The potential impact of climate change over the next century has now been mapped. An animated map of the earth from space illustrating the impacts can be viewed on your computer. The map is part of the project, Climate Change in Our World--a collaboration between web search engine Google, Britain's environment ministry and the country's met office.
Viewers can run a time lapse series to watch the earth warm up upto 2100 either from a planetary perspective or zeroing in on countries and even cities. "This project shows people the reality of climate change using estimates of both the change in the average temperature where they live, and the impact it will have on people's lives,"
uk's environment secretary Hilary Benn said.
The map is based on Google Earth and shows the world heating as years advance, with some of the greatest temperature increases at the ice-bound poles where vast areas turn red indicating rises well into double digits. It also offers information on local impacts and actions people can, and in some cases already are taking.
Scientists say global average temperatures will rise by between 1.8C and 4C this century due to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. But within this global average there will be vast regional and local variations. This new animated map makes that message vivid.
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