Changes in cloud formation may speed up global warming.
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – In the Florida Keys, under water, coral reefs have been suffering due to global warming, scientists said. And in Miami Beach, dealing with flooding is a lifestyle.
Divers have reported the water temperature shifts underwater. Scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility in Key Biscayne focus on the issue and express concern.
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"No one is immune from climate change," the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday in front of world leaders. China and India were among those not present.
President Barack Obama mentioned Miami's flooding problems in his speech at the U.N., Tuesday. Environmental activists nationwide were asking world leaders to recommit to the unsuccessful two-decade long effort to cut green gas emissions.
Obama promised the U.S. would cut emissions to 17 percent by 2020. French President Francois Hollande said his country will invest $1 billion on clean power in poor countries. Dozens of world leaders -- not including China and India -- made a commitment to end deforestation.
Manzello said changes in temperature were causing coral reefs -- usually vibrant in color -- to expel nutrients that are vital to their existence. The "heat-stress," he said, causes the corals to weaken and die.
"The amount of live coral and overall health of Florida Keys reef ecosystems has already plummeted to extremely low levels," Manzello said.
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With two months left on the calendar, 2014 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Through October, the average global temperature has been 1.22 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th century global average of 57.4 F. October was the hottest October on record globally.Here's a look at climate change by the numbers:95 percent -- How certain scientists now are that human activity has caused at least half of climate change in the last half-century.90 percent -- How certain scientists were that human activity has caused at least half of climate change in the last half-century in 2007.Other factors that could be contributing to climate change include changes in the sun's energy output, natural changes in greenhouse gas concentrations and natural changes in reflectivity like melting sea ice or increasing cloud cover, which affect how much energy enters the Earth's system.10 to 32 inches -- The projected amount sea levels are now expected to rise by the end of the century.7 to 23 inches -- The projected amount sea levels were expected to rise by the end of the century in 2007.0.5 to 8.6 degrees -- How much average global temperatures are now expected to rise by the end of the century.20 years -- The average period of time weather catastrophes, like Hurricane Katrina, are now expected to strike. Previously, these were called "storms of the century."56.4 degrees -- The average global temperature in 1850.58.2 degrees -- The average global temperature in 2012.40 percent -- The percentage rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between the years 1750 and 2011.275,000,000,000 -- The amount of ice in tonnes per year which "very likely" melted from the world's glaciers between 1993 and 2009.2,000,000,000,000 -- The tonnes of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and land clearing between 1750 and 2011.90 percent -- The percentage of extra energy in the climate system between 1971 and 2010 that has been taken up by warming oceans.
With two months left on the calendar, 2014 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Through October, the average global temperature has been 1.22 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 20th century global average of 57.4 F. October was the hottest October on record globally.
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