27 Effects of Climate Change That Can't Be Stopped

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22. Less snow cover

Snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased by about 0.2 million square miles since the 1970s.

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23. Forest fires more common

Since the turn of the century, there have been 10 years in which at least 7 million acres burned. This has only happened once between 1956 and 1999.

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24. More acidic ocean

The ocean has absorbed some 30% of the carbon dioxide emitted from man-made sources, resulting in acidification levels and other changes in the water’s chemistry that have not been seen in over 65 million years.

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25. Dying coral reefs

Coral reefs are dying at alarming rates due to a number of reasons, including ocean water pollution and warming, overfishing, and other human activity.

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26. Coral extinction

Coral reef death will likely get much worse. The IPCC estimates that average surface temperature reaching the 1.5°C mark will lead to a 70% to 90% loss of coral reefs in the coming years.

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27. Widespread extinction

Global warming has already affected the habitats of numerous species, and as temperatures continue to rise, conditions will become even worse.. A 0.5°C increase in global average temperature could put as much as 30% of all species on Earth at risk of extinction.