The heatwaves facing various countries do not signify a cause but rather a consequence of neglect and the high cost of climate change, which is no longer a distant threat (as it is already drastically affecting people, animals, and living beings worldwide). The changing climate is having devastating effects on people and all those who inhabit the Earth; such is the future of a crisis we are not addressing.
For 2024, the arrival of five heatwaves starting in March and potentially ending in June is expected; this weather will bring significant impacts such as drought and water scarcity (yes, even more than currently exist). However, other phenomena have also been highlighted by climate change, including high ocean temperatures and the activation of soil bacteria, leading to increased carbon release into the atmosphere.
And if we haven’t yet glimpsed these consequences, let us explain a bit more about them and what could happen if we continue on this path, perhaps it a bit apocalyptic, but the Earth is crying out for help. Heatwaves, activation of bacteria, alterations in fish, and other signs of the climate crisis we are not addressing.
Heatwaves, Bacteria Activation, Fish Alterations, and Other Signs of the Climate Crisis We’re Ignoring
When we talk about global warming or a climate crisis, we must understand that both, although similar, refer to different aspects. While the former speaks of the consequences generated by the release of greenhouse gases, the latter speaks of the current emergency caused by the alarming rate at which the planet has been warming over the past decades.
Both alert us to the extreme temperatures at which the Earth is living and how ineffective the measures and efforts implemented so far have been to mitigate climate change. The hotter the planet becomes, the more the climate will change, especially the more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as wildfires, tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts will be. Additionally, climate change has triggered unprecedented natural processes such as Arctic ice melting and sea level rise.
Although it may seem like “we have it under control,” all these events demonstrate the impact humanity has on the planet and how it calls for us to see everything our hands have caused. In the midst of 2024, there is more bad news than good, and the first signs were the heatwaves. What else is there?
Heat Activates More Bacteria in the Soil
Soils are Earth’s largest carbon reservoir. The microbes inhabiting them govern the global element cycle by decomposing organic matter and releasing carbon dioxide (CO2). With warming soils, different groups of surface bacteria begin to awaken, causing a greater release of carbon into the atmosphere and accelerating climate change.
A new study led by Andreas Richter, a professor at CeMESS, found that this phenomenon is not related to the development of existing bacteria but rather to the activation of passive microorganism taxa, which showed a 53% increase and uncontrolled CO2 release.
Ocean Temperatures Continue to Break Records
As the sea level rises, ecosystems such as seagrass meadows begin to disappear. Seagrass is key to reducing the planet’s CO2. Undoubtedly, sea surface temperatures have surged more than expected, which could be a bad sign for hurricane season and the health of ocean ecosystems as oceans have been warming over the decades, absorbing about 90% of the extra heat humans have added to the atmosphere.
For almost a year, there has been a strange warming of the oceans, and since the sea level has risen unusually, seagrass meadows have experienced a gradual disappearance. These are shallow water areas where seagrass thrives. They are illuminated ecosystems that harbor a wide diversity of living beings, such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and algae. Besides being a rich habitat for organisms.
On the other hand, although we are not yet close to the hurricane season in the Atlantic, which runs from June 1st until fall, it should be noted that hurricanes feed on warm ocean water, which could remain anomalously warm in the coming months.
The Feared Heatwaves Affecting Various Countries Like Mexico
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed that February was the hottest ever recorded globally and became the ninth consecutive month with record temperatures. The last 12 months (between March 2023 and February of this year) were the hottest in history with 1.56°C above the reference.
While heatwaves have occurred in the past, climate change is making them longer, more extreme, and more frequent. For example, in Mexico, five Heatwaves are forecasted for 2024, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in several states of the country, mainly in the north, Gulf region, southeast, and parts of the Pacific.
In fact, over the next 10 years, surface temperatures are expected to continue rising in response to ongoing greenhouse gas emissions.
Global Warming Is Reducing the Weight of Pacific Fish
Fish in the Pacific Ocean have decreased in volume and weight over the past 40 years due to the effects of global warming. A recent study by scientists from the University of Tokyo on 13 marine species has determined a reduction in their total biomass due to changes in sea temperature and the alteration of microorganisms.
Within the field of marine biology, there is a paradigm that states that fish living in warm oceans grow faster. When they mature, their size is smaller compared to species inhabiting cold seas. With this in mind, Japanese scientists wanted to verify if that trend was repeated in the marine ecosystems of the North Pacific, which in recent years have been exposed to a global temperature increase.
The Tokyo team revealed that more than ten species of fish that make up their fishing industry have reduced both their weight and biomass. The former refers to the size of an individual fish, while the latter is the total size of a species or group in an area. To reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed fish population data between 1978, 1995, and 2018, and then compared the information with sea temperature between 1982 and 2014.
Natural Disasters Add New Categories
The climate crisis facing the Earth, due to global warming, is leading us to discover greater forces than those historically registered by our species. Given this panorama, scientists see the need to give a new classification: that of category 6 hurricanes.
According to information, the sixth category would be for storms with winds exceeding 309 kph (192 mph). However, there has been no formal response to formalize the category 6 hurricanes yet.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera.
