--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As best as can be determined, the world…" description: "\"As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and, if current trends continue, by the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fec/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_century_as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-i_433620.png" --- # As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than… ![“As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and, if current trends continue, by the end of the century it will likely be hotter than at any point in the last two million years.” quote by Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fec/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_century_as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-i_433620.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fec/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_century_as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-i_433620.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fec/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_century_as-best-as-can-be-determined-the-world-i_433620.png) > “As best as can be determined, the world is now warmer than it has been at any point in the last two millennia, and, if current trends continue, by the end of the century it will likely be hotter than at any point in the last two million years.” [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity has caused unprecedented warming, surpassing natural climate variations over millennia, and will likely exceed any temperature in the past two million years if trends persist. **In simple terms:** Human-caused warming is unprecedented and will likely keep rising. Key Takeaway Act now to curb emissions. Themes climate change environment future human impact Mood urgent concerned Type scientific call‑to‑action When to use this quote - policy making - education - personal lifestyle changes - business sustainability Key Concepts anthropogenic warming geological timescales feedback loops Questions to Reflect On - What policies could most effectively reduce emissions? - How can individuals influence large-scale climate action? A Different Perspective Mitigation requires global cooperation and immediate action, which is politically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) [Trends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trends/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Just six years into the 21st century, one can say this is not shaping up to be anything like an American century. 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O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“Africa remains a small part of the world economy until 2070, when it begins to expand rapidly, reaching 14 percent, the same size as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-j-siegel/africa-remains-a-small-part-of-the-world-economy-until-2070-when-it/) [Jeremy J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-j-siegel/) > [The human race may well become extinct before the end of the century. 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According to their predictions, by the 2040s such summers will be happening every other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/but-the-latest-climate-models-paint-a-very-bleak-picture-according-to/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [I fully expected that, by the end of the century, we would have achieved substantially more than we actually did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-fully-expected-that-by-the-end-of-the-century-we-would-have/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Civilization as we know it will come to an end sometime in this century unless we can find a way to live without fossil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goodstein/civilization-as-we-know-it-will-come-to-an-end-sometime-in-this/) [David Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goodstein/) ## More by Elizabeth Kolbert > [“The size of the greenhouse forcing is estimated, at this point, to be 2.5 w/m2. A miniature Christmas light gives off about four tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-size-of-the-greenhouse-forcing-is-estimated-at-this-point-to-be-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Well in the scientific there is virtually no debate over certain things. For example, that we are changing the world. Humans are changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/well-in-the-scientific-there-is-virtually-no-debate-over-certain/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Humans will eventually become extinct. 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Or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/as-the-effects-of-global-warming-become-more-and-more-difficult-to/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [I traveled really to amazing places. I went to the Great Barrier Reef, I went to the Amazon, I went to the Andes, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/i-traveled-really-to-amazing-places-i-went-to-the-great-barrier-reef/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“At the Biesbosch nature center, I met up with a water-ministry official named Eelke Turkstra. Turkstra runs a program called Ruimte voor de Rivier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/at-the-biesbosch-nature-center-i-met-up-with-a-water-ministry/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Darwin’s familiarity with human-caused extinction is also clear from On the Origin of Species. 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