The World Of Tzu Chi December 2019 (Vol.117)

20 2019 • 12 eature T he Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2013 that atmospheric temperatures have been steadily rising due to human activities, culminating in a 1°C increment that may seem negligible, but in fact signals extensive structural damage to the environment. Furthermore, global sea levels are projected to rise annually at an accelerating rate, reaching a total rise of 52 to 98 cm by 2100. Researchers have also predicted that large parts of coastal cities and low-lying areas around the world, such as Shanghai, London and Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, are vulnerable to frequent flooding and are at risk of disappearing underwater in the next few decades, potentially displacing hundreds of millions of people from their homes. This impending crisis is already evident in Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s move to relocate the capital of the archipelago from Jakarta to East Kalimantan on the island Change with every mouthful