forest fires, thaws, rising waters … The global consequences of climate change

As world leaders gather in Glasgow (Scotland) for COP26, climate change is wreaking havoc around the world. For twenty years, California (United States) has experienced a mega-drought. As a result, the eight most important fires in the history of this American state have occurred in the past four years. Thus, nearly 40% of the redwood forest, some 600 years old, burned this year.

>> Follow the second day of COP26 live

The colder regions are also the most affected by climate change. Russia is heating up two and a half times faster than the rest of the world. In Yakutia, the coldest region in the world (Siberia), permafrost, a layer of permanently frozen earth, thaws, releasing carbon into the atmosphere. A phenomenon which further accentuates global warming.

The rise in temperature is also causing a general rise in water levels, which creates climate refugees. More than 3,000 people have lost their homes since 2017, in Saint-Louis, Senegal, with the advancing Altantic Ocean of nearly two meters per year. Erosion is gradually eating into the city, despite the urgent construction of a huge dike. Ultimately, 25,000 people will have to evacuate the neighborhood.