Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
It's a tough time to be a glacier. Scientists expected Venezuela's Humboldt Glacier to last another decade, but in 2024 it melted into an ice field, shrinking to under two hectares. This marks the loss of the country's last glacier and signals a grim future for others. Scientists warn that glaciers in countries like Germany and Mexico will also disappear as fossil fuel consumption accelerates global warming. Communities depending on glaciers for fresh water face challenges, as glaciers in mountain ranges like the Andes provide vital drinking and irrigation water for millions of people.
However, about 80% of global glaciers, excluding polar ice sheets, could survive if countries rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical glaciers in regions such as the Andes, East Africa, and Indonesia, however, are unlikely to recover due to higher temperatures. Despite pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, current projections suggest a rise of 3°C, potentially raising sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100, threatening island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction.
A proposal to protect ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland involves a 62-mile-long removable underwater curtain, but experts like James Kirkham from the International Cryosphere Initiative caution that such measures are distractions from the real issue: halting global heating. Without decisive action, glaciers will continue to melt, and more countries will lose their ice. The urgency of addressing climate change has never been clearer, and the world's glaciers can't afford any more delays.
Current projections of global warming at 3°C above pre-industrial levels suggest that the human race ______.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → is on the brink of disaster and self-destruction
The passage says that in spite of the Paris pledges, current projections point to a rise of 3°C, which could raise sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100 and threaten island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction. A warming that humans themselves are causing and that could destroy whole nations shows mankind standing at the edge of disaster. To be on the brink of something is to be very close to it.
Example: The company was on the brink of collapse when the new order arrived.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: has effectively stopped the rise in global temperatures — Incorrect. Contradicted: the projection of a 3°C rise shows that temperatures are still rising, far above the 1.5°C limit.
Option 3: is conscious of the climate threat and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions — Incorrect. Misread: the passage says glaciers could survive if countries reduce emissions; it does not say emissions have come down. The 3°C projection points the other way.
Option 4: is strictly adhering to the pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement — Incorrect. Contradicted: the pledge was to limit warming to 1.5°C; a projected rise of 3°C shows the world is not keeping that pledge.