Temperature x Carbon Dioxide
The map that we have assembled with NASA data shows the amount of carbon emissions highlighted in green (higher) to blue (lower), and, in red dots (higher) to blue dots (lower), the change of temperature. Although the global average temperature has increased by approximately 1.2 degrees Celsius since 1880, the last 45 years have accounted for two-thirds of that increase. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the UK Meteorological Office (UK Met) used detailed station data from 1800 to analyze these changes and all confirmed the warming of our planet.
The temperature on Earth varies significantly each day and is getting warmer. Through satellites and weather balloons, tens of thousands of temperature observations are captured across the globe, on land, and at sea. Earth stations use these daily readings to create a monthly average, which is then sent for use by climate researchers. These numbers are used to calculate the global average temperature.
The Germanwatch institute presented the results of the Global Climate Risk Index (IGRC) in 2020 during COP25 in Madrid. According to this analysis, based on the impacts of extreme weather events and the socioeconomic losses they cause, Japan, the Philippines and Germany are currently the places most affected by climate change.
Using NASA data, it is possible to understand some hotspots of environmental injustice and the disproportionate burden that the carbon dioxide emission ratio and the Earth's temperature affect different places.
JAPAN
According to the NASA data that we gathered to build the map, it is possible to observe that Japan is a country that does not emit much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere concerning other countries around the globe. However, according to studies by the Germanwatch institute, Japan is the country that suffers most and will still suffer from this increase in global temperature. Heavy rains, the heatwave, the Osaka earthquake, and typhoon Jebi, which devastated Japan in 2018, have made the country the most threatened country in the world by climate change. Meteorology was responsible for 1,282 deaths in the country — 1.01 per 100,000 inhabitants — as well as 35.839 billion dollars in economic losses and a 0.64 percent drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.
PHILIPPINES
Analyzing NASA data along with observations from humanities and environmental studies, we conclude that another focus of disproportionate environmental burden is headed our way. Typhoon Mangkhut's passage through the Philippines in 2018 affected more than 250,000 people across the country, leaving at least 59 dead from torrential rains. According to the Germanwatch observatory, the extreme phenomena caused 455 deaths in the country that same year — 0.43 per 100,000 inhabitants — and more than 4.54 billion dollars in economic losses and a drop in GDP per capita of 0.48%.
INDIA
The Indian subcontinent has also suffered major damage caused by extreme heat, floods, and sandstorms, among other devastating natural disasters. In 2018, they caused more than 2,000 deaths—0.16 per 100,000 inhabitants—, losses amounting to 37.807 billion dollars, and a decrease in GDP per capita of 0.36%.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are one of the main causes of climate change. Accurate information on CO2 emissions is critical to understanding the human impact on climate change and air pollution. The Carbon Monitor dataset was created as the first estimate of daily CO2 emissions for six different sectors, including energy, land transport, industrial production, residential consumption, and maritime and aircraft transport. This dataset is especially relevant to understanding the environmental effects of COVID-19 and shows a drop in emissions as the blockades were instituted.
AN IN BRAZIL?
INTERPRETATION
The emission of carbon into the atmosphere is directly linked to the greenhouse effect. Among the most significant sources of CO2 emissions are deforestation, the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture, energy, industries, and waste. In Brazil, deforestation in the Amazon is primarily responsible for the high level of carbon emissions. The dense forest stores billions of tons of CO2. Its devastation causes carbon to go straight into the atmosphere and there, its thick layer prevents the exit of solar radiation, thus forming a heat bubble.
Climate change and so-called "nutrient pollution" are reducing the concentration of oxygen in the oceans and putting the existence of several marine species at risk. This is the conclusion of one of the largest studies ever carried out on this topic, conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and released this Saturday at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 25, which is being held in Madrid, Spain.
Nutrient pollution has been known for decades and is considered one of the main causes of the emergence of "dead zones" in the oceans-places with such low concentrations of oxygen that they practically make life impossible.
It occurs when substances containing elements such as phosphorus and nitrogen are used in agricultural fertilizers, for example-are dragged from the land by rain to rivers and reach the sea. There, they cause the excessive growth of the algae population, a phenomenon called eutrophication.
Climate change, in turn, has aggravated the problem: the increase in water temperature is another factor that contributes to the reduction of oxygen levels.
According to the study, around 700 points in the ocean are suffering from the reduction in oxygen concentration. In the 1960s, that number was no more than 45.
The increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere intensifies the greenhouse effect—the gases absorb a portion of the radiation that should be dissipated into space and keep it inside the planet.
The oceans, in turn, absorb some of the heat. And the oxygen concentration in water is temperature-sensitive: the hotter the day, the lower the concentration of this gas, which is essential for the maintenance of much marine life.
The Amazon is already a victim of climate change. One of the clearest manifestations of this is the increase in the frequency of large floods. When we analyze the historical series of the Negro River level in Manaus, the trend is very clear. If we compare the first twenty years of the historical record sequence (1903 to 1923) with the last 20 years (2001 to 2021), there is a clear increase in the frequency of major floods. In the first period, there were 11 years of above-average floods and one year with levels above the 29-meter quota, considered an emergency quota in Manaus. In the second period (2001 to 2021), there were 18 years of above-average floods and six with levels above the 29-meter level. 2021 will probably be one of the biggest floods in the recent history of the Rio Negro, surpassing the record of the last 118 years, reached recently (2012).
At least two-thirds of the municipalities in Amazonas are already suffering the consequences of the flood, according to a bulletin released in early May by the Civil Defense. Some of the municipalities are in a situation of care, while others are in a state of emergency. In Nova Olinda do Norte, the Madeira River has already surpassed the 2014 flood, which was the largest in history, and more than 3,000 families have been affected. In Carauari, the Juruá River has already reached a new historical record and the municipality is in an emergency. The impact of these extreme events is especially strong in the deep Amazon, marked by enormous distances and the isolation of communities and villages. Some municipalities in the interior are more than 15 days away by boat from Manaus and some locations are more than four days away from the municipal headquarters. This is a completely different reality from the rest of Brazil. Civil Defense relief actions in these areas are much more incipient and almost always below the reasonable minimum. It is necessary to invest more in actions to adapt to climate change.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the deep Amazon is a case of climate injustice. Indigenous peoples and traditional populations in the Amazon are the guardians of the forest, who play an essential role in reducing deforestation and are therefore not responsible for global warming. Rather, these populations contribute to mitigating global climate change. As these communities and villages are suffering the impacts of weather events in a particularly severe way, this represents one of the most striking cases of climate injustice across the planet.
In Brazil, it is no different. In Northeastern Brazil, semi-arid and arid areas will suffer a reduction in water resources due to climate change. Semi-arid vegetation will probably be replaced by vegetation typical of the arid region. In tropical forests, species extinction is likely. 38% to 45% of plants in the cerrado are at risk of extinction if temperatures rise by 1.7°C from pre-industrial levels. In non-fragmented areas of the Amazon forest, the direct effect of CO2 on photosynthesis, as well as faster forest regeneration, may have caused a substantial increase in the density of lianas – a woody vine species – in the last two decades. Warming of 2.0°C to 3.0°C above pre-industrial levels will result in significant biodiversity loss. The increase in temperature and the decrease in water in the soil.
The Amazon is already a victim of climate change. One of the clearest manifestations of this is the increase in the frequency of large floods. When we analyze the historical series of the Negro River level in Manaus, the trend is very clear. If we compare the first twenty years of the historical record sequence (1903 to 1923) with the last 20 years (2001 to 2021), there is a clear increase in the frequency of major floods. In the first period, there were 11 years of above-average floods and one year with levels above the 29-meter quota, considered an emergency quota in Manaus. In the second period (2001 to 2021), there were 18 years of above-average floods and six with levels above the 29-meter level. 2021 will probably be one of the biggest floods in the recent history of the Rio Negro, surpassing the record of the last 118 years, reached recently (2012).
At least two-thirds of the municipalities in Amazonas are already suffering the consequences of the flood, according to a bulletin released in early May by the Civil Defense. Some of the municipalities are in a situation of care, while others are in a state of emergency. In Nova Olinda do Norte, the Madeira River has already surpassed the 2014 flood, which was the largest in history, and more than 3,000 families have been affected. In Carauari, the Juruá River has already reached a new historical record and the municipality is in an emergency. The impact of these extreme events is especially strong in the deep Amazon, marked by enormous distances and the isolation of communities and villages. Some municipalities in the interior are more than 15 days away by boat from Manaus and some locations are more than four days away from the municipal headquarters. This is a completely different reality from the rest of Brazil. Civil Defense relief actions in these areas are much more incipient and almost always below the reasonable minimum. It is necessary to invest more in actions to adapt to climate change.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the deep Amazon is a case of climate injustice. Indigenous peoples and traditional populations in the Amazon are the guardians of the forest, who play an essential role in reducing deforestation and are therefore not responsible for global warming. Rather, these populations contribute to mitigating global climate change. As these communities and villages are suffering the impacts of weather events in a particularly severe way, this represents one of the most striking cases of climate injustice across the planet.