The Oceans Are Set To Boil

An IPCC special report unearths more evidence on oceans buckling under global warming. We have no choice but to become more resilient, says M Ramesh

A 15-kilo tonne atom bomb fell on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Imagine four such bombs falling somewhere or the other on the earth every single second! That would work out to some 126 million bombs every year. How much heat would 126 million Hiroshima-type atom bombs generate? That much heat energy, caused by sunlight hitting the earth, is prevented from dissipating away into space every year because of the wall of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere, according to German climate scientist, Hans Schellnhuber. This has been happening for at least 30 years now.

Then how come we are still alive?

Thanks to the oceans. They have been absorbing 90 per cent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases. Alongside, they have been forced to suck up more CO2 these days than they have been doing for millions of years. The oceans, holding 97 per cent of the planet’s waters, have been protecting us — from us. But even good samaritans have their limits. The oceans are buckling under the burden and, unless the burden is removed or at least reduced, will collapse — leaving humankind unprotected.

This message has been known for some time. But last week, a Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on ‘Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’, has generated more evidence for what is already known, and has underscored a sense of urgency for action. The report has been prepared by 104 scientists drawn from 36 countries and is based on 6,981 studies and 30,000 comments — enough credentials to establish that it is beyond reproach.