took it upon himself to be sure I believed there is no man made climate change. I’m pretty sure he just didn’t know anything either and enjoyed being offended. That’s not what’s happening here exactly but perhaps some people thought I wasn’t being genuine. Thanks! Yes that’s a big difference if it’s average and some seasons might not change much. That would be a big difference. Uninhabitable explanation makes sense too. Thanks.

skinnymuch 7y ago

I’m concerned about climate change. I know about the flooding, glaciers and ice melting, coastal areas and islands filling up with water. I understand some of the natural ecosystem of the world would be messed up with some animals dying out as well. But I have no concept of how much of the latter will be done or how much it’ll effect things. However as I don’t know too much, why would 4 C increase result in a lot of South Asia being uninhabitable and making most of America into hostile land. The other link said most of it would be desert land. And that Siberia and north west Antarctica would be green inhabitable. Wouldn’t part’s of Siberia and any part of Antarctica still be crazy cold and awful places to be? I guess I’m a “dummy” because I also don’t get how global weather increase will mess and change things so much outside of what I acknowledged in my first paragraph. Though again I’m all for fixing up our behavior wrt environment and controlling climate change.

brandmeyer 7y ago
Here's one example: increasing average temperatures raises the incidence of extreme heat waves. There is an upper limit of temperature+humidity above which humans cannot survive. Under business-as-usual rates of CO2 emissions, those conditions will start to happen, and India is one of the earlier areas to see it. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-change-to-cause-humid-heatwaves-that-will-kill-even-healthy-people https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/02/climate-...
jbattle 7y ago
I don't know why you were downvoted, I think it's a good question. My understanding is that this is a 4 degree difference in the average temperature. Meaning there might be times of the year that don't change much at all but other seasons get dramatically hotter. That affects rainfall distribution, the speed that snow melts (and wether snow ever falls in the first place), etc. My guess is that "uninhabitable" in this context refers to specific critical periods that are deadly short of water or deadly hot which last long enough to make building/maintaining cities in those places a losing (i.e. prohibitively expensive) proposition
- skinnymuch 7y ago
  Maybe people thought I was against believing in man made climate change? I remember a year ago I posed a similar question amongst a liberal crowd (of which I’m one as well) and someone took it upon himself to be sure I believed there is no man made climate change. I’m pretty sure he just didn’t know anything either and enjoyed being offended. That’s not what’s happening here exactly but perhaps some people thought I wasn’t being genuine. Thanks! Yes that’s a big difference if it’s average and some seasons might not change much. That would be a big difference. Uninhabitable explanation makes sense too. Thanks.