Blog Post Image: Cool heads likely won’t prevail in a hotter, wetter world

Researchers from Princeton University and the University of California-Berkeley suggest that more human conflict is a likely outcome of climate change. The researchers found that 1 standard-deviation shift — the amount of change from the local norm — in temperature and precipitation greatly increase the risk of personal violence and social upheaval. Climate-change models predict an average of 2 to 4 standard-deviation shifts in global climate conditions by 2050 (above), with 4 representing the greatest change in normal conditions. (Image by Science/AAAS)