The Thwaites Glacier, also referred to as the Doomsday Glacier, is closely watched for its potential to raise sea levels. Along with Pine Island Glacier, it is part of the “weak underbelly” of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, due to vulnerability. This hypothesis is based on both theoretical studies of the stability of marine ice sheets and observations of large changes on these two glaciers. In recent years, both glaciers have retreated and melted at an alarming rate.
For years, scientists have watched the Thwaites Glacier from a distance, but in November 2019, a team set out to investigate what is happening below.
At the German research facility Neumayer Station III in Antarctica, scientists are studying the effects of climate change.
The scientists are particularly concerned about the speed at which Antarctic ice is melting as well as its impact on global sea levels.
The researchers are also studying a large colony of emperor penguins that lives near their facility. They are studying how these birds are adapting to climate change.
Around 40 million people depend on Lake Chad. Yet, the lake has nearly disappeared over the last 50 years. The shrinking lake forces men to leave their communities during the dry season to look for work in the city, leaving women and children behind to manage the crops.
The drought diminishing Lake Chad — from 1973 to 2001, primarily in Chad, Central Africa. Shown in a composite of NASA satellite images. The large image is a composite of photos taken with en:Landsat-7. Images courtesy NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio and Landsat 7 Project Science Office.
Across the Sahel desert, many farmers are reviving an old technique called Zaï, which involves digging pits to catch rainwater and sowing crops in the pits. The method concentrates nutrients and can increase crop yields by up to 500%.
Chad also struggles with poverty, with the fourth-highest poverty rate in the world. Around 87% of Chadians are poor, according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, which factors in health, education, and living standards. Further, 63% of the population are “destitute,” the most extreme category of poverty. The size of the destitute population is also the fourth highest in the world.
Climate change will make life increasingly harder, making the changing climate reality even more real. Chad will be hotter and arider, yielding lower crop yields and worse pasture.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a Mbororo pastoralist and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). In this video, she explains what it’s like to live in Chad, where the effects of climate change are reality.
