Dire predictions for a future with unchecked global warming

A recently released report called Climate Change on the Millennial Timescale from the U.K. is the first study to examine the impacts of global warming beyond 2100 – and the findings aren’t encouraging.

By the year 3000, the report says:

• Global warming could have more than quadrupled, with temperature rises of as much as 15 C;

• Sea levels will still be rising by 2100, and the total increase could reach 11.4 metres;

• Abrupt climate changes are possible even after emissions cease because changes may be set in motion that cannot be stopped;

• The acidity of the oceans will go up, posing a threat to marine organisms such as corals and plankton. That, in turn, would affect the whole marine ecosystem.

The report says the changes could be even greater than this if the climate turns out to be more sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions than the study assumes. The solution, the team says, is to reduce emissions to zero by 2200. The report calls for continued efforts to cut the emission of global-warming gases to prevent climate change from getting out of control.