NUMBERS, numbers, everywhere but what are we to think? Numbers matter, but they can leave us bewildered rather than better informed.
Take the greatest challenge facing our civilisation: climate change. Two of the vital questions are: what is a safe limit for global warming, and what do we have to do to ensure we don鈥檛 pass it? The available answers vary greatly.
Advertisement
This is partly to do with us. We are the biggest uncertainty in climate projections. However, the baffling array of numbers also has much to do with the often hidden assumptions and definitions underlying the figures. For instance, when people talk of limiting warming to 1.5掳C 鈥� itself a figure plucked from the air 鈥� what many mean is getting the temperature back down after first passing this limit. And projected sea level rise alters depending on the rise in temperature.
If you find all the different numbers relating to climate change confusing, you certainly aren鈥檛 alone. On 鈥�Climate change is happening, but how fast? This is what we really know鈥�, we try to make some sense of them.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎 confusion of numbers鈥�
