UNESCO is warning that, unless action is taken soon, countless World Heritage Sites will be endangered by climate change. Some of the most iconic symbols of history, freedom and global progress such as the Statue of Liberty, the mysterious Moai on Easter Island and Stonehenge are all on UNESCO's list of heritage sites that are in danger in the World Heritage and Tourism Changing Climate report released recently.
According to The Street, the report details the devastating current and potential future impacts of global warming on iconic sites around the globe.
"Climate change is fast becoming one of the most significant risks for World Heritage sites worldwide," according to the report. "Unequivocal scientific evidence shows that concentrations of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere are greater now than at any time in the past 800,000 years and that global temperatures have increased by 1 degree Celsius since 1880."
Heat waves, warming oceans and more frequent precipitation are all factors that are threatening these global treasures.
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"We are living in a very dangerous time in terms of climate change," Peter DeBrine, senior project officer for the Sustainable Tourism Programme at UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in France, told The Street. "What we're seeing today is unprecedented, 2016 has been the hottest year on record. In Asia there has been severe droughts and now they're having horrific monsoons. And that's just one example...We're seeing all of these firsts around the world and all of these records being broken."
For details on how climate change is affecting some of the most iconic sights in the world, read more here.
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