Yes, Climate Change Has Benefits, Too
Image: Burke et al, Nature 527, 235 (2015)
Yes, climate change has some benefits. There’ll be fewer skiing accidents for example. But seriously. It’s true, not all consequences of climate change are bad. And I’m all for full disclosure, so today I want to talk about what’s good about climate change. Let’s have a look.
When we talk about climate change we often focus on the increase on the global average temperature. But global average temperature isn’t any more real than global average cheese. Though American cheese comes pretty close, reality is more complicated.
The impact of climate change that we feel is regional and this is where things get difficult because different regions of the planet are affected by climate change in different ways. And the change might not be totally bad.
For example, the Sahel region of Africa is currently incredibly dry. Not much grows there. But climate models predict a significant increase in rainfall there, as much as 50 percent more and as soon as 2040. This should make the area more welcoming for plants and wildlife and with that also for humans. Another good thing about climate change is that the northern regions warm particularly quickly and become more hospitable. This will benefit in particular Russia and Canada.
A similar beneficial trend is already happening in some highlands where regions that were previously just too cold for agriculture can now be used. For example, in the highlands in Central Madagascar, rice yield is projected to go up by at least ten percent. Similar consequences will likely help growing crops in the highlands in Rwanda and Kenya.
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