Climate change impact far greater, frequent and disruptive than previously understood: IPCC report

The adverse impacts of climate change are far greater, more frequent and vastly more disruptive than previously understood, a new assessment Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said, warning that “minor” or “incremental” responses would not be sufficient to deal with the crisis.
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The IPCC, a global body of scients that makes periodic reviews of climate science, on Monday released the second part of its sixth assessment report. The first part of this report, on the physical science of climate change, was released in August last year. It had warned that 1.5 degree Celsius warming was likely to be achieved before 2040 itself. This second part of the report is about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options.
The latest report warns that multiple disasters induced climate change are likely to emerge in different parts of the world in the next two decades, even if adequate efforts are made to keep the global rise in temperatures within 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times. If the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold is breached, even if temporarily, there are likely to be “additional severe impacts”, some of them irreversible, it says.

“The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5°C. Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible. Risks for society will increase, including to infrastructure and low-lying coastal settlements,” the IPCC report says.
A woman carries pieces of wood, in the aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai, in the town of Mananjary, Madagascar, February 8, 2022. (Reuters)
“Multiple climate hazards will occur simultaneously, and multiple climatic and non-climatic risks will interact, resulting in compounding overall risk and risks cascading across sectors and regions,” it warns.
The Paris Agreement of 2015 seeks to keep the global rise in temperatures “well below” 2 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times, a reference to the period between 1850 and 1900, while working towards restricting it to 1.5 degree Celsius. Scients have been warning that until immediate actions are taken to rein in the rise in temperatures, even the 2 degree Celsius goal would become out of reach.
The report says that the capacity to adapt to the rising temperatures was already getting weaker, for living beings as well as natural systems, and it would reduce further with rising temperatures.
“Soft limits to some human adaptation have been reached, but can be overcome addressing a range of constraints, primarily financial, governance, institutional and policy constraints. Hard limits to adaptation have been reached in some ecosystems,” the report says.

The IPCC report also says that the extent and magnitude of climate impacts, and the risks and vulnerabilities of populations and natural systems, was far greater than previously assessed.
“Based on increased observations and a better understanding of processes, we now know that the extent and magnitude of climate change impacts on nature are greater than previously assessed. The impacts we see today are appearing much faster, they are more disruptive and more widespread than we expected 20 years ago,” it says.
“It is clear now that minor, marginal, reactive or incremental changes won’t be sufficient. In addition to technological and economic changes, shifts in most aspects of society are required to overcome limits to adaptation, build resilience, reduce climate risk to tolerable levels, guarantee inclusive, equitable and just development and achieve societal goals without leaving anyone behind,” it says.
The report also highlights large gaps in the adaptation actions that are being taken and the efforts that are required. It says these gaps are a result of “lack of funding, political commitment, reliable information, and sense of urgency”.
In addition, the report also emphasises that adaptation has to go hand in hand with “ambitious reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, because with increased warming, the effectiveness of many adaptation options declines”.