What Will Climate Change Do to Us?

The consequences of a warming Earth: a terrifying overview

Megan Price helps her father Pat Price, suit up as he readies to take the rescue boat out in the flooded streets of Seven Springs, N.C., in September 2018. Photo: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post

Introduction by Philip Bump

One thing I’ve noticed over the years as I’ve written about climate change is that the actual predicted effects of a warmer world often aren’t well known. People understand that the planet is getting hotter, a change that is both easy to understand and directly familiar to almost everyone.

But the effects of the increased heat are much broader than simply higher temperatures. In an effort to delineate what scientists expect to see as the world warms, I spoke with Alex Halliday, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Here are the negative repercussions scientists expect to see in a warmer world.

• Increased health risks
• Drought
• Wildfires
• Shifts in growing areas for crops
• Broader spread of some diseases
• Big precipitation events with even more rain and snow
• Warmer temperatures
• Increased flooding
• Rising sea levels
• Warmer ocean water
• Ice melts
• Shifts in sea habitats