Goals in place, but time’s running out

In July, the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province experienced what some meteorologists have labeled a once-in-a-thousand-years event. In just over four days, the city nearly exceeded its annual average rainfall, and the resulting flood displaced millions of people from their homes. Disasters such as this are a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of a rapidly changing climate.

This is just one of several extreme climate-related events that have occurred around the world this summer that include massive floods, severe droughts and catastrophic wildfires.