28
shrinking due to global warming.121 Ice sheets and glaciers worldwide have lost mass
worldwide. The mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet in 2007-2016 was triple that
lost in 1997-2006. While the mass loss in Greenland was doubled over the same
period. Snow cover and arctic sea ice extent and thickness have been reduced, and
permafrost temperatures have increased.122
4. Extreme Weather and Climate Events
Climate change has also significantly affected the frequency, intensity, extent,
duration, and timing of extreme weather and climate events.123 Since the 1950s,
there have been clear changes in many types of extreme events, including droughts,
heavy precipitation, tropical cyclones, and heat waves. The IPCC has found that
hot extremes such as heatwaves have become more frequent and intense across
land regions while cold extremes have become less frequent and severe.124 Other
events, such as heavy precipitation, tropical cyclones, and droughts, have increased
in frequency and intensity. Compound extreme events such as flooding and fire
weather have also increased due to the influence of climate change on precipitation,
droughts, and cyclones.125
The enumerated indicators, when taken together, all point to the conclusion that
the climate has indeed changed. The Commission accepts this unequivocal truth, as
established by peer-reviewed science, that climate change is real and happening on
a global scale.
121
IPCC SROCC SPM, supra note 111.
122
Id.
123
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2012: Summary for Policymakers. In: Managing the
Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V.
Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner,
S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and
New York, NY, USA, pp. 3-21.
124
IPCC, AR6, WG1, SPM, supra note 107.
125
IPCC, AR6, WG1, SPM, supra note 107.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents