What Kruger National Park and Other Famous Places Could Look Like if Climate Change Is Not Addressed

• The effects of climate change are arguably one of the most pressing issues of the modern world
• As global leaders, businesses and activists scramble to find solutions to stop climate change in its tracks, more and more places are already experiencing its effects
• Energy experts from Uswitch used an AI to create images of what world-famous places could possibly look like if climate change is not addressed

Net zero energy experts have used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create images of what the world would look like in 80 years if climate change is not addressed, and the pictures are startling.

Green energy experts at Uswitch worked closely with Professor Sam Fankhauser, the Research Director of Oxford University Net Zero, to analyse carbon emissions and the data from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. The analysis produced images identifying how several world-famous places could look in 2100.

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Startling Images of a changing world

According to a press release from Uswitch, the AI predicts that many global cities will be covered in extreme smog because of air pollution and will experience an increase in extreme weather events, floods, droughts and desertification. However, Uswitch also directed the AI to imagine what the place would look like in the best-case scenario if carbon emissions were reduced.

Briefly News has complied pictures of the best-case and worst-case scenarios below:

Kruger National Park, South Africa

In the worst-case scenario, the Kruger National Park in South Africa would experience drought, and the changed terrain would not be able to support wildlife. But in the best-case scenario, wildlife will flourish in a green and healthy environment.

Beijing, China

If climate change is not addressed, the city of Beijing will be covered in smog which could lead to unintended health complications for the people who live there.

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The AI predicts that the famous city will be covered in dust because of increased sand storms in the desert city.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

According to Uswitche's AI, sea levels in the beautiful coastal city of Rio de Janeiro will rise, meaning much of the city will be submerged underwater.

Giza, Egypt

The AI imagines that the tourist wouldn't be able to see the famous pyramids in Giza because of air pollution, and the area might be subjected to extreme weather events.

How can this potential environmental devastation be stopped?

Experts claim that there is still time to reduce the effects of climate change, but the window is closing quickly. One of the solutions to climate change involves keeping warming temperatures below 1.5°C by reducing carbon emissions.

According to a report by Greenpeace, this means keeping fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas in the ground and moving to renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydro.

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EU vows to raise its climate target at COP27

Cop27 unpacked: What exactly is it, and why should South Africans care about it?

In another story, Briefly News reported that the phrase "COP27 negotiations" has polluted news feeds over the last few days, with little explanation of what is happening behind closed doors. The name makes it sound like leaders are stuck in long uninteresting debates in closed-off boardrooms, but there is more to COP27.

Over the last few days, the news has been abuzz about the COP27 negotiations currently underway in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The question on many South African minds is, what exactly is COP27, and why should we care?

Briefly News unpacks the climate negotiations and why South Africans should give a hoot.

Source: Briefly News