The numbers are alarming. In mid-May, thermometers hit 29 degrees Celsius in northwestern Russia, near the Arctic Ocean, where the average high temperature that time of year is only 12 degrees Celsius.
Around the same time, scientists measured the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at 415 parts per million – the highest level recorded in human history – and a rise of nearly 50 percent just since the Industrial Revolution.

A report released by the United Nations warns that unless humans make transformative changes in behavior, a million species could face extinction.