Climate Clock to drop below 5-year mark for 1st time on Monday

Climate Emergency Day to take place on July 22

An image of the Climate Clock at Union Square in New York City during the Climate Emergency Day in 2023 (Climate Clock)

Starting Monday, the Climate Clock will show less than five years remaining until the Earth exceeds the 1.5 degrees Celcius global warming limit, highlighting the rapid global temperature rise due to carbon emissions.

The Climate Clock counts down to the 1.5 C deadline according to data presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is known for its 80-foot digital clock face in New York City’s Union Square, as well as its other clocks located worldwide in cities such as Seoul, London, Rome, Tokyo and Beijing. It also displays other lifeline clocks crucial to slowing the pace of climate change, including regenerative farming, gender parity and investment in the Green Climate Fund.

South Korea currently has 12 such digital clocks, one of which is set up on the roof of the Herald Corp. headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul. As of 5 p.m., Wednesday, the clock stands at five years, five days, seven hours and 56 minutes.

According to the clock’s operators in New York, the estimated time left to limit the increase of global temperatures to 1.5 C will drop to four years and 364 days at midnight on July 22, US time.

Under the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, countries agreed to keep long-term global average surface temperatures from rising by more than 2 C and to limit the increase to 1.5 C by the end of this century.

Recent findings by the World Meteorological Organization suggested there is an 80 percent chance of global temperatures reaching this threshold at least once in the next five years.

A picture of the Climate Clock in Piccadilly Circus in London, 2023 (Climate Clock)

As the clock ticks down under five years Monday, the clock’s operators have declared the day the “Climate Emergency Day,” calling for joint action from individuals and communities to amplify the urgency of the climate crisis and “call for actionable, system-wide and scalable” solutions.

According to the clock’s operators, over 25 Climate Clock teams based in different cities including Seoul, will lead synchronized efforts to address the recent flooding in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Torrential downpours have killed 163 people, displaced 600,000 more and left 64 missing.

The teams on July 22 will also address the problems associated with land sovereignty for Indigenous communities in Tanzania, as Indigenous land sovereignty is also a part of the Climate Clock’s lifeline clock.

The Climate Clock initiative also aims to work with activists and environmental organizations across the globe to pressure world leaders to divert away from fossil fuels and to fund climate solutions that are viable for the future.

“Climate Emergency Day is our moment to unite with communities, influence policy and investments and hold governments and corporations accountable for their promises to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and finance climate solutions,” said Mahak Agrawal, the Global Campaign Lead at Climate Clock.

“This urgency is heightened as nearly half of the world goes to the polls this year. It is a decisive year for our planet and for our leaders to demonstrate their commitment to a sustainable future.”

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)