‘Catastrophe’ climate warnings as carbon levels break new records

Rising seas from global warming could submerge swathes of New York and Shanghai, and drive millions of people into poverty worldwide, researchers warned Monday as climate-altering carbon levels broke new records. The slew of fresh planetary warnings came as ministers met in Paris searching common ground of a crunch climate summit. If the planet warms by four degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) - double the targeted UN ceiling - oceans will swallow land inhabited by more than 600 million people, said Climate Central, a US-based research group.

Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are now reaching levels not seen on Earth for more than 800,000, maybe even one million years.

World Meteorological Organization chief Michel Jarraud

At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization said concentrations of climate-altering greenhouse gases in the atmosphere broke new records last year. The new warnings came as environment and energy ministers met in Paris seeking convergence on issues still dividing nations negotiating for a climate rescue pact to be inked at a November 30-December 11 UN summit in the French capital. Climate Central said that even if the agreement succeeds in limiting average global warming to 2C over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, areas today home to 280 million people would slip under the waves.

This means we are now really in uncharted territory for the human race.

WMO chief Michel Jarraud