No one knows how much warming is "safe". What we do know is that
climate change is already harming people and ecosystems. Its
reality can be seen in melting glaciers, disintegrating polar
ice, thawing permafrost, changing monsoon patterns, rising sea
levels, changing ecosystems and fatal heat waves. Scientists are
not the only ones talking about these changes. From the apple
growers in Himachal to the farmers in Vidharbha and those living
in disappearing islands in the Sunderbans are already struggling
with the impacts of climate change. But this is just the
beginning. We need to act to avoid catastrophic climate change.
While not all regional effects are known yet, here are some
likely future effects if we allow current trends to continue.
Relatively likely and early effects of small to moderate
warming: Natural systems, including glaciers, coral reefs,
mangroves, Arctic ecosystems, alpine ecosystems, Boreal forests,
tropical forests, prairie wetlands and native grasslands, will
be severely threatened. Longe