photographist

“Antarctic ice and tropical glaciers are fabulous tools for working on the climate of the past – periods which can cover past centuries or even several thousands of years. Studying the climate of the past means understanding the natural variability of the climate, which can allow us to separate the natural variability of our climate
today from that which is caused by human activity. We have observed climate change for 100 to 150 years and we forecast particularly notable variations in terms of rain, whether in tropical regions, with particularly dry seasons and or particularly difficult monsoon seasons, or even on our latitudes with more frequent extreme events such as torrential rain and subsequent flooding. All over the world, we would probably have more difficulty in adapting to changes in rain than changes in global warming.

When you start to "bother" the ocean, its inertia means it can take between a century and a thousand years to respond. The increase in sea level is due to two processes: the fact that warmer water takes more space than colder water – thermic dilation – and the thaw of continental glaciers. We have difficulty in predicting how this rise in sea level will affect the evolution of rain. Today we are reaching Greenhouse Gas effects never before seen in the recent history of the Earth. Our policies are unfortunately based on the short term, but we will nevertheless need to find an intersection between the short-term scale of a policy and the long-term scale of the climate and humanity. What countries become while developing is also a serious aspect to consider. The planet will survive. The question is knowing if its new equilibrium will be suitable for the humans who inhabit it.”

Françoise Vimeux
Climatologist, Development Research Institute

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