2019: Climate Change – The Year the Earth Cried Out for Attention
written by Mariagiovanna Pais
Picture this: it’s 2019, and you step outside to an unusually hot autumn day. You’re in a city that rarely sees temperatures above 25°C in October, but here you are, sweating in what should be sweater weather. Maybe it’s a fluke, you think. But deep down, you know it’s more than that. The climate is changing, and this year, it feels impossible to ignore.
In every corner of the globe, the signs are becoming impossible to shrug off. Whether it’s the relentless wildfires scorching the Australian outback or the dramatic flooding in Venice, the Earth seems to be sending us a message: it’s stressed, and it’s about time we paid attention.
So, What Exactly Is Going On?
Climate change isn’t just some vague idea about the future anymore. It’s a reality we’re all living in, right now. The air feels hotter, the storms are stronger, the winters are weirder. What’s happening is that human activity—mainly burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas—has been pumping excessive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This isn’t new news. We’ve known about this for decades. What’s changed is how fast it’s accelerating.
These gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂), act like a blanket around the planet, trapping heat that would otherwise escape into space. So, our planet is heating up—year after year, we break temperature records. But this isn’t just about temperatures climbing a degree or two. That’s enough to throw entire ecosystems off balance.
The Year of Extremes
If you had to sum up 2019 in one phrase, it might be the year of extremes. Heatwaves in Europe baked the continent with temperatures soaring above 40°C, and record-breaking wildfires in the Amazon earned the ominous nickname “the lungs of the Earth are burning.” Across the Pacific, residents in California, who have become all too familiar with wildfires, saw their communities threatened yet again.
Meanwhile, Venice—one of the world’s most iconic cities—was under siege by devastating floods, a reminder that rising sea levels are not just an abstract concept. They’re real, and they’re coming for coastal cities faster than we anticipated. This year, the Arctic also made headlines. Ice loss in Greenland hit record levels, with scientists warning that we’re approaching a tipping point from which we may not be able to recover.
The People Pushing Back
If the Earth was crying out in 2019, so were its people. This year has been a landmark in climate activism. From school strikes to massive global protests, a new generation stepped forward to demand that leaders start taking climate change seriously. At the center of this wave was a then 16-year-old Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg. What started as a solitary school strike outside the Swedish Parliament grew into a global movement.
Millions of students worldwide took to the streets, demanding that politicians stop sitting on their hands. The message was loud and clear: Do something now, before it’s too late. It wasn’t just the young, though. Across generations, people are starting to grasp the seriousness of the crisis. And while there’s still a lot of frustration at how slowly governments are moving, 2019 saw a noticeable shift. The pressure is building, and change feels inevitable—if not fast enough.
Are We Finally Ready for Action?
In the halls of power, the response to climate change still feels sluggish. Sure, countries signed on to the Paris Agreement a few years back, promising to keep global warming below 2°C, and ideally closer to 1.5°C. But commitments are one thing; action is another. In 2019, the spotlight was on whether countries would actually make good on their promises.
The United Kingdom set a bold goal: net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, becoming the first major economy to do so. Meanwhile, European countries were leading the charge with renewable energy adoption, while cities around the world began transitioning to greener transportation options like electric buses and bikes.
Still, we’re not there yet. Fossil fuels remain the dominant source of energy for much of the world. And with every ton of CO₂ that enters the atmosphere, the window for averting the worst effects of climate change shrinks a little more. But it’s not all doom and gloom—there’s also incredible innovation happening right now. Clean energy technology is advancing faster than ever. Solar and wind are becoming cheaper and more accessible, and industries once reliant on fossil fuels are starting to explore greener alternatives.
What Can We Do—Right Now?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The scale of the problem is enormous. But 2019 has shown us that individual action and collective pressure can make a difference. Every small change counts. Whether it’s cutting down on single-use plastics, switching to renewable energy in your home, or simply spreading awareness, we all have a role to play.
And then there’s voting. If this year has taught us anything, it’s that climate policy can’t wait. It’s not something we can leave for the next election cycle. It needs to be a priority—right now.
Looking Forward
As the year ends, we’re standing on the brink of a new decade, and the choices we make in the next few years will shape the future of the planet for generations. 2019 will likely be remembered as the year the climate crisis became impossible to ignore, a year when the environment fought back and people worldwide began demanding change.
The question is: Will 2020 be the year we finally start doing something about it?