“At the moment when we have a global temperature higher by 2 °C, for some areas of the world, for example for Central Europe, this will mean a double increase in temperature,” warns climatologist Radim Tolasz. According to him, in such a case we can already talk about the Alpine glaciers melting completely. “It would be fatal for a part of Europe where they are used to certain weather patterns,” he adds.
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Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Radim Tolasz | Video: Jakub Zuzánek
According to Radim Tolasz, the turning point, when global temperatures will rise by two to two and a half degrees Celsius, awaits the world in about ten, at most twenty years.
“Europe is doing well because it’s a rich part of the world and they can handle it. But it’s going to be the same in the Himalayas, and the moment the Himalayan glaciers really break through that tipping point, there’s a lot of people who are on them existentially dependent,” he points out.
At the same time, the climate expert explains that climate change, which everyone thought was mainly about the atmosphere and weather, has already caught up with the ocean. Climatologists expect that in the coming months, the El Niño climate phenomenon could begin to manifest itself, when the steady development of the weather in the tropical Pacific region will change sharply. Such a phenomenon can last even ten years.
“We can state that we have reached a state in climate change from which there is already a bad return,” says Tolasz.
So is it even possible that extreme weather developments will ever return to normal? “According to some emission scenarios, climate models assume that it will return to normal. But we are talking about a view of decades to hundreds of years ahead, assuming that humanity starts to behave differently. And if it does not start, then it cannot be assumed,” concludes the expert.
You can watch the entire interview in the introductory video or listen to it in your favorite podcast app.
