Phys.org June 18, 2021
Most habitability assessments, like climate risk assessments more generally, are based on “top-down” approaches that apply quantitative models using uniform methodologies and generalizable assumptions at global and regional scales. According to a team of researchers in the US (Columbia University, Oregon State University, Princeton University) there is a risk that such climate determinism minimizes the potential for human agency to find creative, locally appropriate solutions. Although top-down modeling can serve a useful purpose in identifying potential future “hot spots” for habitability decline and potential outmigration, only by integrating “bottom-up” insights related to place-based physical systems and social contexts, including potential adaptive responses, will we arrive at a more nuanced understanding. This integrated framework would encourage development of policies that identify the most feasible and actionable local adaptation options across diverse geographies and groups, rather than options that are deterministic and one-size-fits-all solutions. They proposed a set of recommendations centered around building the research and assessment knowledge base most needed to inform policy responses around habitability loss and migration…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Frequent exceedance by 2100 of historically rare climate thresholds Credit: Science 18 Jun 2021, Vol. 372, Issue 6548, pp. 1279-1283