On 9 August 2021, a new report by IPCC “AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis” was presented. The Working Group I report is the first installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed in 2022.
The Sixth Assessment Report provides a more detailed regional assessment of climate change, including a focus on useful information that can inform risk assessment, adaptation, and other decision-making, and a new framework that helps translate physical changes in the climate – heat, cold, rain, drought, snow, wind, coastal flooding and more – into what they mean for society and ecosystems.
Sergio H. Faria, head of the IzotzaLab, was one of 234 authors from 66 countries who participated in the discussions. María Santolaria-Otin was also a contributing author of the Chapter 9 of this Working Group.
The Working Group I report addresses the most updated physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, global and regional climate simulations. It shows how and why climate has changed to date, and the improved understanding of human influence on a wide range of climate characteristics, including extreme events. Compared to previous reports, there is a greater focus on regional information that can be used for climate risk assessments.
The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) as well as additional materials and information are available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/