The Bells Toll

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The world has a very short time to adapt to the effects of climate change, according to a recent landmark United Nations report which shows a dire picture in describing how warming temperatures are affecting the planet, the Financial Times reported Monday.

The document is part of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the sixth such report, following last year’s milestone paper on the Earth’s rising temperatures.

The researchers of the new study highlighted how some of the ecological losses the globe is experiencing are already irreversible, adding that ecosystems were reaching the point where they could not adapt to the changing climate anymore.

This means that hazards such as rising sea levels are unavoidable, adding that any delay to adapt to the warming would miss the “window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”

Scientists also warned that the consequences of global warming – such as extreme weather events – may become worse at lower temperatures than the previous 2014 IPCC adaptation assessment had predicted.

The findings estimated that between $7.9 trillion and $12.7 trillion in global assets would be in one-in-100-year coastal floodplains by 2100, noting that vital infrastructure was very vulnerable if not made to withstand climate change.

Meanwhile, the current funds earmarked for adaption are “insufficient.”

UN Secretary-General called the findings an “atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”