In preparation for an upcoming global climate conference, organizers develop climate science training materials for business executives.
How should the training material compare anthropogenic and natural climate changes?
In preparation for an upcoming global climate conference, organizers develop climate science training materials for business executives.
How should the training material compare anthropogenic and natural climate changes?
Human-caused warming is occurring much faster than natural warming after the last ice age. Since the industrial revolution, the rate of temperature increase has significantly accelerated due to human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. In contrast, natural warming processes, such as those occurring after the last ice age, happen over much longer timescales. This distinction is crucial for understanding the unprecedented speed and scale of current climate change driven by anthropogenic factors.
For example, the warming over the past century (approximately 1°C in about a century) is around 16 times faster than the average rate of warming coming out of the last ice age (roughly 6°C in 10,000 years corresponds to an average warming of 0.06°C/ century).
Selected Answer A not D: Global average temperature difference between an ice age and an interglacial is 6°C.
D is the correct answer, the book's emphasis is comparing pre & post industrial period, not the ice age.
D is correct. The key is in the statement 'since ice age'. Human related warming is proven to be only since 20th century.
D is wrong about natural warming which has been definitely higher in the past than human caused warming
The answers are poorly phrased. None of them is correct. On fig. 1.3b p. 6 of the curriculum we can see that the temperature changes periodically and the change between min and max can be up to 10 degrees. They would need to specify a reference point for the temperature change.
A is incorrect as there is no concept of natural warming in my opinion. Nor we have discussed natural warming in the scr book. option D seems to be correct that human activities is causing more changes to temperature than natural temp changes.
The key is indeed the "since ice age" statement.