Read Aloud — Climate

Global average temperatures have risen by approximately one point two degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels. Scientists warn that exceeding one point five degrees could trigger irreversible changes, including the collapse of ice sheets and the loss of critical ecosystems worldwide.

Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe in many parts of the world as climate change disrupts established rainfall patterns. These prolonged dry periods threaten agricultural output, reduce freshwater availability, and increase the risk of wildfires, with particularly devastating consequences for communities in developing countries that lack resources to adapt.

Many governments have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by the middle of this century. Reaching this goal requires not only a rapid shift to renewable energy but also investments in carbon capture technology, reforestation programmes, and fundamental changes in industrial processes, agriculture, and consumer behaviour across entire economies.

Average temperatures tell only part of the story. What affects farming most is the timing of rain, and in many regions the total annual rainfall has barely changed while its distribution has shifted, arriving in fewer and heavier storms that the ground cannot absorb.

Ice cores record the atmosphere of the distant past because snow traps air as it compacts. Drilling through a glacier therefore produces a dated sequence of samples, and comparing them shows how carbon dioxide concentrations moved alongside temperature over hundreds of thousands of years.