Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 17 March 2020
UN: Last year was second-warmest and decade was hottest ever

By EDITH M. LEDERER this still represents only one-
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — quarter of global emissions.
Last year was the second “The largest emitters must
warmest on record, the commit or our efforts will be
past decade was the hot- in vain,” Guterres said.
test in human history and He said the Group of 20
January was the warmest major economic powers
January since 1850, the account for 80% of world
head of the U.N. weather emissions.
agency said Tuesday. In the coming months, the
Petteri Taalas, secretary- U.N. will be very actively
general of the World Me- engaging Western Europe
teorological Organization nations, the U.S., Canada,
also said Europe had a China, India, Russia and
record-warm winter, and Japan “in order to have as
“we have also broken re- many as possible, ideally all
cords in (emitting) carbon of them, committed to car-
dioxide, methane and ni- bon neutrality in 2050,” the
trous oxide,” three green- secretary-general said.
house gases that cause Guterres pointed to “good
global warming. news” from the European
Taalas said at a briefing on Union, which unveiled plans
the agency’s annual State last week for its first-ever cli-
of the Global Climate 2019 mate law that would make
report that carbon dioxide This satellite image provided by NASA on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 shows wildfires in Victoria and legally binding its execu-
has contributed two-thirds New South Wales, Australia. tive arm’s goal of cutting
of global warming, “and greenhouse gas emissions
its lifetime is of several hun- negative impacts on the next climate conference in are committed to net-zero by mid-century.
dreds of years — so it’s a sea ecosystems.” Glasgow in November.” carbon emissions by 2050, “Let’s hope that this exam-
problem that doesn’t go Taalas also pointed to for- So far, he said, 70 coun- joined by cities, banks, ple can be followed by all
away if you let these con- est fires causing a lot of tries have announced they businesses and others, but the others,” he said.q
centrations continue.” emissions, in the Arctic and
Sitting beside Taalas, U.N. Australia where “they were,
Secretary-General Anto- again, record breaking.” Europe, Russia postpone
nio Guterres, said: “Green- “Smoke and pollutants
house gas concentrations from damaging fires in Aus-
are at the highest levels in tralia circumnavigated the joint rover mission to Mars
3 million years — when the globe, causing a spike in
Earth’s temperature was carbon dioxide emissions,”
as much as three degrees he said. By FRANK JORDANS virus outbreak, “which left is the only country to suc-
hotter and sea levels some Guterres said there is no
15 meters higher.” time to lose “if we are to BERLIN (AP) — The Europe- our experts practically no cessfully land a functioning
possibility to proceed with probe on Mars. NASA’s Cu-
an Space Agency and Rus-
He added: “Ocean heat avert climate catastro-
is at a record level, with phe.” sia’s Roscosmos said Thurs- travels to partner indus- riosity and InSight landers
are still in operation on the
day they are postponing tries.”
temperatures rising at the Many scientists say the use
equivalent of five Hiroshima of fossil fuels, which are a planned joint mission to The mission’s goal is to put planet.
Mars until 2022, in part due a rover on the red planet Three other Mars missions
bombs a second.” one of the main sources of
Taalas said the warming greenhouse gases, need to to travel restrictions result- to help determine whether are planned for this sum-
ing from the new coronavi-
there has ever been life mer. The United States is
of the oceans has led to end by the middle of the
unusual tropical storms, century if average temper- rus outbreak on Mars. Scientists hope launching a lander, China
The ExoMars mission was the rover, packed with has a lander-orbiter com-
including one in Mozam- atures on Earth are to rise
bique in March 2019 that no more than 1.5 degrees due to launch this year but high-tech instruments and bo, and the United Arab
concerns about possible named after British chem-
Emirates is sending an or-
was the strongest in the Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahr-
Southern Hemisphere “at enheit) by 2100, the target technical problems had ist Rosalind Franklin, will be biter.
already prompted both able to dig for biological Spacecraft can only be
least for the past hundred set in the 2015 Paris climate
years.” agreement. agencies to discuss the de- signatures of life below the launched to Mars every
martian surface and also two years, to take advan-
lay.
He said there is also an esti- Guterres said the world
mate “that sea water is the is way off track for meet- “We want to make our- provide further insights into tage of the best possible
lineup between Earth and
the planet’s history of wa-
selves 100% sure of a suc-
most acid in 25 million years ing the target, and “we
... and that’s going to have have to aim high at the cessful mission,” European ter. its neighboring planet.
Space Agency Director The postponement is anoth- NASA’s science mission
General Jan Woerner said er setback for the ExoMars chief, Thomas Zurbuchen,
in a statement. ”We cannot program after the 2016 said ESA and Roscosmos
allow ourselves any margin launch of an orbiter and a made a “tough decision”
of error. More verification test lander. The Trace Gas in delaying the ExoMars
activities will ensure a safe Orbiter was successfully de- mission.
trip and the best scientific ployed, but the Schiaparelli “Launching & safely land-
results on Mars.” lander malfunctioned and ing a spacecraft on Mars
Dmitry Rogozin, the head crashed on the surface of are extremely demanding
of Roscosmos, said the de- Mars, highlighting the diffi- and require many tech-
lay was primarily due to culty of putting a probe on nologies & systems to func-
technical problems, com- the planet. tion perfectly,” he wrote on
pounded by the corona- So far, the United States Twitter.q