This is an excellent question! And a complicated one to answer because it involves lots of different parts, but let me try! Lots of you might have heard that globally, we are trying to limit global warming to 1.5°C in the next decades. Whilst this might sound like a small number, it actually reflects an average of temperature increases and decreases all around the world. The reason that 1.5°C has been identified is that if we go past this temperature rise the world is likely to experience extreme events such as heatwaves, forest fires and flooding more frequently – but the world won’t be uninhabitable. 

The world will not become uninhabitable because we will be able to adapt – already, lots of people are adapting to climate change around the world. For example, in Australia we are managing forests differently to prevent big burn events from happening. Scientists and Indigenous people are working together to reduce forest fires and protect natural environments, wildlife, and people. Australia is also protecting important ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef – the National Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program is working to help the reef adapt and recover from the impacts of climate change. 

We are long way away from an uninhabitable temperature! It could take many thousands of years for temperatures to be too severe for people to live. But we want to protect people today and future generations from extreme weather events and other impacts of climate change. To do so, people around the world will need to act fast to make changes. If we can manage to greatly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (such as carbon dioxide, CO2, by driving less or by burning less fossil fuels like coal) we can limit climate change.