In 50 years, or by 2070, 3.5 billion people might be forced to endure unlivable heat as they struggle to survive in places that will become as hot as the Sahara Desert is today.
The world's mean annual temperature by 2070 is projected to increase to 29°C or 84°F (compared to 13°C today), which is far outside the climatic envelope of human development. By 2070, the world's population is estimated at 10 billion compared to today's 7.6 billion.
One of the hottest regions in the world, the Sahara in Africa has an average annual temperature of 30°C (86°F). Its temperatures can exceed 50°C (122°F) during the hottest months, however.
This dire forecast of what's in store for one in three people in the world unless countries take decisive action today to control global warming was made Wednesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This Switzerland-based NGO, whose mission is to improve the state of the world is better known for its annual gathering of the rich and powerful at Davos.
The World Economic Forum released its Global Risk Report 2020, which details the grim scenarios facing a searing future world. The report pointed out the human race has adapted to live "within a relatively narrow band of environmental and climatic fluctuations" over the past 6,000 years but rising temperatures threaten this state.
"The crops, livestock, and irrigation that are the bedrock of the planet's food production system was developed, discovered and designed within those constraints," said Sean Fleming, Senior Writer, Formative Content at the WEF. "These, and other critical systems, cannot be expected to function normally outside the environmental niche they grew up in."
A research team consisting of experts from the U.S., China and Europe analyzed rising global temperatures. It compared current data to average climatic conditions over the last 6,000 years. The report found less than 1% of the earth's land surface currently experiences climate where the mean temperature is 30°C. But by 2070, almost 20% of the planet's land area will be affected by this much higher temperature.
The report said that by 2070, the average person will be living in temperatures 7.5°C hotter than pre-industrial times if climate change goes unchecked. Peoples in Africa, South America, and Australasia are particularly at risk from this danger. The report warned extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, famine, and disease will become the norm for people 50 years from now
