Countdown clock in NYC’s Union Square ticks below 5 years – what it means

NEW YORK (PIX11) – A large countdown clock in New York City’s Union Square has now ticked below five years – inching ever closer to the ominous outcome it’s trying to warn against.

The Climate Clock is an 80-foot-wide digital clock installed on the face of a building on East 14th Street overlooking Union Square Park in Manhattan. The clock counts down how much time humanity has left to take action to prevent the worst effects of climate change from becoming irreversible.

As of Wednesday, the world has four years and 362 days remaining to take meaningful action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius , according to the Climate Clock. The 1.5-degree threshold is the “point of no return that science tells us is likely to make the worst climate impacts inevitable,” the Climate Clock’s website says.

“The clock will continue to run down until it hits zero, at which time our carbon budget would be depleted and the likelihood of devastating global climate impacts would be very high,” the Climate Clock’s website says. “We must take action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions toward zero as quickly as possible within this critical time window for action.”

Climate activists say a radical transition away from the use of fossil fuels is necessary to combat climate change. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are the largest contributor to climate change, according to the United Nations . They account for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming and climate change, according to the U.N.

“As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change,” the U.N.’s website says. “The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.”

On Monday, the creators of the Climate Clock took part in a collective day of action among climate activists around the world to pressure leaders and people in power to divest from the use of fossil fuels.

Monday also broke the record for the hottest day ever on Earth, the Associated Press reported .

Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here .

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