GetstatsClimate change is a reality, no matter how many prominent figures insist on hiding their heads in the sand. This reality becomes clearer and more terrifying when seen in terms of hard and fast factual stats.
In 2016, the earth’s surface temperature was measured at around 0.94 Celsius degrees warmer than the average of the 20th century. The 21st century has thus broken historical temperature records, according to NASA and the NOAA. This spike in temperature has resulted in increased droughts, rising sea levels, melting of ice caps, and an upsurge in weather-related catastrophes, including tropical storms and floods. Earth’s temperature is expected to rise to as much as 6 degrees within this century, by the year 2100. Rising temperatures and their effects were seen in devastating glory by the whole world when, in the UK in the year 2003, tens of thousands died, including more than 2000 in England alone, during the worst heat waves in recorded history. During this time, Brogdale in Kent, which usually averages at 22.8 degrees Celsius this time of the year, broke all-time natural records after hitting a booming 38.5 degrees Celsius on August 10, 2003.
| Year | |
|---|---|
2016 |
|
2010 |
|
2000 |
|
1990 |
|
1980 |
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1970 |
|
1960 |
|
1950 |
|
1940 |
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1930 |
|
| Q3 | 1920 |
| Q2 | 1910 |
| Q1 | 1900 |
Temperature Anomaly(deg C)
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4
Arctic sea ice coverage has disappeared since 1979 by 3.5 to 4.1 percent, reaching a record low for the third straight running in 2017, according to National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. Sea water levels are currently rising at their fastest rate for more than 2000 years, with the current rate of change being 3.4mm a year. A massive crack in the Larson C ice shelf finally gave way recently, sending a 5,800 square km section of ice into the ocean. This newly formed iceberg is nearly four times the size of London.
Large scale displacement is an adverse effect of climate change that can clearly be seen as it happens. An average of 21.5 million people has been forcibly displaced since 2008 as a direct result of climate-related hazards, according to the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees. The number of people exposed to the risk of flooding is expected to increase from 21 million to 54 million by 2030, according to a study from the World Resources Institute. This would in effect rapidly increase the number of people you would be displaced from their homes every year.
Keeping these horrifying realities in mind, along with the rest of the world, the United Kingdom too has taken significant steps toward being a more responsible nation. In 2017, the UK powered itself without coal for a full day, for the first time since the Industrial Revolution brought this fossil fuel into industrial use. The country has also announced ambitious plans to gradually phase-out all coal-powered power plants by 2025. In addition to saying ‘no’ to coal, the nation has also moved towards more smarter and cleaner means of energy. Scotland has carved a significant space for itself in the global wind energy industry, with plans to supply 100 percent of its gross annual electricity consumption through renewables by the year 2020. In 2017, renewables accounted for almost one-third of all electricity production in the United Kingdom.
Studying statistical charts and graphs can sometimes be a little confusing, mostly due to the used terminology. For that purpose, here is a glossary of some of the most common words and phrases that one might encounter:
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Everything in this world has a history, even numbers and how we use them. Statistics in the UK has a long history that can be dated back to 1941 when the Central Statistical Office was established to improve the consistency of statistical data.
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