Multiple reports point to a new timeline for a looming mass extinction event. Recent discoveries highlight a catastrophic loss of ocean life, while the worldwide animal extinction rate is double and climate accord efforts failing.
Mass extinction of ocean life looming
After two years spent collecting water samples from the Atlantic Ocean, a new landmark study undertaken by researchers from the Global Oceanic Environmental Survey Foundation (GOES) has found evidence that plankton has been all but wiped out, the Sunday Post reported.
Plankton are a diverse collection of tiny microorganisms found in all water and are vital to sustaining life in the world’s oceans, making up the bottom few levels of the food chain.
The evidence gathered by the researchers suggests that 90% of plankton has now vanished. Researchers blame chemical pollution from fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and plastics in the water for the decline.
The researchers say there are only a few years left before the consequences of the lack of plankton become evident as fish, whales, and dolphins go extinct.
“An environmental catastrophe is unfolding,” the researchers wrote. “We believe humanity could adapt to global warming and extreme weather changes. It is our view that humanity will not survive the extinction of most marine plants and animals.”
Global species extinction rate is double the norm
A new study has found that the overall rate of extinction for all animals on planet Earth is double the normal rate and points to an updated timeline for when a mass extinction event could occur, the Express reported.
The study is entitled “Relationship between extinction magnitude and climate change during major marine and terrestrial animal crises,” and it is focused on the Sixth Mass Extinction.
The study has found a proportional relationship between the average surface temperature on earth and its biodiversity.
“The current rate of extinction is about two orders of magnitude higher than the normal rate of extinction,” David Storch, a professor in the Department of Ecology at Charles University in Prague, who was not involved in the new study, told Live Science.
The scientists believe that if global temperatures exceed 3°Celsius, which the Earth is on track to reach by 2030, it could cause millions of species to go extinct.
World failing miserably toward climate accord targets
The overwhelming majority of countries in the Paris climate accord are failing miserably to meet the 2030 target of 1.5°C by 2030 to offset global warming.
The climate action tracker, not a single country currently qualifies as “1.5°C Paris agreement compatible.”
Six countries were labeled as “critically insufficient,” including Iran, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.
According to a review and projections by the Express, based on data from the climate action tracker, only two countries are on pace to meet the mark: Kenya and Nigeria. Five countries are poised to fail spectacularly: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Argentina, Mexico, and Canada. The US, Japan, China, Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia are not far behind in being well below the mark.
