Current predictions of climate change may significantly underestimate the speed and severity of global warming, according to a new study.
Reappraisal of the models climate scientists use to determine future warming has revealed that less optimistic estimates are more realistic.
The results suggest that the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global average temperatures from rising by 2C, may be overly ambitious.
“Our study indicates that if emissions follow a commonly used business-as-usual scenario, there is a 93 per cent chance that global warming will exceed 4C by the end of this century,” said Dr Ken Caldeira, an atmospheric scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, who co-authored the new study.
This likelihood is an increase on past estimates, which placed it at 62 per cent. https://goo.gl/5jgsrd
