The upcoming climate talks in Paris have generated a lot of buzz lately. Multiple large organizations are coming out with reports on the climate’s future impact on humans, and the general consensus is things are not looking good.
A new report by Climate Central is sharing its global warming message in the form of edited images.
Take a look at these photos of London. This first image is edited to show what the city would look like after the Earth warms 2 degrees Celsius, or about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The second image ... you’re looking at the sea level rise after the Earth is warmed 4 degrees Celsius, or 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here are the same projections for New York City ... after the Earth warms 2 degrees Celsius, we can still see that bull on Wall Street. Not the case after warming 4 degrees Celsius.
According to Climate Central, those images could soon be the reality. A different report released Monday by the U.K. Met Office agrees. It says 2015 is on track to be 1 degree Celsius hotter than ever before.
And warmer temperatures mean higher sea levels. Climate Central says global warming has caused global sea levels to rise 8 inches since 1880, and the rate is accelerating.
The study projects that a 2-degree Celsius increase in temperatures would put about 280 million people underwater.
So what do we do to keep all of us on dry land? That is a conversation world leaders will be having in Paris next month.