This Summary for Policymakers should be cited as:

IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of

Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker,

T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)].

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Summary

for Policymakers

SPM

Drafting Authors:

Lisa V. Alexander (Australia), Simon K. Allen (Switzerland/New Zealand), Nathaniel L. Bindoff

(Australia), François-Marie Bréon (France), John A. Church (Australia), Ulrich Cubasch

(Germany), Seita Emori (Japan), Piers Forster (UK), Pierre Friedlingstein (UK/Belgium), Nathan

Gillett (Canada), Jonathan M. Gregory (UK), Dennis L. Hartmann (USA), Eystein Jansen

(Norway), Ben Kirtman (USA), Reto Knutti (Switzerland), Krishna Kumar Kanikicharla (India),

Peter Lemke (Germany), Jochem Marotzke (Germany), Valérie Masson-Delmotte (France),

Gerald A. Meehl (USA), Igor I. Mokhov (Russian Federation), Shilong Piao (China), Gian-Kasper

Plattner (Switzerland), Qin Dahe (China), Venkatachalam Ramaswamy (USA), David Randall

(USA), Monika Rhein (Germany), Maisa Rojas (Chile), Christopher Sabine (USA), Drew Shindell

(USA), Thomas F. Stocker (Switzerland), Lynne D. Talley (USA), David G. Vaughan (UK), Shang-

Ping Xie (USA)

Draft Contributing Authors:

Myles R. Allen (UK), Olivier Boucher (France), Don Chambers (USA), Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen

(Denmark), Philippe Ciais (France), Peter U. Clark (USA), Matthew Collins (UK), Joseﬁno C.

Comiso (USA), Viviane Vasconcellos de Menezes (Australia/Brazil), Richard A. Feely (USA),

Thierry Fichefet (Belgium), Arlene M. Fiore (USA), Gregory Flato (Canada), Jan Fuglestvedt

(Norway), Gabriele Hegerl (UK/Germany), Paul J. Hezel (Belgium/USA), Gregory C. Johnson

(USA), Georg Kaser (Austria/Italy), Vladimir Kattsov (Russian Federation), John Kennedy (UK),

Albert M. G. Klein Tank (Netherlands), Corinne Le Quéré (UK), Gunnar Myhre (Norway), Timothy

Osborn (UK), Antony J. Payne (UK), Judith Perlwitz (USA), Scott Power (Australia), Michael

Prather (USA), Stephen R. Rintoul (Australia), Joeri Rogelj (Switzerland/Belgium), Matilde

Rusticucci (Argentina), Michael Schulz (Germany), Jan Sedláček (Switzerland), Peter A. Stott

(UK), Rowan Sutton (UK), Peter W. Thorne (USA/Norway/UK), Donald Wuebbles (USA)

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

In this Summary for Policymakers, the following summary terms are used to describe the available evidence: limited, medium, or robust; and for the degree of agreement:

low, medium, or high. A level of conﬁdence is expressed using ﬁve qualiﬁers: very low, low, medium, high, and very high, and typeset in italics, e.g., medium conﬁdence.

For a given evidence and agreement statement, different conﬁdence levels can be assigned, but increasing levels of evidence and degrees of agreement are correlated with

increasing conﬁdence (see Chapter 1 and Box TS.1 for more details).

In this Summary for Policymakers, the following terms have been used to indicate the assessed likelihood of an outcome or a result: virtually certain 99–100% probability,

very likely 90–100%, likely 66–100%, about as likely as not 33–66%, unlikely 0–33%, very unlikely 0–10%, exceptionally unlikely 0–1%. Additional terms (extremely likely:

95–100%, more likely than not >50–100%, and extremely unlikely 0–5%) may also be used when appropriate. Assessed likelihood is typeset in italics, e.g., very likely (see

Chapter 1 and Box TS.1 for more details).

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed

changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have

warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the

concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased (see Figures SPM.1, SPM.2, SPM.3 and

SPM.4). {2.2, 2.4, 3.2, 3.7, 4.2–4.7, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5–5.6, 6.2, 13.2}

A. Introduction

The Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) considers new evidence of climate change

based on many independent scientiﬁc analyses from observations of the climate system, paleoclimate archives, theoretical

studies of climate processes and simulations using climate models. It builds upon the Working Group I contribution to the

IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), and incorporates subsequent new ﬁndings of research. As a component of the

ﬁfth assessment cycle, the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate

Change Adaptation (SREX) is an important basis for information on changing weather and climate extremes.

This Summary for Policymakers (SPM) follows the structure of the Working Group I report. The narrative is supported by a

series of overarching highlighted conclusions which, taken together, provide a concise summary. Main sections are introduced

with a brief paragraph in italics which outlines the methodological basis of the assessment.

The degree of certainty in key ﬁndings in this assessment is based on the author teams’ evaluations of underlying scientiﬁc

understanding and is expressed as a qualitative level of conﬁdence (from very low to very high) and, when possible,

probabilistically with a quantiﬁed likelihood (from exceptionally unlikely to virtually certain). Conﬁdence in the validity of

a ﬁnding is based on the type, amount, quality, and consistency of evidence (e.g., data, mechanistic understanding, theory,

models, expert judgment) and the degree of agreement

. Probabilistic estimates of quantiﬁed measures of uncertainty in a

ﬁnding are based on statistical analysis of observations or model results, or both, and expert judgment

. Where appropriate,

ﬁndings are also formulated as statements of fact without using uncertainty qualiﬁers. (See Chapter 1 and Box TS.1 for more

details about the speciﬁc language the IPCC uses to communicate uncertainty).

The basis for substantive paragraphs in this Summary for Policymakers can be found in the chapter sections of the underlying

report and in the Technical Summary. These references are given in curly brackets.

B. Observed Changes in the Climate System

Observations of the climate system are based on direct measurements and remote sensing from satellites and other platforms.

Global-scale observations from the instrumental era began in the mid-19th century for temperature and other variables, with

more comprehensive and diverse sets of observations available for the period 1950 onwards. Paleoclimate reconstructions

extend some records back hundreds to millions of years. Together, they provide a comprehensive view of the variability and

long-term changes in the atmosphere, the ocean, the cryosphere, and the land surface.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any

preceding decade since 1850 (see Figure SPM.1). In the Northern Hemisphere, 1983–2012

was likely the warmest 30-year period of the last 1400 years (medium conﬁdence). {2.4, 5.3}

B.1 Atmosphere

• The globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature data as calculated by a linear trend, show a

warming of 0.85 [0.65 to 1.06] °C

, over the period 1880 to 2012, when multiple independently produced datasets exist.

The total increase between the average of the 1850–1900 period and the 2003–2012 period is 0.78 [0.72 to 0.85] °C,

based on the single longest dataset available

(see Figure SPM.1). {2.4}

• For the longest period when calculation of regional trends is sufﬁciently complete (1901 to 2012), almost the entire globe

has experienced surface warming (see Figure SPM.1). {2.4}

• In addition to robust multi-decadal warming, global mean surface temperature exhibits substantial decadal and

interannual variability (see Figure SPM.1). Due to natural variability, trends based on short records are very sensitive to

the beginning and end dates and do not in general reﬂect long-term climate trends. As one example, the rate of warming

over the past 15 years (1998–2012; 0.05 [–0.05 to 0.15] °C per decade), which begins with a strong El Niño, is smaller

than the rate calculated since 1951 (1951–2012; 0.12 [0.08 to 0.14] °C per decade)

. {2.4}

• Continental-scale surface temperature reconstructions show, with high conﬁdence, multi-decadal periods during

the Medieval Climate Anomaly (year 950 to 1250) that were in some regions as warm as in the late 20th century.

These regional warm periods did not occur as coherently across regions as the warming in the late 20th century (high

conﬁdence). {5.5}

• It is virtually certain that globally the troposphere has warmed since the mid-20th century. More complete observations

allow greater conﬁdence in estimates of tropospheric temperature changes in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere

than elsewhere. There is medium conﬁdence in the rate of warming and its vertical structure in the Northern Hemisphere

extra-tropical troposphere and low conﬁdence elsewhere. {2.4}

• Conﬁdence in precipitation change averaged over global land areas since 1901 is low prior to 1951 and medium

afterwards. Averaged over the mid-latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere, precipitation has increased since

1901 (medium conﬁdence before and high conﬁdence after 1951). For other latitudes area-averaged long-term positive

or negative trends have low conﬁdence (see Figure SPM.2). {TS TFE.1, Figure 2; 2.5}

• Changes in many extreme weather and climate events have been observed since about 1950 (see Table SPM.1 for

details). It is very likely that the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights

has increased on the global scale

. It is likely that the frequency of heat waves has increased in large parts of Europe,

Asia and Australia. There are likely more land regions where the number of heavy precipitation events has increased than

where it has decreased. The frequency or intensity of heavy precipitation events has likely increased in North America and

Europe. In other continents, conﬁdence in changes in heavy precipitation events is at most medium. {2.6}

In the WGI contribution to the AR5, uncertainty is quantiﬁed using 90% uncertainty intervals unless otherwise stated. The 90% uncertainty interval, reported in square

brackets, is expected to have a 90% likelihood of covering the value that is being estimated. Uncertainty intervals are not necessarily symmetric about the corresponding

best estimate. A best estimate of that value is also given where available.

Both methods presented in this bullet were also used in AR4. The ﬁrst calculates the difference using a best ﬁt linear trend of all points between 1880 and 2012. The second

calculates the difference between averages for the two periods 1850–1900 and 2003–2012. Therefore, the resulting values and their 90% uncertainty intervals are not

directly comparable. {2.4}

Trends for 15-year periods starting in 1995, 1996, and 1997 are 0.13 [0.02 to 0.24] °C per decade, 0.14 [0.03 to 0.24] °C per decade, and, 0.07 [–0.02 to 0.18] °C per

decade, respectively.

See the Glossary for the deﬁnition of these terms: cold days/cold nights, warm days/warm nights, heat waves.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Figure SPM.1 | (a) Observed global mean combined land and ocean surface temperature anomalies, from 1850 to 2012 from three data sets. Top panel:

annual mean values. Bottom panel: decadal mean values including the estimate of uncertainty for one dataset (black). Anomalies are relative to the mean

of 1961−1990. (b) Map of the observed surface temperature change from 1901 to 2012 derived from temperature trends determined by linear regression

from one dataset (orange line in panel a). Trends have been calculated where data availability permits a robust estimate (i.e., only for grid boxes with

greater than 70% complete records and more than 20% data availability in the ﬁrst and last 10% of the time period). Other areas are white. Grid boxes

where the trend is signiﬁcant at the 10% level are indicated by a + sign. For a listing of the datasets and further technical details see the Technical Summary

Supplementary Material. {Figures 2.19–2.21; Figure TS.2}

Temperature anomaly (°C) relative to 1961–1990

(a)

(b)

Observed change in surface temperature 1901–2012

−0.6

−0.4

−0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Annual average

−0.6

−0.4

−0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

1850 1900 1950 2000

Decadal average

(°C)

Observed globally averaged combined land and ocean

surface temperature anomaly 1850–2012

−0.6 −0.4 −0.2 00.2 0.40.6 0.81.0 1.25 1.51.752.5

Year

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Phenomenon and

direction of trend

Assessment that changes occurred (typically

since 1950 unless otherwise indicated)

Assessment of a human

contribution to observed changes

Early 21st century Late 21st century

Warmer and/or fewer

cold days and nights

over most land areas

Very likely {2.6}

Very likely

Very likely {10.6}

Likely

Likely {11.3} Virtually certain {12.4}

Virtually certain



Warmer and/or more

frequent hot days and

nights over most land areas

Very likely {2.6}

Very likely

Very likely {10.6}

Likely

Likely (nights only)

Likely {11.3} Virtually certain {12.4}

Virtually certain

Warm spells/heat waves.

Frequency and/or duration

increases over most

land areas

Medium conﬁdence on a global scale

Likely in large parts of Europe, Asia and Australia {2.6}

Medium conﬁdence in many (but not all) regions

Likely

{10.6}

Not formally assessed

More likely than not

Not formally assessed

{11.3}

Very likely

{12.4}

Very likely

Heavy precipitation events.

Increase in the frequency,

intensity, and/or amount

of heavy precipitation

Likely more land areas with increases than decreases

{2.6}

Likely more land areas with increases than decreases

Likely over most land areas

Medium conﬁdence

{7.6, 10.6}

Medium conﬁdence

More likely than not

Likely over many land areas

{11.3}

Very likely over most of the mid-latitude land

masses and over wet tropical regions {12.4}

Likely over many areas

Very likely over most land areas

Increases in intensity

and/or duration of drought

Low conﬁdence on a global scale

Likely changes in some regions

{2.6}

Medium conﬁdence in some regions

Likely in many regions, since 1970

Low conﬁdence {10.6}

Medium conﬁdence

More likely than not

Low conﬁdence

{11.3} Likely (medium conﬁdence) on a regional to

global scale

{12.4}

Medium conﬁdence in some regions

Likely

Increases in intense

tropical cyclone activity

Low conﬁdence in long term (centennial) changes

Virtually certain in North Atlantic since 1970

{2.6}

Low conﬁdence

Likely in some regions, since 1970

Low conﬁdence

{10.6}

Low conﬁdence

More likely than not

Low conﬁdence

{11.3}

More likely than not in the Western North Paciﬁc

and North Atlantic

{14.6}

More likely than not in some basins

Likely

Increased incidence and/or

magnitude of extreme

high sea level

Likely (since 1970) {3.7}

Likely (late 20th century)

Likely

{3.7}

Likely

More likely than not

Likely

{13.7} Very likely

{13.7}

Very likely

Likely

Likelihood of further changes

Table SPM.1 | Extreme weather and climate events: Global-scale assessment of recent observed changes, human contribution to the changes, and projected further changes for the early (2016–2035) and late (2081–2100) 21st century.

Bold indicates where the AR5 (black) provides a revised* global-scale assessment from the SREX (blue) or AR4 (red). Projections for early 21st century were not provided in previous assessment reports. Projections in the AR5 are relative to

the reference period of 1986–2005, and use the new Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios (see Box SPM.1) unless otherwise speciﬁed. See the Glossary for deﬁnitions of extreme weather and climate events.

* The direct comparison of assessment ﬁndings between reports is difﬁcult. For some climate variables, different aspects have been assessed, and the revised guidance note on uncertainties has been used for the SREX and AR5. The availability of new information, improved scientiﬁc understanding, continued

analyses of data and models, and speciﬁc differences in methodologies applied in the assessed studies, all contribute to revised assessment ﬁndings.

Notes:

Attribution is based on available case studies. It is likely that human inﬂuence has more than doubled the probability of occurrence of some observed heat waves in some locations.

Models project near-term increases in the duration, intensity and spatial extent of heat waves and warm spells.

In most continents, conﬁdence in trends is not higher than medium except in North America and Europe where there have been likely increases in either the frequency or intensity of heavy precipitation with some seasonal and/or regional variation. It is very likely that there have been increases in central

North America.

The frequency and intensity of drought has likely increased in the Mediterranean and West Africa, and likely decreased in central North America and north-west Australia.

AR4 assessed the area affected by drought.

SREX assessed medium conﬁdence that anthropogenic inﬂuence had contributed to some changes in the drought patterns observed in the second half of the 20th century, based on its attributed impact on precipitation and temperature changes. SREX assessed low conﬁdence in the attribution of changes

in droughts at the level of single regions.

There is low conﬁdence in projected changes in soil moisture.

Regional to global-scale projected decreases in soil moisture and increased agricultural drought are likely (medium conﬁdence) in presently dry regions by the end of this century under the RCP8.5 scenario. Soil moisture drying in the Mediterranean, Southwest US and southern African regions is consistent

with projected changes in Hadley circulation and increased surface temperatures, so there is high conﬁdence in likely surface drying in these regions by the end of this century under the RCP8.5 scenario.

There is medium conﬁdence that a reduction in aerosol forcing over the North Atlantic has contributed at least in part to the observed increase in tropical cyclone activity since the 1970s in this region.

Based on expert judgment and assessment of projections which use an SRES A1B (or similar) scenario.

Attribution is based on the close relationship between observed changes in extreme and mean sea level.

There is high conﬁdence that this increase in extreme high sea level will primarily be the result of an increase in mean sea level. There is low conﬁdence in region-speciﬁc projections of storminess and associated storm surges.

SREX assessed it to be very likely that mean sea level rise will contribute to future upward trends in extreme coastal high water levels.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

B.2 Ocean

Ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting

for more than 90% of the energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010 (high conﬁdence).

It is virtually certain that the upper ocean (0−700 m) warmed from 1971 to 2010 (see Figure

SPM.3), and it likely warmed between the 1870s and 1971. {3.2, Box 3.1}

• On a global scale, the ocean warming is largest near the surface, and the upper 75 m warmed by 0.11 [0.09 to 0.13] °C

per decade over the period 1971 to 2010. Since AR4, instrumental biases in upper-ocean temperature records have been

identiﬁed and reduced, enhancing conﬁdence in the assessment of change. {3.2}

• It is likely that the ocean warmed between 700 and 2000 m from 1957 to 2009. Sufﬁcient observations are available for

the period 1992 to 2005 for a global assessment of temperature change below 2000 m. There were likely no signiﬁcant

observed temperature trends between 2000 and 3000 m for this period. It is likely that the ocean warmedfrom 3000 m

to the bottom for this period, with the largest warming observed in the Southern Ocean. {3.2}

• More than 60% of the net energy increase in the climate system is stored in the upper ocean (0–700 m) during the

relatively well-sampled 40-year period from 1971 to 2010, and about 30% is stored in the ocean below 700 m. The

increase in upper ocean heat content during this time period estimated from a linear trend is likely 17 [15 to 19] ×

(see Figure SPM.3). {3.2, Box 3.1}

• It is about as likely as not that ocean heat content from 0–700 m increased more slowly during 2003 to 2010 than during

1993 to 2002 (see Figure SPM.3). Ocean heat uptake from 700–2000 m, where interannual variability is smaller, likely

continued unabated from 1993 to 2009. {3.2, Box 9.2}

• It is very likely that regions of high salinity where evaporation dominates have become more saline, while regions of

low salinity where precipitation dominates have become fresher since the 1950s. These regional trends in ocean salinity

provide indirect evidence that evaporation and precipitation over the oceans have changed (medium conﬁdence). {2.5,

3.3, 3.5}

• There is no observational evidence of a trend in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), based on the

decade-long record of the complete AMOC and longer records of individual AMOC components. {3.6}

Figure SPM.2 | Maps of observed precipitation change from 1901 to 2010 and from 1951 to 2010 (trends in annual accumulation calculated using the

same criteria as in Figure SPM.1) from one data set. For further technical details see the Technical Summary Supplementary Material. {TS TFE.1, Figure 2;

Figure 2.29}

−100 −50 −25 −10 −5 −2.5 0 2.5 5102550 100

(mm yr

-1

per decade)

1901– 2010 1951– 2010

Observed change in annual precipitation over land

A constant supply of heat through the ocean surface at the rate of 1 W m

–2

for 1 year would increase the ocean heat content by 1.1 × 10

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

B.3 Cryosphere

Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass,

glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern

Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent (high conﬁdence) (see

Figure SPM.3). {4.2–4.7}

• The average rate of ice loss

from glaciers around the world, excluding glaciers on the periphery of the ice sheets

, was

very likely 226 [91 to 361] Gt yr

−1

over the period 1971 to 2009, and very likely 275 [140 to 410] Gt yr

−1

over the period

1993 to 2009

. {4.3}

• The average rate of ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet has very likely substantially increased from 34 [–6 to 74] Gt yr

–1

over the period 1992 to 2001 to 215 [157 to 274] Gt yr

–1

over the period 2002 to 2011. {4.4}

• The average rate of ice loss from the Antarctic ice sheet has likely increased from 30 [–37 to 97] Gt yr

–1

over the period

1992–2001 to 147 [72 to 221] Gt yr

–1

over the period 2002 to 2011. There is very high conﬁdence that these losses are

mainly from the northern Antarctic Peninsula and the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica. {4.4}

• The annual mean Arctic sea ice extent decreased over the period 1979 to 2012 with a rate that was very likely in the

range 3.5 to 4.1% per decade (range of 0.45 to 0.51 million km

per decade), and very likely in the range 9.4 to 13.6%

per decade (range of 0.73 to 1.07 million km

per decade) for the summer sea ice minimum (perennial sea ice). The

average decrease in decadal mean extent of Arctic sea ice has been most rapid in summer (high conﬁdence); the spatial

extent has decreased in every season, and in every successive decade since 1979 (high conﬁdence) (see Figure SPM.3).

There is medium conﬁdence from reconstructions that over the past three decades, Arctic summer sea ice retreat was

unprecedented and sea surface temperatures were anomalously high in at least the last 1,450 years. {4.2, 5.5}

• It is very likely that the annual mean Antarctic sea ice extent increased at a rate in the range of 1.2 to 1.8% per decade

(range of 0.13 to 0.20 million km

per decade) between 1979 and 2012. There is high conﬁdence that there are strong

regional differences in this annual rate, with extent increasing in some regions and decreasing in others. {4.2}

• There is very high conﬁdence that the extent of Northern Hemisphere snow cover has decreased since the mid-20th

century (see Figure SPM.3). Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent decreased 1.6 [0.8 to 2.4] % per decade for March

and April, and 11.7 [8.8 to 14.6] % per decade for June, over the 1967 to 2012 period. During this period, snow cover

extent in the Northern Hemisphere did not show a statistically signiﬁcant increase in any month. {4.5}

• There is high conﬁdence that permafrost temperatures have increased in most regions since the early 1980s. Observed

warming was up to 3°C in parts of Northern Alaska (early 1980s to mid-2000s) and up to 2°C in parts of the Russian

European North (1971 to 2010). In the latter region, a considerable reduction in permafrost thickness and areal extent

has been observed over the period 1975 to 2005 (medium conﬁdence). {4.7}

• Multiple lines of evidence support very substantial Arctic warming since the mid-20th century. {Box 5.1, 10.3}

All references to ‘ice loss’ or ‘mass loss’ refer to net ice loss, i.e., accumulation minus melt and iceberg calving.

For methodological reasons, this assessment of ice loss from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets includes change in the glaciers on the periphery. These peripheral glaciers

are thus excluded from the values given for glaciers.

100 Gt yr

−1

of ice loss is equivalent to about 0.28 mm yr

−1

of global mean sea level rise.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

−20

−10

Year

(10

Change in global average upper ocean heat content

(c)

Global average sea level change

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

−50

100

150

200

Year

(mm)

(d)

Arctic summer sea ice extent

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year

(million km

)

(b)

Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year

(million km

)

(a)

Figure SPM.3 | Multiple observed indicators of a changing global climate: (a) Extent of Northern Hemisphere March-April (spring) average snow cover; (b)

extent of Arctic July-August-September (summer) average sea ice; (c) change in global mean upper ocean (0–700 m) heat content aligned to 2006−2010,

and relative to the mean of all datasets for 1970; (d) global mean sea level relative to the 1900–1905 mean of the longest running dataset, and with all

datasets aligned to have the same value in 1993, the ﬁrst year of satellite altimetry data. All time-series (coloured lines indicating different data sets) show

annual values, and where assessed, uncertainties are indicated by coloured shading. See Technical Summary Supplementary Material for a listing of the

datasets. {Figures 3.2, 3.13, 4.19, and 4.3; FAQ 2.1, Figure 2; Figure TS.1}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

B.4 Sea Level

The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have

increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. Carbon dioxide

concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel

emissions and secondarily from net land use change emissions. The ocean has absorbed

about 30% of the emitted anthropogenic carbon dioxide, causing ocean acidiﬁcation (see

Figure SPM.4). {2.2, 3.8, 5.2, 6.2, 6.3}

ppm (parts per million) or ppb (parts per billion, 1 billion = 1,000 million) is the ratio of the number of gas molecules to the total number of molecules of dry air. For example,

300 ppm means 300 molecules of a gas per million molecules of dry air.

The rate of sea level rise since the mid-19th century has been larger than the mean rate

during the previous two millennia (high conﬁdence). Over the period 1901 to 2010, global

mean sea level rose by 0.19 [0.17 to 0.21] m (see Figure SPM.3). {3.7, 5.6, 13.2}

• Proxy and instrumental sea level data indicate a transition in the late 19th to the early 20th century from relatively low

mean rates of rise over the previous two millennia to higher rates of rise (high conﬁdence). It is likely that the rate of

global mean sea level rise has continued to increase since the early 20th century. {3.7, 5.6, 13.2}

• It is very likely that the mean rate of global averaged sea level rise was 1.7 [1.5 to 1.9] mm yr

–1

between 1901 and 2010,

2.0 [1.7 to 2.3] mm yr

–1

between 1971 and 2010, and 3.2 [2.8 to 3.6] mm yr

–1

between 1993 and 2010. Tide-gauge and

satellite altimeter data are consistent regarding the higher rate of the latter period. It is likely that similarly high rates

occurred between 1920 and 1950. {3.7}

• Since the early 1970s, glacier mass loss and ocean thermal expansion from warming together explain about 75% of the

observed global mean sea level rise (high conﬁdence). Over the period 1993 to 2010, global mean sea level rise is, with

high conﬁdence, consistent with the sum of the observed contributions from ocean thermal expansion due to warming

(1.1 [0.8 to 1.4] mm yr

–1

), from changes in glaciers (0.76 [0.39 to 1.13] mm yr

–1

), Greenland ice sheet (0.33 [0.25 to 0.41]

mm yr

–1

), Antarctic ice sheet (0.27 [0.16 to 0.38] mm yr

–1

), and land water storage (0.38 [0.26 to 0.49] mm yr

–1

). The sum

of these contributions is 2.8 [2.3 to 3.4] mm yr

–1

. {13.3}

• There is very high conﬁdence that maximum global mean sea level during the last interglacial period (129,000 to 116,000

years ago) was, for several thousand years, at least 5 m higher than present, and high conﬁdence that it did not exceed

10 m above present. During the last interglacial period, the Greenland ice sheet very likely contributed between 1.4 and

4.3 m to the higher global mean sea level, implying with medium conﬁdence an additional contribution from the Antarctic

ice sheet. This change in sea level occurred in the context of different orbital forcing and with high-latitude surface

temperature, averaged over several thousand years, at least 2°C warmer than present (high conﬁdence). {5.3, 5.6}

B.5 Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles

• The atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO

), methane (CH

), and nitrous oxide (N

have all increased since 1750 due to human activity. In 2011 the concentrations of these greenhouse gases were 391

ppm

, 1803 ppb, and 324 ppb, and exceeded the pre-industrial levels by about 40%, 150%, and 20%, respectively. {2.2,

5.2, 6.1, 6.2}

• Concentrations of CO

, CH

, and N

O now substantially exceed the highest concentrations recorded in ice cores during

the past 800,000 years. The mean rates of increase in atmospheric concentrations over the past century are, with very

high conﬁdence, unprecedented in the last 22,000 years. {5.2, 6.1, 6.2}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Annual CO

emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production were 8.3 [7.6 to 9.0] GtC

–1

averaged over

2002–2011 (high conﬁdence) and were 9.5 [8.7 to 10.3] GtC yr

–1

in 2011, 54% above the 1990 level. Annual net CO

emissions from anthropogenic land use change were 0.9 [0.1 to 1.7] GtC yr

–1

on average during 2002 to 2011 (medium

conﬁdence). {6.3}

• From 1750 to 2011, CO

emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production have released 375 [345 to 405]

GtC to the atmosphere, while deforestation and other land use change are estimated to have released 180 [100 to 260]

GtC. This results in cumulative anthropogenic emissions of 555 [470 to 640] GtC. {6.3}

• Of these cumulative anthropogenic CO

emissions, 240 [230 to 250] GtC have accumulated in the atmosphere, 155 [125

to 185] GtC have been taken up by the ocean and 160 [70 to 250] GtC have accumulated in natural terrestrial ecosystems

(i.e., the cumulative residual land sink). {Figure TS.4, 3.8, 6.3}

• Ocean acidiﬁcation is quantiﬁed by decreases in pH

. The pH of ocean surface water has decreased by 0.1 since the

beginning of the industrial era (high conﬁdence), corresponding to a 26% increase in hydrogen ion concentration (see

Figure SPM.4). {3.8, Box 3.2}

Figure SPM.4 | Multiple observed indicators of a changing global carbon cycle: (a) atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO

) from Mauna Loa

(19°32’N, 155°34’W – red) and South Pole (89°59’S, 24°48’W – black) since 1958; (b) partial pressure of dissolved CO

at the ocean surface (blue curves)

and in situ pH (green curves), a measure of the acidity of ocean water. Measurements are from three stations from the Atlantic (29°10’N, 15°30’W – dark

blue/dark green; 31°40’N, 64°10’W – blue/green) and the Paciﬁc Oceans (22°45’N, 158°00’W − light blue/light green). Full details of the datasets shown

here are provided in the underlying report and the Technical Summary Supplementary Material. {Figures 2.1 and 3.18; Figure TS.5}

(a)

(b)

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

300

320

340

360

380

400

Year

(ppm)

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

320

340

360

380

400

Year

pCO

(μatm)

8.06

8.09

8.12

in situ pH unit

Surface ocean

and pH

Atmospheric

1 Gigatonne of carbon = 1 GtC = 10

grams of carbon. This corresponds to 3.667 GtCO

pH is a measure of acidity using a logarithmic scale: a pH decrease of 1 unit corresponds to a 10-fold increase in hydrogen ion concentration, or acidity.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

The strength of drivers is quantiﬁed as Radiative Forcing (RF) in units watts per square metre (W m

–2

) as in previous IPCC assessments. RF is the change in energy ﬂux

caused by a driver, and is calculated at the tropopause or at the top of the atmosphere. In the traditional RF concept employed in previous IPCC reports all surface and

tropospheric conditions are kept ﬁxed. In calculations of RF for well-mixed greenhouse gases and aerosols in this report, physical variables, except for the ocean and sea

ice, are allowed to respond to perturbations with rapid adjustments. The resulting forcing is called Effective Radiative Forcing (ERF) in the underlying report. This change

reﬂects the scientiﬁc progress from previous assessments and results in a better indication of the eventual temperature response for these drivers. For all drivers other than

well-mixed greenhouse gases and aerosols, rapid adjustments are less well characterized and assumed to be small, and thus the traditional RF is used. {8.1}

This approach was used to report RF in the AR4 Summary for Policymakers.

Total radiative forcing is positive, and has led to an uptake of energy by the climate system.

The largest contribution to total radiative forcing is caused by the increase in the atmospheric

concentration of CO

since 1750 (see Figure SPM.5). {3.2, Box 3.1, 8.3, 8.5}

C. Drivers of Climate Change

Natural and anthropogenic substances and processes that alter the Earth’s energy budget are drivers of climate change.

Radiative forcing

(RF) quantiﬁes the change in energy ﬂuxes caused by changes in these drivers for 2011 relative to 1750,

unless otherwise indicated. Positive RF leads to surface warming, negative RF leads to surface cooling. RF is estimated based

on in-situ and remote observations, properties of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and calculations using numerical models

representing observed processes. Some emitted compounds affect the atmospheric concentration of other substances. The RF

can be reported based on the concentration changes of each substance

. Alternatively, the emission-based RF of a compound

can be reported, which provides a more direct link to human activities. It includes contributions from all substances affected

by that emission. The total anthropogenic RF of the two approaches are identical when considering all drivers. Though both

approaches are used in this Summary for Policymakers, emission-based RFs are emphasized.

• The total anthropogenic RF for 2011 relative to 1750 is 2.29 [1.13 to 3.33] W m

−2

(see Figure SPM.5), and it has increased

more rapidly since 1970 than during prior decades. The total anthropogenic RF best estimate for 2011 is 43% higher than

that reported in AR4 for the year 2005. This is caused by a combination of continued growth in most greenhouse gas

concentrations and improved estimates of RF by aerosols indicating a weaker net cooling effect (negative RF). {8.5}

• The RF from emissions of well-mixed greenhouse gases (CO

, CH

, N

O, and Halocarbons) for 2011 relative to 1750 is

3.00 [2.22 to 3.78] W m

–2

(see Figure SPM.5). The RF from changes in concentrations in these gases is 2.83 [2.26 to 3.40]

W m

–2

. {8.5}

• Emissions of CO

alone have caused an RF of 1.68 [1.33 to 2.03] W m

–2

(see Figure SPM.5). Including emissions of other

carbon-containing gases, which also contributed to the increase in CO

concentrations, the RF of CO

is 1.82 [1.46 to

2.18] W m

–2

. {8.3, 8.5}

• Emissions of CH

alone have caused an RF of 0.97 [0.74 to 1.20] W m

−2

(see Figure SPM.5). This is much larger than the

concentration-based estimate of 0.48 [0.38 to 0.58] W m

−2

(unchanged from AR4). This difference in estimates is caused

by concentration changes in ozone and stratospheric water vapour due to CH

emissions and other emissions indirectly

affecting CH

. {8.3, 8.5}

• Emissions of stratospheric ozone-depleting halocarbons have caused a net positive RF of 0.18 [0.01 to 0.35] W m

−2

(see

Figure SPM.5). Their own positive RF has outweighed the negative RF from the ozone depletion that they have induced.

The positive RF from all halocarbons is similar to the value in AR4, with a reduced RF from CFCs but increases from many

of their substitutes. {8.3, 8.5}

• Emissions of short-lived gases contribute to the total anthropogenic RF. Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) are virtually

certain to have induced a positive RF, while emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO

) are likely to have induced a net negative

RF (see Figure SPM.5). {8.3, 8.5}

• The RF of the total aerosol effect in the atmosphere, which includes cloud adjustments due to aerosols, is –0.9 [–1.9 to

−0.1] W m

−2

(medium conﬁdence), and results from a negative forcing from most aerosols and a positive contribution

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

from black carbon absorption of solar radiation. There is high conﬁdence that aerosols and their interactions with clouds

have offset a substantial portion of global mean forcing from well-mixed greenhouse gases. They continue to contribute

the largest uncertainty to the total RF estimate. {7.5, 8.3, 8.5}

• The forcing from stratospheric volcanic aerosols can have a large impact on the climate for some years after volcanic

eruptions. Several small eruptions have caused an RF of –0.11 [–0.15 to –0.08] W m

–2

for the years 2008 to 2011, which

is approximately twice as strong as during the years 1999 to 2002. {8.4}

• The RF due to changes in solar irradiance is estimated as 0.05 [0.00 to 0.10] W m

−2

(see Figure SPM.5). Satellite obser-

vations of total solar irradiance changes from 1978 to 2011 indicate that the last solar minimum was lower than the

previous two. This results in an RF of –0.04 [–0.08 to 0.00] W m

–2

between the most recent minimum in 2008 and the

1986 minimum. {8.4}

• The total natural RF from solar irradiance changes and stratospheric volcanic aerosols made only a small contribution to

the net radiative forcing throughout the last century, except for brief periods after large volcanic eruptions. {8.5}

Figure SPM.5 | Radiative forcing estimates in 2011 relative to 1750 and aggregated uncertainties for the main drivers of climate change. Values are

global average radiative forcing (RF

), partitioned according to the emitted compounds or processes that result in a combination of drivers. The best esti-

mates of the net radiative forcing are shown as black diamonds with corresponding uncertainty intervals; the numerical values are provided on the right

of the ﬁgure, together with the conﬁdence level in the net forcing (VH – very high, H – high, M – medium, L – low, VL – very low). Albedo forcing due to

black carbon on snow and ice is included in the black carbon aerosol bar. Small forcings due to contrails (0.05 W m

–2

, including contrail induced cirrus),

and HFCs, PFCs and SF

(total 0.03 W m

–2

) are not shown. Concentration-based RFs for gases can be obtained by summing the like-coloured bars. Volcanic

forcing is not included as its episodic nature makes is difﬁcult to compare to other forcing mechanisms. Total anthropogenic radiative forcing is provided

for three different years relative to 1750. For further technical details, including uncertainty ranges associated with individual components and processes,

see the Technical Summary Supplementary Material. {8.5; Figures 8.14–8.18; Figures TS.6 and TS.7}

AnthropogenicNatural

−1 0 1 2 3

Radiative forcing relative to 1750 (W m

−2

)

Level of

confidence

Radiative forcing by emissions and drivers

1.68 [1.33 to 2.03]

0.97 [0.74 to 1.20]

0.18 [0.01 to 0.35]

0.17 [0.13 to 0.21]

0.23 [0.16 to 0.30]

0.10 [0.05 to 0.15]

-0.15 [-0.34 to 0.03]

-0.27 [-0.77 to 0.23]

-0.55 [-1.33 to -0.06]

-0.15 [-0.25 to -0.05]

0.05 [0.00 to 0.10]

2.29 [1.13 to 3.33]

1.25 [0.64 to 1.86]

0.57 [0.29 to 0.85]

Halo-

carbons

NMVOC

Emitted

compound

Aerosols and

precursors

(Mineral dust,

, NH

Organic carbon

and Black carbon)

Well-mixed greenhouse gasesShort lived gases and aerosols

Resulting atmospheric

drivers

str

CFCs HCFCs

Nitrate

Black carbon

Mineral dust

Organic carbon

NitrateSulphate

Cloud adjustments

due to aerosols

Albedo change

due to land use

Changes in

solar irradiance

Total anthropogenic

RF relative to 1750

1950

1980

2011

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

D. Understanding the Climate System and its Recent Changes

Understanding recent changes in the climate system results from combining observations, studies of feedback processes, and

model simulations. Evaluation of the ability of climate models to simulate recent changes requires consideration of the state

of all modelled climate system components at the start of the simulation and the natural and anthropogenic forcing used to

drive the models. Compared to AR4, more detailed and longer observations and improved climate models now enable the

attribution of a human contribution to detected changes in more climate system components.

Human inﬂuence on the climate system is clear. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse

gas concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and

understanding of the climate system. {2–14}

Climate models have improved since the AR4. Models reproduce observed continental-

scale surface temperature patterns and trends over many decades, including the more rapid

warming since the mid-20th century and the cooling immediately following large volcanic

eruptions (very high conﬁdence). {9.4, 9.6, 9.8}

D.1 Evaluation of Climate Models

• The long-term climate model simulations show a trend in global-mean surface temperature from 1951 to 2012 that

agrees with the observed trend (very high conﬁdence). There are, however, differences between simulated and observed

trends over periods as short as 10 to 15 years (e.g., 1998 to 2012). {9.4, Box 9.2}

• The observed reduction in surface warming trend over the period 1998 to 2012 as compared to the period 1951 to 2012,

is due in roughly equal measure to a reduced trend in radiative forcing and a cooling contribution from natural internal

variability, which includes a possible redistribution of heat within the ocean (medium conﬁdence). The reduced trend

in radiative forcing is primarily due to volcanic eruptions and the timing of the downward phase of the 11-year solar

cycle. However, there is low conﬁdence in quantifying the role of changes in radiative forcing in causing the reduced

warming trend. There is medium conﬁdence that natural internal decadal variability causes to a substantial degree the

difference between observations and the simulations; the latter are not expected to reproduce the timing of natural

internal variability. There may also be a contribution from forcing inadequacies and, in some models, an overestimate of

the response to increasing greenhouse gas and other anthropogenic forcing (dominated by the effects of aerosols). {9.4,

Box 9.2, 10.3, Box 10.2, 11.3}

• On regional scales, the conﬁdence in model capability to simulate surface temperature is less than for the larger scales.

However, there is high conﬁdence that regional-scale surface temperature is better simulated than at the time of the AR4.

{9.4, 9.6}

• There has been substantial progress in the assessment of extreme weather and climate events since AR4. Simulated

global-mean trends in the frequency of extreme warm and cold days and nights over the second half of the 20th century

are generally consistent with observations. {9.5}

• There has been some improvement in the simulation of continental- scale patterns of precipitation since the AR4. At

regional scales, precipitation is not simulated as well, and the assessment is hampered by observational uncertainties.

{9.4, 9.6}

• Some important climate phenomena are now better reproduced by models. There is high conﬁdence that the statistics of

monsoon and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) based on multi-model simulations have improved since AR4. {9.5}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Climate models now include more cloud and aerosol processes, and their interactions, than at the time of the AR4, but

there remains low conﬁdence in the representation and quantiﬁcation of these processes in models. {7.3, 7.6, 9.4, 9.7}

• There is robust evidence that the downward trend in Arctic summer sea ice extent since 1979 is now reproduced by more

models than at the time of the AR4, with about one-quarter of the models showing a trend as large as, or larger than,

the trend in the observations. Most models simulate a small downward trend in Antarctic sea ice extent, albeit with large

inter-model spread, in contrast to the small upward trend in observations. {9.4}

• Many models reproduce the observed changes in upper-ocean heat content (0–700 m) from 1961 to 2005 (high

conﬁdence), with the multi-model mean time series falling within the range of the available observational estimates for

most of the period. {9.4}

• Climate models that include the carbon cycle (Earth System Models) simulate the global pattern of ocean-atmosphere

ﬂuxes, with outgassing in the tropics and uptake in the mid and high latitudes. In the majority of these models the

sizes of the simulated global land and ocean carbon sinks over the latter part of the 20th century are within the range of

observational estimates. {9.4}

D.2 Quantiﬁcation of Climate System Responses

No best estimate for equilibrium climate sensitivity can now be given because of a lack of agreement on values across assessed lines of evidence and studies.

Observational and model studies of temperature change, climate feedbacks and changes in

the Earth’s energy budget together provide conﬁdence in the magnitude of global warming

in response to past and future forcing. {Box 12.2, Box 13.1}

• The net feedback from the combined effect of changes in water vapour, and differences between atmospheric and

surface warming is extremely likely positive and therefore ampliﬁes changes in climate. The net radiative feedback due to

all cloud types combined is likely positive. Uncertainty in the sign and magnitude of the cloud feedback is due primarily

to continuing uncertainty in the impact of warming on low clouds. {7.2}

• The equilibrium climate sensitivity quantiﬁes the response of the climate system to constant radiative forcing on multi-

century time scales. It is deﬁned as the change in global mean surface temperature at equilibrium that is caused by a

doubling of the atmospheric CO

concentration. Equilibrium climate sensitivity is likely in the range 1.5°C to 4.5°C (high

conﬁdence), extremely unlikely less than 1°C (high conﬁdence), and very unlikely greater than 6°C (medium conﬁdence)

The lower temperature limit of the assessed likely range is thus less than the 2°C in the AR4, but the upper limit is the

same. This assessment reﬂects improved understanding, the extended temperature record in the atmosphere and ocean,

and new estimates of radiative forcing. {TS TFE.6, Figure 1; Box 12.2}

• The rate and magnitude of global climate change is determined by radiative forcing, climate feedbacks and the storage

of energy by the climate system. Estimates of these quantities for recent decades are consistent with the assessed

likely range of the equilibrium climate sensitivity to within assessed uncertainties, providing strong evidence for our

understanding of anthropogenic climate change. {Box 12.2, Box 13.1}

• The transient climate response quantiﬁes the response of the climate system to an increasing radiative forcing on a decadal

to century timescale. It is deﬁned as the change in global mean surface temperature at the time when the atmospheric CO

concentration has doubled in a scenario of concentration increasing at 1% per year. The transient climate response is likely

in the range of 1.0°C to 2.5°C (high conﬁdence) and extremely unlikely greater than 3°C. {Box 12.2}

• A related quantity is the transient climate response to cumulative carbon emissions (TCRE). It quantiﬁes the transient

response of the climate system to cumulative carbon emissions (see Section E.8). TCRE is deﬁned as the global mean

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

surface temperature change per 1000 GtC emitted to the atmosphere. TCRE is likely in the range of 0.8°C to 2.5°C per

1000 GtC and applies for cumulative emissions up to about 2000 GtC until the time temperatures peak (see Figure

SPM.10). {12.5, Box 12.2}

• Various metrics can be used to compare the contributions to climate change of emissions of different substances. The

most appropriate metric and time horizon will depend on which aspects of climate change are considered most important

to a particular application. No single metric can accurately compare all consequences of different emissions, and all have

limitations and uncertainties. The Global Warming Potential is based on the cumulative radiative forcing over a particular

time horizon, and the Global Temperature Change Potential is based on the change in global mean surface temperature

at a chosen point in time. Updated values are provided in the underlying Report. {8.7}

D.3 Detection and Attribution of Climate Change

Human inﬂuence has been detected in warming of the atmosphere and the ocean, in changes

in the global water cycle, in reductions in snow and ice, in global mean sea level rise, and

in changes in some climate extremes (see Figure SPM.6 and Table SPM.1). This evidence for

human inﬂuence has grown since AR4. It is extremely likely that human inﬂuence has been

the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. {10.3–10.6, 10.9}

• It is extremely likely that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to

2010 was caused by the anthropogenic increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and other anthropogenic forcings

together. The best estimate of the human-induced contribution to warming is similar to the observed warming over this

period. {10.3}

• Greenhouse gases contributed a global mean surface warming likely to be in the range of 0.5°C to 1.3°C over the period

1951 to 2010, with the contributions from other anthropogenic forcings, including the cooling effect of aerosols, likely to

be in the range of −0.6°C to 0.1°C. The contribution from natural forcings is likely to be in the range of −0.1°C to 0.1°C,

and from natural internal variability is likely to be in the range of −0.1°C to 0.1°C. Together these assessed contributions

are consistent with the observed warming of approximately 0.6°C to 0.7°C over this period. {10.3}

• Over every continental region except Antarctica, anthropogenic forcings have likely made a substantial contribution to

surface temperature increases since the mid-20th century (see Figure SPM.6). For Antarctica, large observational uncer-

tainties result in low conﬁdence that anthropogenic forcings have contributed to the observed warming averaged over

available stations. It is likely that there has been an anthropogenic contribution to the very substantial Arctic warming

since the mid-20th century. {2.4, 10.3}

• It is very likely that anthropogenic inﬂuence, particularly greenhouse gases and stratospheric ozone depletion, has led

to a detectable observed pattern of tropospheric warming and a corresponding cooling in the lower stratosphere since

1961. {2.4, 9.4, 10.3}

• It is very likely that anthropogenic forcings have made a substantial contribution to increases in global upper ocean heat

content (0–700 m) observed since the 1970s (see Figure SPM.6). There is evidence for human inﬂuence in some individual

ocean basins. {3.2, 10.4}

• It is likely that anthropogenic inﬂuences have affected the global water cycle since 1960. Anthropogenic inﬂuences have

contributed to observed increases in atmospheric moisture content in the atmosphere (medium conﬁdence), to global-

scale changes in precipitation patterns over land (medium conﬁdence), to intensiﬁcation of heavy precipitation over land

regions where data are sufﬁcient (medium conﬁdence), and to changes in surface and sub-surface ocean salinity (very

likely). {2.5, 2.6, 3.3, 7.6, 10.3, 10.4}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Figure SPM.6 | Comparison of observed and simulated climate change based on three large-scale indicators in the atmosphere, the cryosphere and

the ocean: change in continental land surface air temperatures (yellow panels), Arctic and Antarctic September sea ice extent (white panels), and upper

ocean heat content in the major ocean basins (blue panels). Global average changes are also given. Anomalies are given relative to 1880–1919 for surface

temperatures, 1960–1980 for ocean heat content and 1979–1999 for sea ice. All time-series are decadal averages, plotted at the centre of the decade.

For temperature panels, observations are dashed lines if the spatial coverage of areas being examined is below 50%. For ocean heat content and sea ice

panels the solid line is where the coverage of data is good and higher in quality, and the dashed line is where the data coverage is only adequate, and

thus, uncertainty is larger. Model results shown are Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) multi-model ensemble ranges, with shaded

bands indicating the 5 to 95% conﬁdence intervals. For further technical details, including region deﬁnitions see the Technical Summary Supplementary

Material. {Figure 10.21; Figure TS.12}

Observations

Models using only natural forcings

Models using both natural and anthropogenic forcings

Land surface

Global averages

Ocean heat contentLand and ocean surface

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• There has been further strengthening of the evidence for human inﬂuence on temperature extremes since the SREX. It

is now very likely that human inﬂuence has contributed to observed global scale changes in the frequency and intensity

of daily temperature extremes since the mid-20th century, and likely that human inﬂuence has more than doubled the

probability of occurrence of heat waves in some locations (see Table SPM.1). {10.6}

• Anthropogenic inﬂuences have very likely contributed to Arctic sea ice loss since 1979. There is low conﬁdence in the

scientiﬁc understanding of the small observed increase in Antarctic sea ice extent due to the incomplete and competing

scientiﬁc explanations for the causes of change and low conﬁdence in estimates of natural internal variability in that

region (see Figure SPM.6). {10.5}

• Anthropogenic inﬂuences likely contributed to the retreat of glaciers since the 1960s and to the increased surface mass

loss of the Greenland ice sheet since 1993. Due to a low level of scientiﬁc understanding there is low conﬁdence in

attributing the causes of the observed loss of mass from the Antarctic ice sheet over the past two decades. {4.3, 10.5}

• It is likely that there has been an anthropogenic contribution to observed reductions in Northern Hemisphere spring snow

cover since 1970. {10.5}

• It is very likely that there is a substantial anthropogenic contribution to the global mean sea level rise since the 1970s.

This is based on the high conﬁdence in an anthropogenic inﬂuence on the two largest contributions to sea level rise, that

is thermal expansion and glacier mass loss. {10.4, 10.5, 13.3}

• There is high conﬁdence that changes in total solar irradiance have not contributed to the increase in global mean

surface temperature over the period 1986 to 2008, based on direct satellite measurements of total solar irradiance. There

is medium conﬁdence that the 11-year cycle of solar variability inﬂuences decadal climate ﬂuctuations in some regions.

No robust association between changes in cosmic rays and cloudiness has been identiﬁed. {7.4, 10.3, Box 10.2}

E. Future Global and Regional Climate Change

Projections of changes in the climate system are made using a hierarchy of climate models ranging from simple climate

models, to models of intermediate complexity, to comprehensive climate models, and Earth System Models. These models

simulate changes based on a set of scenarios of anthropogenic forcings. A new set of scenarios, the Representative

Concentration Pathways (RCPs), was used for the new climate model simulations carried out under the framework of the

Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) of the World Climate Research Programme. In all RCPs, atmospheric

concentrations are higher in 2100 relative to present day as a result of a further increase of cumulative emissions of

to the atmosphere during the 21st century (see Box SPM.1). Projections in this Summary for Policymakers are for the

end of the 21st century (2081–2100) given relative to 1986–2005, unless otherwise stated. To place such projections in

historical context, it is necessary to consider observed changes between different periods. Based on the longest global

surface temperature dataset available, the observed change between the average of the period 1850–1900 and of the AR5

reference period is 0.61 [0.55 to 0.67] °C. However, warming has occurred beyond the average of the AR5 reference period.

Hence this is not an estimate of historical warming to present (see Chapter 2) .

Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all

components of the climate system. Limiting climate change will require substantial and

sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. {6, 11–14}

• Projections for the next few decades show spatial patterns of climate change similar to those projected for the later

21st century but with smaller magnitude. Natural internal variability will continue to be a major inﬂuence on climate,

particularly in the near-term and at the regional scale. By the mid-21st century the magnitudes of the projected changes

are substantially affected by the choice of emissions scenario (Box SPM.1). {11.3, Box 11.1, Annex I}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Projected climate change based on RCPs is similar to AR4 in both patterns and magnitude, after accounting for scenario

differences. The overall spread of projections for the high RCPs is narrower than for comparable scenarios used in AR4

because in contrast to the SRES emission scenarios used in AR4, the RCPs used in AR5 are deﬁned as concentration

pathways and thus carbon cycle uncertainties affecting atmospheric CO

concentrations are not considered in the

concentration-driven CMIP5 simulations. Projections of sea level rise are larger than in the AR4, primarily because of

improved modelling of land-ice contributions.{11.3, 12.3, 12.4, 13.4, 13.5}

E.1 Atmosphere: Temperature

Global surface temperature change for the end of the 21st century is likely to exceed

1.5°C relative to 1850 to 1900 for all RCP scenarios except RCP2.6. It is likely to exceed 2°C

for RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, and more likely than not to exceed 2°C for RCP4.5. Warming will

continue beyond 2100 under all RCP scenarios except RCP2.6. Warming will continue to

exhibit interannual-to-decadal variability and will not be regionally uniform (see Figures

SPM.7 and SPM.8). {11.3, 12.3, 12.4, 14.8}

• The global mean surface temperature change for the period 2016–2035 relative to 1986–2005 will likely be in the range

of 0.3°C to 0.7°C (medium conﬁdence). This assessment is based on multiple lines of evidence and assumes there will be

no major volcanic eruptions or secular changes in total solar irradiance. Relative to natural internal variability, near-term

increases in seasonal mean and annual mean temperatures are expected to be larger in the tropics and subtropics than

in mid-latitudes (high conﬁdence). {11.3}

• Increase of global mean surface temperatures for 2081–2100 relative to 1986–2005 is projected to likely be in the

ranges derived from the concentration-driven CMIP5 model simulations, that is, 0.3°C to 1.7°C (RCP2.6), 1.1°C to 2.6°C

(RCP4.5), 1.4°C to 3.1°C (RCP6.0), 2.6°C to 4.8°C (RCP8.5). The Arctic region will warm more rapidly than the global

mean, and mean warming over land will be larger than over the ocean (very high conﬁdence) (see Figures SPM.7 and

SPM.8, and Table SPM.2). {12.4, 14.8}

• Relative to the average from year 1850 to 1900, global surface temperature change by the end of the 21st century is

projected to likely exceed 1.5°C for RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 (high conﬁdence). Warming is likely to exceed 2°C for

RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 (high conﬁdence), more likely than not to exceed 2°C for RCP4.5 (high conﬁdence), but unlikely to

exceed 2°C for RCP2.6 (medium conﬁdence). Warming is unlikely to exceed 4°C for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP6.0 (high

conﬁdence) and is about as likely as not to exceed 4°C for RCP8.5 (medium conﬁdence). {12.4}

• It is virtually certain that there will be more frequent hot and fewer cold temperature extremes over most land areas on

daily and seasonal timescales as global mean temperatures increase. It is very likely that heat waves will occur with a

higher frequency and duration. Occasional cold winter extremes will continue to occur (see Table SPM.1). {12.4}

E.2 Atmosphere: Water Cycle

Changes in the global water cycle in response to the warming over the 21st century will not

be uniform. The contrast in precipitation between wet and dry regions and between wet

and dry seasons will increase, although there may be regional exceptions (see Figure SPM.8).

{12.4, 14.3}

• Projected changes in the water cycle over the next few decades show similar large-scale patterns to those towards the

end of the century, but with smaller magnitude. Changes in the near-term, and at the regional scale will be strongly

inﬂuenced by natural internal variability and may be affected by anthropogenic aerosol emissions. {11.3}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Figure SPM.7 | CMIP5 multi-model simulated time series from 1950 to 2100 for (a) change in global annual mean surface temperature relative to

1986–2005, (b) Northern Hemisphere September sea ice extent (5-year running mean), and (c) global mean ocean surface pH. Time series of projections

and a measure of uncertainty (shading) are shown for scenarios RCP2.6 (blue) and RCP8.5 (red). Black (grey shading) is the modelled historical evolution

using historical reconstructed forcings. The mean and associated uncertainties averaged over 2081−2100 are given for all RCP scenarios as colored verti-

cal bars. The numbers of CMIP5 models used to calculate the multi-model mean is indicated. For sea ice extent (b), the projected mean and uncertainty

(minimum-maximum range) of the subset of models that most closely reproduce the climatological mean state and 1979 to 2012 trend of the Arctic sea

ice is given (number of models given in brackets). For completeness, the CMIP5 multi-model mean is also indicated with dotted lines. The dashed line

represents nearly ice-free conditions (i.e., when sea ice extent is less than 10

for at least ﬁve consecutive years). For further technical details see the

Technical Summary Supplementary Material {Figures 6.28, 12.5, and 12.28–12.31; Figures TS.15, TS.17, and TS.20}

6.0

4.0

2.0

−2.0

0.0

(

historical

RCP2.6

RCP8.5

Global average surface temperature change

(a)

RCP2.6

RCP4.5

RCP6.0

RCP8.5

Mean over

2081–2100

1950 2000 2050 2100

Northern Hemisphere September sea ice extent

(b)

RCP2.6

RCP4.5

RCP6.0

RCP8.5

1950 2000 2050 2100

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0

(10

)

29 (3)

37 (5)

39 (5)

1950 2000 2050 2100

8.2

8.0

7.8

7.6

(pH unit)

Global ocean surface pH

(c)

RCP2.6

RCP4.5

RCP6.0

RCP8.5

Year

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

Figure SPM.8 | Maps of CMIP5 multi-model mean results for the scenarios RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 in 2081–2100 of (a) annual mean surface temperature

change, (b) average percent change in annual mean precipitation, (c) Northern Hemisphere September sea ice extent, and (d) change in ocean surface pH.

Changes in panels (a), (b) and (d) are shown relative to 1986–2005. The number of CMIP5 models used to calculate the multi-model mean is indicated in

the upper right corner of each panel. For panels (a) and (b), hatching indicates regions where the multi-model mean is small compared to natural internal

variability (i.e., less than one standard deviation of natural internal variability in 20-year means). Stippling indicates regions where the multi-model mean is

large compared to natural internal variability (i.e., greater than two standard deviations of natural internal variability in 20-year means) and where at least

90% of models agree on the sign of change (see Box 12.1). In panel (c), the lines are the modelled means for 1986−2005; the ﬁlled areas are for the end

of the century. The CMIP5 multi-model mean is given in white colour, the projected mean sea ice extent of a subset of models (number of models given in

brackets) that most closely reproduce the climatological mean state and 1979 to 2012 trend of the Arctic sea ice extent is given in light blue colour. For

further technical details see the Technical Summary Supplementary Material. {Figures 6.28, 12.11, 12.22, and 12.29; Figures TS.15, TS.16, TS.17, and TS.20}

−0.55 −0.5−0.6 −0.4 −0.35−0.45 −0.25 −0.2−0.3 −0.1 −0.05−0.15

(pH unit)

109

−20 −10−30−50 −40 01020 30 40 50

(b)

(c)

RCP 2.6 RCP 8.5

Change in average precipitation (1986−2005 to 2081−2100)

Northern Hemisphere September sea ice extent (average 2081−2100)

29 (3) 37 (5)

3932

(d)

Change in ocean surface pH (1986−2005 to 2081−2100)

(%)

(a)

Change in average surface temperature (1986−2005 to 2081−2100)

3932

(°C)

−0.5−1−2 −1.5011.5 234579110.5

CMIP5 multi-model

average 2081−2100

CMIP5 multi-model

average 1986−2005

CMIP5 subset

average 2081−2100

CMIP5 subset

average 1986−2005

Summary for Policymakers

• The high latitudes and the equatorial Paciﬁc Ocean are likely to experience an increase in annual mean precipitation by

the end of this century under the RCP8.5 scenario. In many mid-latitude and subtropical dry regions, mean precipitation

will likely decrease, while in many mid-latitude wet regions, mean precipitation will likely increase by the end of this

century under the RCP8.5 scenario (see Figure SPM.8). {7.6, 12.4, 14.3}

• Extreme precipitation events over most of the mid-latitude land masses and over wet tropical regions will very likely

become more intense and more frequent by the end of this century, as global mean surface temperature increases (see

Table SPM.1). {7.6, 12.4}

• Globally, it is likely that the area encompassed by monsoon systems will increase over the 21st century. While monsoon

winds are likely to weaken, monsoon precipitation is likely to intensify due to the increase in atmospheric moisture.

Monsoon onset dates are likely to become earlier or not to change much. Monsoon retreat dates will likely be delayed,

resulting in lengthening of the monsoon season in many regions. {14.2}

• There is high conﬁdence that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) will remain the dominant mode of interannual

variability in the tropical Paciﬁc, with global effects in the 21st century. Due to the increase in moisture availability, ENSO-

related precipitation variability on regional scales will likely intensify. Natural variations of the amplitude and spatial

pattern of ENSO are large and thus conﬁdence in any speciﬁc projected change in ENSO and related regional phenomena

for the 21st century remains low. {5.4, 14.4}

Table SPM.2 | Projected change in global mean surface air temperature and global mean sea level rise for the mid- and late 21st century relative to the

reference period of 1986–2005. {12.4; Table 12.2, Table 13.5}

2046–2065 2081–2100

Scenario Mean Likely range

Mean Likely range

Global Mean Surface

Temperature Change (°C)

RCP2.6 1.0 0.4 to 1.6 1.0 0.3 to 1.7

RCP4.5 1.4 0.9 to 2.0 1.8 1.1 to 2.6

RCP6.0 1.3 0.8 to 1.8 2.2 1.4 to 3.1

RCP8.5 2.0 1.4 to 2.6 3.7 2.6 to 4.8

Scenario Mean Likely range

Mean Likely range

Global Mean Sea Level

Rise (m)

RCP2.6 0.24 0.17 to 0.32 0.40 0.26 to 0.55

RCP4.5 0.26 0.19 to 0.33 0.47 0.32 to 0.63

RCP6.0 0.25 0.18 to 0.32 0.48 0.33 to 0.63

RCP8.5 0.30 0.22 to 0.38 0.63 0.45 to 0.82

Notes:

Based on the CMIP5 ensemble; anomalies calculated with respect to 1986–2005. Using HadCRUT4 and its uncertainty estimate (5−95% conﬁdence interval), the

observed warming to the reference period 1986−2005 is 0.61 [0.55 to 0.67] °C from 1850−1900, and 0.11 [0.09 to 0.13] °C from 1980−1999, the reference period

for projections used in AR4. Likely ranges have not been assessed here with respect to earlier reference periods because methods are not generally available in the

literature for combining the uncertainties in models and observations. Adding projected and observed changes does not account for potential effects of model biases

compared to observations, and for natural internal variability during the observational reference period {2.4; 11.2; Tables 12.2 and 12.3}

Based on 21 CMIP5 models; anomalies calculated with respect to 1986–2005. Where CMIP5 results were not available for a particular AOGCM and scenario, they

were estimated as explained in Chapter 13, Table 13.5. The contributions from ice sheet rapid dynamical change and anthropogenic land water storage are treated as

having uniform probability distributions, and as largely independent of scenario. This treatment does not imply that the contributions concerned will not depend on the

scenario followed, only that the current state of knowledge does not permit a quantitative assessment of the dependence. Based on current understanding, only the

collapse of marine-based sectors of the Antarctic ice sheet, if initiated, could cause global mean sea level to rise substantially above the likely range during the 21st

century. There is medium conﬁdence that this additional contribution would not exceed several tenths of a meter of sea level rise during the 21st century.

Calculated from projections as 5−95% model ranges. These ranges are then assessed to be likely ranges after accounting for additional uncertainties or different levels

of conﬁdence in models. For projections of global mean surface temperature change in 2046−2065 conﬁdence is medium, because the relative importance of natural

internal variability, and uncertainty in non-greenhouse gas forcing and response, are larger than for 2081−2100. The likely ranges for 2046−2065 do not take into

account the possible inﬂuence of factors that lead to the assessed range for near-term (2016−2035) global mean surface temperature change that is lower than the

5−95% model range, because the inﬂuence of these factors on longer term projections has not been quantiﬁed due to insufﬁcient scientiﬁc understanding. {11.3}

Calculated from projections as 5−95% model ranges. These ranges are then assessed to be likely ranges after accounting for additional uncertainties or different levels

of conﬁdence in models. For projections of global mean sea level rise conﬁdence is medium for both time horizons.

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

E.3 Atmosphere: Air Quality

• The range in projections of air quality (ozone and PM2.5

in near-surface air) is driven primarily by emissions (including

), rather than by physical climate change (medium conﬁdence). There is high conﬁdence that globally, warming

decreases background surface ozone. High CH

levels (as in RCP8.5) can offset this decrease, raising background surface

ozone by year 2100 on average by about 8 ppb (25% of current levels) relative to scenarios with small CH

changes (as

in RCP4.5 and RCP6.0) (high conﬁdence). {11.3}

• Observational and modelling evidence indicates that, all else being equal, locally higher surface temperatures in polluted

regions will trigger regional feedbacks in chemistry and local emissions that will increase peak levels of ozone and PM2.5

(medium conﬁdence). For PM2.5, climate change may alter natural aerosol sources as well as removal by precipitation,

but no conﬁdence level is attached to the overall impact of climate change on PM2.5 distributions. {11.3}

E.4 Ocean

The global ocean will continue to warm during the 21st century. Heat will penetrate from

the surface to the deep ocean and affect ocean circulation. {11.3, 12.4}

It is very likely that the Arctic sea ice cover will continue to shrink and thin and that Northern

Hemisphere spring snow cover will decrease during the 21st century as global mean surface

temperature rises. Global glacier volume will further decrease. {12.4, 13.4}

• The strongest ocean warming is projected for the surface in tropical and Northern Hemisphere subtropical regions. At

greater depth the warming will be most pronounced in the Southern Ocean (high conﬁdence). Best estimates of ocean

warming in the top one hundred meters are about 0.6°C (RCP2.6) to 2.0°C (RCP8.5), and about 0.3°C (RCP2.6) to 0.6°C

(RCP8.5) at a depth of about 1000 m by the end of the 21st century. {12.4, 14.3}

• It is very likely that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) will weaken over the 21st century. Best

estimates and ranges

for the reduction are 11% (1 to 24%) in RCP2.6 and 34% (12 to 54%) in RCP8.5. It is likely that

there will be some decline in the AMOC by about 2050, but there may be some decades when the AMOC increases due

to large natural internal variability. {11.3, 12.4}

• It is very unlikely that the AMOC will undergo an abrupt transition or collapse in the 21st century for the scenarios

considered. There is low conﬁdence in assessing the evolution of the AMOC beyond the 21st century because of the

limited number of analyses and equivocal results. However, a collapse beyond the 21st century for large sustained

warming cannot be excluded. {12.5}

E.5 Cryosphere

PM2.5 refers to particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, a measure of atmospheric aerosol concentration.

The ranges in this paragraph indicate a CMIP5 model spread.

• Year-round reductions in Arctic sea ice extent are projected by the end of the 21st century from multi-model averages.

These reductions range from 43% for RCP2.6 to 94% for RCP8.5 in September and from 8% for RCP2.6 to 34% for

RCP8.5 in February (medium conﬁdence) (see Figures SPM.7 and SPM.8). {12.4}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Based on an assessment of the subset of models that most closely reproduce the climatological mean state and 1979

to 2012 trend of the Arctic sea ice extent, a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean

in September before mid-century is likely for

RCP8.5 (medium conﬁdence) (see Figures SPM.7 and SPM.8). A projection of when the Arctic might become nearly ice-

free in September in the 21st century cannot be made with conﬁdence for the other scenarios. {11.3, 12.4, 12.5}

• In the Antarctic, a decrease in sea ice extent and volume is projected with low conﬁdence for the end of the 21st century

as global mean surface temperature rises. {12.4}

• By the end of the 21st century, the global glacier volume, excluding glaciers on the periphery of Antarctica, is projected

to decrease by 15 to 55% for RCP2.6, and by 35 to 85% for RCP8.5 (medium conﬁdence). {13.4, 13.5}

• The area of Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover is projected to decrease by 7% for RCP2.6 and by 25% in RCP8.5 by

the end of the 21st century for the model average (medium conﬁdence). {12.4}

• It is virtually certain that near-surface permafrost extent at high northern latitudes will be reduced as global mean

surface temperature increases. By the end of the 21st century, the area of permafrost near the surface (upper 3.5 m) is

projected to decrease by between 37% (RCP2.6) to 81% (RCP8.5) for the model average (medium conﬁdence). {12.4}

E.6 Sea Level

Global mean sea level will continue to rise during the 21st century (see Figure SPM.9). Under

all RCP scenarios, the rate of sea level rise will very likely exceed that observed during 1971

to 2010 due to increased ocean warming and increased loss of mass from glaciers and ice

sheets. {13.3–13.5}

Conditions in the Arctic Ocean are referred to as nearly ice-free when the sea ice extent is less than 10

for at least ﬁve consecutive years.

• Conﬁdence in projections of global mean sea level rise has increased since the AR4 because of the improved physical

understanding of the components of sea level, the improved agreement of process-based models with observations, and

the inclusion of ice-sheet dynamical changes. {13.3–13.5}

• Global mean sea level rise for 2081–2100 relative to 1986–2005 will likely be in the ranges of 0.26 to 0.55 m for RCP2.6,

0.32 to 0.63 m for RCP4.5, 0.33 to 0.63 m for RCP6.0, and 0.45 to 0.82 m for RCP8.5 (medium conﬁdence). For RCP8.5,

the rise by the year 2100 is 0.52 to 0.98 m, with a rate during 2081 to 2100 of 8 to 16 mm yr

–1

(medium conﬁdence).

These ranges are derived from CMIP5 climate projections in combination with process-based models and literature

assessment of glacier and ice sheet contributions (see Figure SPM.9, Table SPM.2). {13.5}

• In the RCP projections, thermal expansion accounts for 30 to 55% of 21st century global mean sea level rise, and glaciers

for 15 to 35%. The increase in surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet will exceed the increase in snowfall, leading to

a positive contribution from changes in surface mass balance to future sea level (high conﬁdence). While surface melt-

ing will remain small, an increase in snowfall on the Antarctic ice sheet is expected (medium conﬁdence), resulting in a

negative contribution to future sea level from changes in surface mass balance. Changes in outﬂow from both ice sheets

combined will likely make a contribution in the range of 0.03 to 0.20 m by 2081−2100 (medium conﬁdence). {13.3−13.5}

• Based on current understanding, only the collapse of marine-based sectors of the Antarctic ice sheet, if initiated, could

cause global mean sea level to rise substantially above the likely range during the 21st century. However, there is

medium conﬁdence that this additional contribution would not exceed several tenths of a meter of sea level rise during

the 21st century. {13.4, 13.5}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• The basis for higher projections of global mean sea level rise in the 21st century has been considered and it has been

concluded that there is currently insufﬁcient evidence to evaluate the probability of speciﬁc levels above the assessed

likely range. Many semi-empirical model projections of global mean sea level rise are higher than process-based model

projections (up to about twice as large), but there is no consensus in the scientiﬁc community about their reliability and

there is thus low conﬁdence in their projections. {13.5}

• Sea level rise will not be uniform. By the end of the 21st century, it is very likely that sea level will rise in more than about

95% of the ocean area. About 70% of the coastlines worldwide are projected to experience sea level change within 20%

of the global mean sea level change. {13.1, 13.6}

E.7 Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles

Climate change will affect carbon cycle processes in a way that will exacerbate the increase

of CO

in the atmosphere (high conﬁdence). Further uptake of carbon by the ocean will

increase ocean acidiﬁcation. {6.4}

• Ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO

will continue under all four RCPs through to 2100, with higher uptake for higher

concentration pathways (very high conﬁdence). The future evolution of the land carbon uptake is less certain. A majority

of models projects a continued land carbon uptake under all RCPs, but some models simulate a land carbon loss due to

the combined effect of climate change and land use change. {6.4}

• Based on Earth System Models, there is high conﬁdence that the feedback between climate and the carbon cycle is

positive in the 21st century; that is, climate change will partially offset increases in land and ocean carbon sinks caused

by rising atmospheric CO

. As a result more of the emitted anthropogenic CO

will remain in the atmosphere. A positive

feedback between climate and the carbon cycle on century to millennial time scales is supported by paleoclimate

observations and modelling. {6.2, 6.4}

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

(m)

2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100

Year

RCP2.6

RCP4.5

RCP6.0

RCP8.5

Mean over

2081–2100

Global mean sea level rise

Figure SPM.9 | Projections of global mean sea level rise over the 21st century relative to 1986–2005 from the combination of the CMIP5 ensemble

with process-based models, for RCP2.6 and RCP8.5. The assessed likely range is shown as a shaded band. The assessed likely ranges for the mean

over the period 2081–2100 for all RCP scenarios are given as coloured vertical bars, with the corresponding median value given as a horizontal

line. For further technical details see the Technical Summary Supplementary Material {Table 13.5, Figures 13.10 and 13.11; Figures TS.21 and TS.22}

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Earth System Models project a global increase in ocean acidiﬁcation for all RCP scenarios. The corresponding decrease in

surface ocean pH by the end of 21st century is in the range

of 0.06 to 0.07 for RCP2.6, 0.14 to 0.15 for RCP4.5, 0.20 to

0.21 for RCP6.0, and 0.30 to 0.32 for RCP8.5 (see Figures SPM.7 and SPM.8). {6.4}

• Cumulative CO

emissions

for the 2012 to 2100 period compatible with the RCP atmospheric CO

concentrations, as

derived from 15 Earth System Models, range

from 140 to 410 GtC for RCP2.6, 595 to 1005 GtC for RCP4.5, 840 to 1250

GtC for RCP6.0, and 1415 to 1910 GtC for RCP8.5 (see Table SPM.3). {6.4}

• By 2050, annual CO

emissions derived from Earth System Models following RCP2.6 are smaller than 1990 emissions (by

14 to 96%). By the end of the 21st century, about half of the models infer emissions slightly above zero, while the other

half infer a net removal of CO

from the atmosphere. {6.4, Figure TS.19}

• The release of CO

or CH

to the atmosphere from thawing permafrost carbon stocks over the 21st century is assessed to

be in the range of 50 to 250 GtC for RCP8.5 (low conﬁdence). {6.4}

E.8 Climate Stabilization, Climate Change Commitment and Irreversibility

Cumulative emissions of CO

largely determine global mean surface warming by the late 21st

century and beyond (see Figure SPM.10). Most aspects of climate change will persist for many

centuries even if emissions of CO

are stopped. This represents a substantial multi-century

climate change commitment created by past, present and future emissions of CO

. {12.5}

• Cumulative total emissions of CO

and global mean surface temperature response are approximately linearly related (see

Figure SPM.10). Any given level of warming is associated with a range of cumulative CO

emissions

, and therefore, e.g.,

higher emissions in earlier decades imply lower emissions later. {12.5}

• Limiting the warming caused by anthropogenic CO

emissions alone with a probability of >33%, >50%, and >66% to

less than 2°C since the period 1861–1880

, will require cumulative CO

emissions from all anthropogenic sources to stay

between 0 and about 1570 GtC (5760 GtCO

), 0 and about 1210 GtC (4440 GtCO

), and 0 and about 1000 GtC (3670

GtCO

) since that period, respectively

. These upper amounts are reduced to about 900 GtC (3300 GtCO

), 820 GtC (3010

GtCO

), and 790 GtC (2900 GtCO

), respectively, when accounting for non-CO

forcings as in RCP2.6. An amount of 515

[445 to 585] GtC (1890 [1630 to 2150] GtCO

), was already emitted by 2011. {12.5}

From fossil fuel, cement, industry, and waste sectors.

Quantiﬁcation of this range of CO

emissions requires taking into account non-CO

drivers.

The ﬁrst 20-year period available from the models.

This is based on the assessment of the transient climate response to cumulative carbon emissions (TCRE, see Section D.2).

Table SPM.3 | Cumulative CO

emissions for the 2012 to 2100 period compatible with the RCP atmospheric concentrations simulated by the CMIP5

Earth System Models. {6.4, Table 6.12, Figure TS.19}

Scenario

Cumulative CO

Emissions 2012 to 2100

GtC GtCO

Mean Range Mean Range

RCP2.6 270 140 to 410 990 510 to 1505

RCP4.5 780 595 to 1005 2860 2180 to 3690

RCP6.0 1060 840 to 1250 3885 3080 to 4585

RCP8.5 1685 1415 to 1910 6180 5185 to 7005

Notes:

1 Gigatonne of carbon = 1 GtC = 10

grams of carbon. This corresponds to 3.667 GtCO

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• A lower warming target, or a higher likelihood of remaining below a speciﬁc warming target, will require lower cumulative

emissions. Accounting for warming effects of increases in non-CO

greenhouse gases, reductions in aerosols, or the

release of greenhouse gases from permafrost will also lower the cumulative CO

emissions for a speciﬁc warming target

(see Figure SPM.10). {12.5}

• A large fraction of anthropogenic climate change resulting from CO

emissions is irreversible on a multi-century to

millennial time scale, except in the case of a large net removal of CO

from the atmosphere over a sustained period.

Surface temperatures will remain approximately constant at elevated levels for many centuries after a complete cessation

of net anthropogenic CO

emissions. Due to the long time scales of heat transfer from the ocean surface to depth, ocean

warming will continue for centuries. Depending on the scenario, about 15 to 40% of emitted CO

will remain in the

atmosphere longer than 1,000 years. {Box 6.1, 12.4, 12.5}

• It is virtually certain that global mean sea level rise will continue beyond 2100, with sea level rise due to thermal

expansion to continue for many centuries. The few available model results that go beyond 2100 indicate global mean

sea level rise above the pre-industrial level by 2300 to be less than 1 m for a radiative forcing that corresponds to CO

concentrations that peak and decline and remain below 500 ppm, as in the scenario RCP2.6. For a radiative forcing that

corresponds to a CO

concentration that is above 700 ppm but below 1500 ppm, as in the scenario RCP8.5, the projected

rise is 1 m to more than 3 m (medium conﬁdence). {13.5}

Figure SPM.10 | Global mean surface temperature increase as a function of cumulative total global CO

emissions from various lines of evidence. Multi-

model results from a hierarchy of climate-carbon cycle models for each RCP until 2100 are shown with coloured lines and decadal means (dots). Some

decadal means are labeled for clarity (e.g., 2050 indicating the decade 2040−2049). Model results over the historical period (1860 to 2010) are indicated

in black. The coloured plume illustrates the multi-model spread over the four RCP scenarios and fades with the decreasing number of available models

in RCP8.5. The multi-model mean and range simulated by CMIP5 models, forced by a CO

increase of 1% per year (1% yr

–1

simulations), is given by

the thin black line and grey area. For a speciﬁc amount of cumulative CO

emissions, the 1% per year CO

simulations exhibit lower warming than those

driven by RCPs, which include additional non-CO

forcings. Temperature values are given relative to the 1861−1880 base period, emissions relative to

1870. Decadal averages are connected by straight lines. For further technical details see the Technical Summary Supplementary Material. {Figure 12.45;

TS TFE.8, Figure 1}

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000

Cumulative total anthropogenic CO

emissions from 1870 (GtCO

)

Temperature anomaly relative to 1861–1880 (°C)

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Cumulative total anthropogenic CO

emissions from 1870 (GtC)

2500

2050

2100

2030

2050

2100

2050

2030

2010

2000

1980

1890

1950

2050

RCP2.6 Historical

RCP4.5

RCP6.0

RCP8.5

RCP range

1% yr

-1

1% yr

-1

range

SPM

Summary for Policymakers

• Sustained mass loss by ice sheets would cause larger sea level rise, and some part of the mass loss might be irreversible.

There is high conﬁdence that sustained warming greater than some threshold would lead to the near-complete loss of

the Greenland ice sheet over a millennium or more, causing a global mean sea level rise of up to 7 m. Current estimates

indicate that the threshold is greater than about 1°C (low conﬁdence) but less than about 4°C (medium conﬁdence)

global mean warming with respect to pre-industrial. Abrupt and irreversible ice loss from a potential instability of marine-

based sectors of the Antarctic ice sheet in response to climate forcing is possible, but current evidence and understanding

is insufﬁcient to make a quantitative assessment. {5.8, 13.4, 13.5}

• Methods that aim to deliberately alter the climate system to counter climate change, termed geoengineering, have been

proposed. Limited evidence precludes a comprehensive quantitative assessment of both Solar Radiation Management

(SRM) and Carbon D ioxide Removal (CDR) and their impact on the climate system. CDR methods have biogeochemical

and technological limitations to their potential on a global scale. There is insufﬁcient knowledge to quantify how

much CO

emissions could be partially offset by CDR on a century timescale. Modelling indicates that SRM methods, if

realizable, have the potential to substantially offset a global temperature rise, but they would also modify the global

water cycle, and would not reduce ocean acidiﬁcation. If SRM were terminated for any reason, there is high conﬁdence

that global surface temperatures would rise very rapidly to values consistent with the greenhouse gas forcing. CDR and

SRM methods carry side effects and long-term consequences on a global scale. {6.5, 7.7}

Box SPM.1: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)

Climate change projections in IPCC Working Group I require information about future emissions or concentrations

of greenhouse gases, aerosols and other climate drivers. This information is often expressed as a scenario of human

activities, which are not assessed in this report. Scenarios used in Working Group I have focused on anthropogenic

emissions and do not include changes in natural drivers such as solar or volcanic forcing or natural emissions, for

example, of CH

and N

For the Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC, the scientiﬁc community has deﬁned a set of four new scenarios, denoted

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs, see Glossary). They are identiﬁed by their approximate total

radiative forcing in year 2100 relative to 1750: 2.6 W m

-2

for RCP2.6, 4.5 W m

-2

for RCP4.5, 6.0 W m

-2

for RCP6.0,

and 8.5 W m

-2

for RCP8.5. For the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) results, these values

should be understood as indicative only, as the climate forcing resulting from all drivers varies between models

due to speciﬁc model characteristics and treatment of short-lived climate forcers. These four RCPs include one

mitigation scenario leading to a very low forcing level (RCP2.6), two stabilization scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP6),

and one scenario with very high greenhouse gas emissions (RCP8.5). The RCPs can thus represent a range of 21st

century climate policies, as compared with the no-climate policy of the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios

(SRES) used in the Third Assessment Report and the Fourth Assessment Report. For RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, radiative

forcing does not peak by year 2100; for RCP2.6 it peaks and declines; and for RCP4.5 it stabilizes by 2100. Each

RCP provides spatially resolved data sets of land use change and sector-based emissions of air pollutants, and it

speciﬁes annual greenhouse gas concentrations and anthropogenic emissions up to 2100. RCPs are based on a

combination of integrated assessment models, simple climate models, atmospheric chemistry and global carbon

cycle models. While the RCPs span a wide range of total forcing values, they do not cover the full range of emissions

in the literature, particularly for aerosols.

Most of the CMIP5 and Earth System Model simulations were performed with prescribed CO

concentrations

reaching 421 ppm (RCP2.6), 538 ppm (RCP4.5), 670 ppm (RCP6.0), and 936 ppm (RCP 8.5) by the year 2100.

Including also the prescribed concentrations of CH

and N

O, the combined CO

-equivalent concentrations are 475

ppm (RCP2.6), 630 ppm (RCP4.5), 800 ppm (RCP6.0), and 1313 ppm (RCP8.5). For RCP8.5, additional CMIP5 Earth

System Model simulations are performed with prescribed CO

emissions as provided by the integrated assessment

models. For all RCPs, additional calculations were made with updated atmospheric chemistry data and models

(including the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate component of CMIP5) using the RCP prescribed emissions

of the chemically reactive gases (CH

, N

O, HFCs, NO

, CO, NMVOC). These simulations enable investigation of

uncertainties related to carbon cycle feedbacks and atmospheric chemistry.