Broad threat to humanity from cumulative climate hazards intensified by greenhouse gas emissions

Camilo Mora; Daniele Spirandelli; Erik C. Franklin; John Lynham; Michael B. Kantar; Wendy Miles; Charlotte Z. Smith; Kelle Freel; Jade Moy; Leo V Louis; Evan W. Barba; Keith Bettinger; Abby G. Frazier; John F. Colburn IX; Naota Hanasaki; Ed Hawkins; Yukiko Hirabayashi; Wolfgang Knorr; Christopher M. Little; Kerry Emanuel; Justin Sheffield; Jonathan A. Patz; Cynthia L. Hunter

doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0315-6

Treesearch

Broad threat to humanity from cumulative climate hazards intensified by greenhouse gas emissions

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Camilo Mora, Daniele Spirandelli, Erik C. Franklin, John Lynham, Michael B. Kantar, Wendy Miles, Charlotte Z. Smith, Kelle Freel, Jade Moy, Leo V Louis, Evan W. Barba, Keith Bettinger, Abby G. Frazier, John F. Colburn IX, Naota Hanasaki, Ed Hawkins, Yukiko Hirabayashi, Wolfgang Knorr, Christopher M. Little, Kerry Emanuel, Justin Sheffield, Jonathan A. Patz, Cynthia L. Hunter

Year:

2018

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Pacific Southwest Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0315-6

Source:

Nature Climate Change. 8(12): 1062-1071

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Download (PDF 4.72 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/58231.pdf

Abstract

The ongoing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is triggering changes in many climate hazards that can impact humanity. We found traceable evidence for 467 pathways by which human health, water, food, economy, infrastructure and security have been recently impacted by climate hazards such as warming, heatwaves, precipitation, drought, floods, fires, storms, sea-level rise and changes in natural land cover and ocean chemistry. By 2100, the world’s population will be exposed concurrently to the equivalent of the largest magnitude in one of these hazards if emmisions are aggressively reduced, or three if they are not, with some tropical coastal areas facing up to six simultaneous hazards. These findings highlight the fact that GHG emissions pose a broad threat to humanity by intensifying multiple hazards to which humanity is vulnerable.

Keywords

human health, drought, wildfire, climate change, water

Citation

Mora, Camilo; Spirandelli, Daniele; Franklin, Erik C.; Lynham, John; Kantar, Michael B.; Miles, Wendy; Smith, Charlotte Z.; Freel, Kelle; Moy, Jade; Louis, Leo V.; Barba, Evan W.; Bettinger, Keith; Frazier, Abby G.; Colburn IX, John F.; Hanasaki, Naota; Hawkins, Ed; Hirabayashi, Yukiko; Knorr, Wolfgang; Little, Christopher M.; Emanuel, Kerry; Sheffield, Justin; Patz, Jonathan A.; Hunter, Cynthia L. 2018. Broad threat to humanity from cumulative climate hazards intensified by greenhouse gas emissions. Nature Climate Change. 8(12): 1062-1071. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0315-6.