Experts say that doubts about the seriousness of the climate crisis are not only wrong but also a dangerous misconception. In an article for The Express, Bob Ward, an expert at the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics, refuted claims by astronomer Craig Walton, who argued that “the dangers of climate change are exaggerated.”

“This is absolutely wrong,” Ward wrote, citing the latest assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC report confirms that human activity has already altered climate and weather extremes across all regions of the planet: heatwaves, heavy rainfall, droughts, and tropical cyclones have intensified.

Data from the UK Met Office shows that droughts and heatwaves are making extreme wildfires more frequent and destructive. Meanwhile, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) analysis predicts that if countries do not reduce emissions, global temperatures could rise by nearly 3°C by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. The last time the Earth was this warm was three million years ago, when sea levels were 5–25 meters higher than today.

Currently, the average temperature has already risen by about 1.4°C, and the UK is experiencing record hot summers and wet winters.

Ward warns that in some regions of the world, heat and humidity are approaching a threshold where humans will physically be unable to cool down by sweating, meaning that simply being outdoors could become deadly.

“Denying the obvious will only lead to suffering,” Ward concludes. “The world must achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions; otherwise, parts of the Earth will become uninhabitable.”