Thread by @washingtonpost

In 2019, a Post analysis of temperature data across the Lower 48 states found that major areas are nearing or have already crossed the 2-degree Celsius mark — a critical threshold for global warming. wapo.st/3dV9wRP

In any one geographic location, 2 degrees Celsius may not represent global cataclysmic change, but it can threaten ecosystems, change landscapes and upend livelihoods and cultures.

The potential consequences are daunting. wapo.st/3dV9wRP

Before climate change thawed the winters of New Jersey, Lake Hopatcong — where workers once flocked to harvest ice — hosted boisterous wintertime carnivals. As many as 15,000 skaters took part, and automobile owners would drive onto the thick ice. wapo.st/3dV9wRP

Now, even the hardy souls who still try to take part in ice fishing contests on the lake have had to cancel many of the recent competitions for fear of straying onto perilously thin ice and tumbling into the frigid water. wapo.st/3dV9wRP

In Rhode Island, Roy Carpenter’s Beach is eroding faster than any other part of the state — an average of 3.3 feet a year.

Several houses have fallen victim to the encroaching water, forcing their occupants to move farther inland. wapo.st/3dV9wRP

It is estimated that if Earth heats up by an average of 2 degrees Celsius, virtually all the world’s coral reefs will die, and retreating ice sheets could unleash massive sea level rise.

Read the full Pulitzer Prize-winning story: wapo.st/3dV9wRP