Climate basics
The climate crisis is worsening, with 2024 the hottest year recorded. Adaptations have been made, but we need to do more - story 3
I need to start with the climate. There are so many climate-related metrics. It can be overwhelming. Our World in Data is an excellent source. Easy to read, regularly updated and, if you want more, deeply researched.
The key climate change metric is the average global temperature. In early January it was confirmed that 2024 was the world's hottest year on record and it was around 1.6C hotter than than those of the pre-industrial period. A threshold had been crossed.
Credit here to BBC News for this graphic. It features in article which is a good place to make you first foray into climate data .
Change or more?
I have wondered how best to describe what is going on with the climate.
The BBC uses this ‘really simple guide’ to explain what it calls ‘climate change’. Its reporting often stresses the urgency of action. For example, the BBC reported that the IPCC's 2023 report was "code red for humanity". But it goes no further.
The Guardian is more forceful. In 2019, Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief said
“We want to ensure that we are being scientifically precise, while also communicating clearly with readers on this very important issue. “The phrase ‘climate change’, for example, sounds rather passive and gentle when what scientists are talking about is a catastrophe for humanity.”
She mentions the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterras using the phrase ‘climate crisis’ that year.
2019 was also the year ‘climate emergency’ was the Oxford dictionary’s World of the Year. The UK Parliament approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency. The then Environment Secretary Michael Gove acknowledged there was a climate "emergency" but did not back Labour's demands to declare one. Likewise, although several bills have been introduced to the UK Parliament which would declare a climate emergency, none have passed.
This is a judgement call but it feels like an emergency - hence my organising question for this blog,
How do I live my best life in the world’s greatest city during this climate emergency?
The climate challenges across the globe and in the UK are increasing in volume and ferocity. We have made many adjustments - adaptations - which have had an impact but we need to do so much more, soon.
I will return to this topic later because words matter.
An Oxfordshire skeptic
Finally I need to remember not everyone accepts this analysis. Only last week, January 2025, I met a climate skeptic. We got talking over lunch. A former engineer in the oil and gas industry, he acknowledged climate change but was dismissive of human influence.
“No-one has explained to me how the last Ice Age ended without the intervention of combustion engines”
I liked this chap. I enjoyed his company. But I struggled to engage with him around climate change. I need to practice more. I need to spend more time with climate skeptics and climate deniers.