Latest news with #EuropeanCopernicus
South China Morning Post
23-02-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Spark Study Buddy (Challenger): Climate change may increase human-snake contact
Content provided by British Council [1] Last year was the warmest on record so far. According to the European Copernicus climate service, in 2024, the average global temperature was 1.6 degrees Celsius (34.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average. The more the world warms, the worse the impacts of climate change will become. Wildlife will be affected by rising temperatures – and this includes snakes. [2] Snakes are reptiles, meaning their body temperature changes according to the environment. It can change daily and seasonally, said Timothy Bonebrake. He is an associate professor at the School of Biological Sciences and Division of Ecology & Biodiversity at the University of Hong Kong. [3] Humans, on the other hand, maintain a steady body temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius. 'Snakes rely on temperature to regulate their behaviour and how effective they are in capturing prey and escaping predators themselves,' said Bonebrake. Snakes are mesopredators, meaning they are both predator and prey. They represent an important part of many ecosystems, he added. [4] Climate change is expected to impact how snakes share space with people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is because snakes will change their movements as temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more common. 'They will become more or less abundant and change their activity patterns. Humans will change farming practices, and there will be greater pressure to migrate or be displaced,' WHO said. [5] As a result, human contact with snakes is likely to increase in some areas. This may lead to a higher risk of snakebites, especially among people who are not used to being around them. [6] Hong Kong has about 53 species of snakes. According to Bonebrake, this is likely due to successful conservation efforts over time. He added that about 40 per cent of Hong Kong's land is designated as country parks, which helps support its biodiversity. [7] Bonebrake said that as more people move to towns and cities, the environment will become less suitable for snakes. 'We've conducted analyses of human-snake conflict in Hong Kong and found that urbanisation is associated with a reduced number of incidents for all species except the bamboo pit viper and greater green snake,' he said. 'So yes, Hong Kong is home to an impressive diversity of snakes, for which we should be proud. But we need to protect the habitat of these animals.' Source: South China Morning Post, January 15 Questions 1. What does paragraph 1 state about the relationship between global warming and the impacts of climate change? 2. According to paragraph 2, what factors affect the internal body temperatures of reptiles? 3. According to paragraph 3, mesopredators … A. hunt and are hunted by other animals. B. hunt at dawn and at night. C. eat mostly fruit and vegetables. D. only eat other animals of the same species. 4. How many species of snakes can be found in Hong Kong, according to paragraph 6? 5. What does the term 'incidents' in paragraph 7 refer to? 6. Circle the correct answers. (5 marks) Rising temperatures (i) (affect / effect) snakes' body temperature and behaviour. This has an (ii) (affect / effect) on their behaviour and ability to survive. Climate change also (iii) (affects / effects) how they interact with humans as they change their movement and activity patterns. This will likely lead to an increase in human-snake contact and potential conflict, especially in areas where human and snake populations overlap. Effective conservation measures have had a positive (iv) (affect / effect) on snake diversity in Hong Kong, and continued habitat protection will be crucial to mitigate the negative (v) (affects / effects) of climate change and urbanisation. As climate change intensifies, snakes will become more prevalent in some areas, highlighting the need for habitat protection and awareness of potential risks. Photo: Shutterstock Answers 1. The more the world warms, the worse the impacts of climate change will become. 2. their surrounding environment / the temperature of their surrounding environment 3. A 4. 53 5. encounters between humans and snakes (accept all similar answers) 6. (i) affect; (ii) effect; (iii) affects; (iv) effect; (v) effects
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Record January warmth puzzles climate scientists
Reuters Last month was the world's warmest January on record raising further questions about the pace of climate change, scientists say. January 2025 had been expected to be slightly cooler than January 2024 because of a shift away from a natural weather pattern in the Pacific known as El Niño. But instead, last month broke the January 2024 record by nearly 0.1C, according to the European Copernicus climate service. The world's warming is due to emissions of planet-heating gases from human activities - mainly the burning of fossil fuels - but scientists say they cannot fully explain why last month was particularly hot. It continues a series of surprisingly large temperature records since mid-2023, with temperatures around 0.2C above what had been expected. "The basic reason we're having records being broken, and we've had this decades-long warming trend, is because we're increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told BBC News. "The specifics of exactly why 2023, and 2024, and [the start of] 2025, were so warm, there are other elements involved there. We're trying to pin those down." January 2025 ended up 1.75C warmer than January temperatures of the late 19th Century, before humans started significantly warming the climate. Early last year, global temperatures were being boosted by the natural El Niño weather pattern, where unusually warm surface waters spread across the eastern tropical Pacific. This releases extra heat into the atmosphere, raising global temperatures. This year, La Niña conditions are developing instead, according to US science group Noaa, which should have the opposite effect. While La Niña is currently weak - and sometimes takes a couple of months to have its full effect on temperatures – it was expected to lead to a cooler January. "If you'd asked me a few months ago what January 2025 would look like relative to January 2024, my best shot would have been it would be cooler," Adam Scaife, head of monthly to decadal predictions at the UK Met Office, said. "We now know it isn't, and we don't really know why that is." A number of theories have been put forward for why the last couple of years have been warmer than anticipated. One idea involves a prolonged response of the oceans to the 2023-24 El Niño. While it was not especially strong, it followed an unusually lengthy La Niña phase from 2020-23. The El Niño event might therefore have "lifted the lid" on warming, allowing ocean heat that had been accumulating to escape into the atmosphere. But it's unclear how this would still be directly affecting global temperatures nearly a year after El Niño ended. "Based on historical data, that effect is likely to have waned by now, so I think if the current record continues, that explanation becomes less and less likely," says Prof Scaife. The fact that sea temperatures in other regions of the world remain particularly warm could suggest "that the behaviour of the ocean is changing", according to Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus. "We're really looking to see how the ocean temperatures evolve because they have a direct influence on air temperatures." Another prominent theory is a reduction in the number of small particles in the atmosphere, known as aerosols. These tiny particles have historically masked some of the long-term warming from greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane by helping to form bright clouds and reflecting some of the Sun's energy back into space. Aerosol numbers have been falling recently, thanks to reductions in tiny particles from shipping and Chinese industry, for example, aimed at cleaning the air that people breathe. But it means they haven't had as large a cooling effect to offset the continued warming caused by greenhouse gases. And this cooling effect of aerosols has been underestimated by the UN, argues James Hansen, the scientist who made one of the first high-profile warnings on climate change to the US Senate in 1988. Most scientists aren't yet convinced that this is the case. But, if true, it could mean there is greater climate change in store than previously assumed. The "nightmare scenario", says Prof Scaife, would be an extra cloud feedback, where a warming ocean could cause low-level reflective clouds to dissipate, in turn warming the planet further. This theory is also very uncertain. But the months ahead should help to shed some light on whether the "extra" warmth over the past couple of years is a blip, or marks an acceleration in warming beyond what scientists had anticipated. Currently, most researchers still expect 2025 will end up slightly cooler than 2023 and 2024 – but the recent warmth means they can't be sure. What they do know, however, is that further records will follow sooner or later as humanity continues to heat up the planet. "In time, 2025 is likely to be one of the cooler years that we experience," Dr Burgess said. "Unless we turn off that tap to [greenhouse gas] emissions, then global temperatures will continue to rise." Graphics by Erwan Rivault Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here. El Niño Climate
Sky News
06-02-2025
- Science
- Sky News
'Dangerous climate breakdown' warning as hottest January on record shocks scientists
Last month was the warmest January on record, according to new data. The finding has baffled scientists, who had expected changes in ocean currents in the Pacific to take the edge off rising global temperatures. Figures released by the European Copernicus climate service show average temperatures around the world in January were 1.75C warmer than before greenhouse gas emissions started to rise significantly in the industrial revolution around 150 years ago. That's 0.1C above the record set last January. And it comes after a year in which temperatures topped 1.5C, the target for climate negotiations, for the first time. 2:35 Dr Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, warned that the rising pace of climate change would increase the risk of extreme weather and its consequences. "This January is the hottest on record because countries are still burning huge amounts of oil, gas and coal," she said. "The Los Angeles wildfires were a stark reminder that we have already reached an incredibly dangerous level of warming. We'll see many more unprecedented extreme weather events in 2025." 1:26 January had been expected to be slightly cooler than last year because of a natural shift in weather patterns and ocean currents in the Pacific, called La Nina. But that hasn't been enough to slow the upward trend in temperatures. 'Frankly terrifying' Bill McGuire, emeritus professor of geophysical & climate hazards at UCL, said: "The fact that the latest robust Copernicus data reveals the January just gone was the hottest on record - despite an emerging La Nina, which typically has a cooling effect - is both astonishing and, frankly terrifying. "Having crashed through the 1.5C limit in 2024, the climate is showing no signs of wanting to dip under it again, reflected by the fact that this is the 18th of the last 19 months to see the global temperature rise since pre-industrial times top 1.5C. "On the basis of the Valencia floods and apocalyptic LA wildfires, I don't think there can be any doubt that dangerous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown has arrived." The consequences of a warming atmosphere are also being directly felt in the UK, with more intense rainfall increasing the risk of surface flooding. The Environment Agency released figures in December showing 4.6 million properties in England are at risk from flooding as drainage systems are overwhelmed by rainfall. That's a 43% increase on previous estimates. But adapting to a climate change is hugely expensive. The government on Wednesday announced it would spend £2.65bn over two years to shore up existing flood defences and protect an extra 52,000 homes and businesses - a tiny fraction of the number at risk.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Dangerous climate breakdown' warning as hottest January on record shocks scientists
Last month was the warmest January on record, according to new data. The finding has baffled scientists, who had expected changes in ocean currents in the Pacific to take the edge off . Figures released by the European Copernicus climate service show average temperatures around the world in January were 1.75C warmer than before greenhouse gas emissions started to rise significantly in the industrial revolution around 150 years ago. That's 0.1C above . And it comes after a year in which , the target for climate negotiations, for the first time. Dr Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, warned that the rising pace of would increase the risk of extreme weather and its consequences. "This January is the hottest on record because countries are still burning huge amounts of oil, gas and coal," she said. "The Los Angeles wildfires were a stark reminder that we have already reached an incredibly dangerous level of warming. We'll see many more unprecedented extreme weather events in 2025." Read more: January had been expected to be slightly cooler than last year because of a natural shift in weather patterns and ocean currents in the Pacific, called La Nina. But that hasn't been enough to slow the upward trend in temperatures. 'Frankly terrifying' Bill McGuire, emeritus professor of geophysical & climate hazards at UCL, said: "The fact that the latest robust Copernicus data reveals the January just gone was the hottest on record - despite an emerging La Nina, which typically has a cooling effect - is both astonishing and, frankly terrifying. "Having crashed through the 1.5C limit in 2024, the climate is showing no signs of wanting to dip under it again, reflected by the fact that this is the 18th of the last 19 months to see the global temperature rise since pre-industrial times top 1.5C. "On the basis of the Valencia floods and apocalyptic LA wildfires, I don't think there can be any doubt that dangerous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown has arrived." Read more from Sky News: The , with more intense rainfall increasing the risk of surface flooding. The Environment Agency released figures in December showing 4.6 million properties in England are at risk from flooding as drainage systems are overwhelmed by rainfall. That's a 43% increase on previous estimates. But adapting to a climate change is hugely expensive. The government on Wednesday announced it would spend £2.65bn over two years to shore up existing flood defences and protect an extra 52,000 homes and businesses - a tiny fraction of the number at risk.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Record January warmth puzzles climate scientists
Last month was the world's warmest January on record raising further questions about the pace of climate change, scientists say. January 2025 had been expected to be slightly cooler than January 2024 because of a shift away from a natural weather pattern in the Pacific known as El Niño. But instead, last month broke the January 2024 record by nearly 0.1C, according to the European Copernicus climate service. The world's warming is due to emissions of planet-heating gases from human activities - mainly the burning of fossil fuels - but scientists say they cannot fully explain why last month was particularly hot. It continues a series of surprisingly large temperature records since mid-2023, with temperatures around 0.2C above what had been expected. "The basic reason we're having records being broken, and we've had this decades-long warming trend, is because we're increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told BBC News. "The specifics of exactly why 2023, and 2024, and [the start of] 2025, were so warm, there are other elements involved there. We're trying to pin those down." January 2025 ended up 1.75C warmer than January temperatures of the late 19th Century, before humans started significantly warming the climate. Early last year, global temperatures were being boosted by the natural El Niño weather pattern, where unusually warm surface waters spread across the eastern tropical Pacific. This releases extra heat into the atmosphere, raising global temperatures. This year, La Niña conditions are developing instead, according to US science group Noaa, which should have the opposite effect. While La Niña is currently weak - and sometimes takes a couple of months to have its full effect on temperatures – it was expected to lead to a cooler January. "If you'd asked me a few months ago what January 2025 would look like relative to January 2024, my best shot would have been it would be cooler," Adam Scaife, head of monthly to decadal predictions at the UK Met Office, said. "We now know it isn't, and we don't really know why that is." A simple guide to climate change What is El Niño and how does it change the weather? A number of theories have been put forward for why the last couple of years have been warmer than anticipated. One idea involves a prolonged response of the oceans to the 2023-24 El Niño. While it was not especially strong, it followed an unusually lengthy La Niña phase from 2020-23. The El Niño event might therefore have "lifted the lid" on warming, allowing ocean heat that had been accumulating to escape into the atmosphere. But it's unclear how this would still be directly affecting global temperatures nearly a year after El Niño ended. "Based on historical data, that effect is likely to have waned by now, so I think if the current record continues, that explanation becomes less and less likely," says Prof Scaife. The fact that sea temperatures in other regions of the world remain particularly warm could suggest "that the behaviour of the ocean is changing", according to Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus. "We're really looking to see how the ocean temperatures evolve because they have a direct influence on air temperatures." Another prominent theory is a reduction in the number of small particles in the atmosphere, known as aerosols. These tiny particles have historically masked some of the long-term warming from greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane by helping to form bright clouds and reflecting some of the Sun's energy back into space. Aerosol numbers have been falling recently, thanks to reductions in tiny particles from shipping and Chinese industry, for example, aimed at cleaning the air that people breathe. But it means they haven't had as large a cooling effect to offset the continued warming caused by greenhouse gases. And this cooling effect of aerosols has been underestimated by the UN, argues James Hansen, the scientist who made one of the first high-profile warnings on climate change to the US Senate in 1988. Most scientists aren't yet convinced that this is the case. But, if true, it could mean there is greater climate change in store than previously assumed. The "nightmare scenario", says Prof Scaife, would be an extra cloud feedback, where a warming ocean could cause low-level reflective clouds to dissipate, in turn warming the planet further. This theory is also very uncertain. But the months ahead should help to shed some light on whether the "extra" warmth over the past couple of years is a blip, or marks an acceleration in warming beyond what scientists had anticipated. Currently, most researchers still expect 2025 will end up slightly cooler than 2023 and 2024 – but the recent warmth means they can't be sure. What they do know, however, is that further records will follow sooner or later as humanity continues to heat up the planet. "In time, 2025 is likely to be one of the cooler years that we experience," Dr Burgess said. "Unless we turn off that tap to [greenhouse gas] emissions, then global temperatures will continue to rise." Graphics by Erwan Rivault 2024 first year to pass 1.5C global warming limit Climate change made LA fires worse, scientists say Could the UK actually get colder with global warming?
