KE Y STAGE 3 JOURNALISM EXCERPTS FROM ‘CODE RED FOR HUMANITY’ It is 2050. The air is heavy, hot and humid; pollution is visibly covering the sky like a shield, except it’s not protecting the earth. It’s destroying it. A dry cough echoes in the room and a specially designed face-mask is placed on a table not too far from the door. You sit on a chair, afraid to go outside, fearful of the senses you might experience. Quickly, your eyes start to water. The news shows that yet another country is flooding. Then, it flashes again and a different nation this time is burning. It’s too late now… … The study affirms that every region on the planet is already affected by rising temperatures. The annual international temperatures presently are warmer than they were during “the warmest multi-century period in at least the last 100,000 years.” Scientists say that the extent and speed of how the climate is changing is unlike anything humans have seen in centuries and in some cases thousands of years. Rising temperatures make extreme weather occur more often. The fires, floods and droughts areas worldwide are experiencing are directly linked to emission of greenhouse gases. An example of this were the wildfires, in July and August 2021, that burnt 1600 square kilometres of land in Turkey. Immediately after this, in early August, heavy flash floods devastated the country. Additionally, extreme sea level events are projected to occur at least annually at more than half of tidal gauge locations by 2100. These have occurred approximately once a century in the past.
© Aliyeen Awan Key Stage 3 Journalism
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