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SOUTHERN WINDS
What Happens in the Arctic Won’t Stay in the Arctic
What Does The Arctic’s Rapid Meltdown Mean for the Rest of the World?
I live in the DMV area and trust me when I say what I’m observing is unprecedented. Most people around me have lost or are about to lose their jobs. We’re being insulted and questioned about our work ethics and productivity, dismissed as if our children didn’t need a place to live and food in their mouths, and emotionally abused with predatory emails and threats.
No one deserves this.
But for someone like me, who has dedicated all her life to studying the natural world and environmental crises, the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement is one of the most terrifying news about all the chaos. But why?
Some Background
In 2016, nearly 200 world leaders signed the , aiming to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The idea was simple: limit temperature rise to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
But in 2024, that target was already breached, and according to published in Science, the world is on track to warm by 2.7°C by the end of the century. Scarily enough, the Arctic, warming nearly four times faster…