6 degrees of warming (cont.) - 2 degrees today...

The second of a series of posts providing poems by Mark Cowan written for a Teachers TV programme but not used in their entirety. See previous post(s) for more details.

2 Degrees of Warming

As we shift from one to two
These sums appear so slow
But the changes start to multiply
To spread, to shift, to grow.

With two degrees insects migrate
To Britain, alluring and warm
And malaria carrying mosquitoes
Could hover, pester and swarm.

Our warmer climes could bring tourists
With Britain’s beaches revived.
But warming means melting
And melting means ice caps
So will these beaches survive?

Water sports could make a splash
In the newly warmed North Sea.
But this is climate change
And there is no clear guarantee.

For heavier rain with warmer conditions
Might make our sewers flood
Water quality could be threatened
And turned to the colour of mud.

As sea levels rise
So do the waves
Crunching against the shore
Will beaches be scoured and worn away?

What changes lie in store?

Copyright: Mark Cowan

Comments