Developed by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA), the free ‘ESD Research’ app enables anyone anywhere to access the latest temperature and rainfall projections from the world’s top six most scientifically respected climate models, explains a statement.
The interactive simulations show the projected climate outcome of achieving the 2015 UN Paris Agreement ‘low CO2 emissions’ target of limiting global warming to below 2ºC by 2100.
This is compared with a second scenario available in the app for ‘moderate’ emission levels, which envisages stabilisation of CO2 emissions around 2040, with no decline, where global temperatures reach approximately 4ºC by 2100.
“We want people to see for themselves what the best climate scientists and the best climate models show for the places in the world that they care about,” said Asher Minns, Executive Director at the University’s Tyndall Centre. “The app ensures climate data is made accessible to global citizens without interpretation by politicians, media, campaigners or anyone else.
Climate scientist Dr Craig Wallace said: “We can now visualise any high quality global data including climate, health, income, demographics, anything that global citizens, businesses, policymakers, need to show or recall at the touch of their thumb.”
Many cities are predicted to warm by approximately the same as the planet-average-warming by the end of the century – both in the low CO2 emissions and the moderate CO2 emissions projections, according to the statement.
