STOCKHOLM: A dark cloud is hovering above human existence. It is a fairly illusory cloud haunting our minds and well-being, but also an actual, menacing, mostly invisible cloud that covers the Earth's entire atmosphere. Saturated by greenhouse gases, this global threat increases with every year, threatening all life on Earth, causing increased flooding, extreme heat, drought, wildfires, rising sea levels, food and water scarcity, as well as diseases and mounting economic loss. This misery, caused by human greed, thoughtlessness and self-aggrandizement, triggers human migration and armed conflicts.
If global temperatures keep rising and reach 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, people will, worldwide and simultaneously, face the fatal and multiple impacts of climate change. A 2-degree rise in global temperatures is considered to be a critical threshold. In 2023, the average global temperature was on a third of all days at least 1.5 Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, and the year is ending up as the hottest on record and — the year 2024 is expected to be even hotter.
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