Rising Temperatures
If the temperature rises by 5 degrees tomorrow, you will probably take off just one coat. But such a change in the average world temperature would be a serious problem. Many animals and plants would not be able to deal with these changes, and would die.
The UNEP (联合国环境规划署) released the Report 2018 on November 21, 2018. It says that if we don’t take action now, the world temperature will have risen by 3 to 5 degrees by the end of this century.
The report was written by 55 scientists from 20 countries. Scientists have set a goal for greenhouse gases sending out to limit the world temperature rise to only 2 degrees this century. But according to the report, people have already let out 14 percent more greenhouse gases than they should have done.
A large rise in temperatures could be terrible for us and for many other living things on Earth. Sea levels will rise because higher temperatures will cause melting ice flow into the sea. Large coastal cities in countries such as the Netherlands (荷兰) and Bangladesh (孟加拉共和国) could be flooded.
Some plants such as corn and sugarcane (甘蔗) will not grow well in higher temperatures. Some countries, such as Brazil and parts of Africa, will not have enough food. The change may cause less rain and even make some places very dry.
On November 26, people from around 200 nations and regions gathered again in Doha (多哈) for the annual UN climate talks. “Climate change is coming to all human beings and effective actions need to be taken to deal with it,” president of the conference said at the opening ceremony.
66. What will you probably do if the temperature rises by 5 degrees tomorrow?
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67. When was the Report 2018 released by UNEP?
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68. The report was written by 20 scientists, wasn’t it?
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69. Why did people from around 200 nations and regions gather again in Doha?
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70. What do you think of the problem of climate change? Why?
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