What if the global temperature increased by 5 percent?

Answer 1

A 5% increase in temperature represents an increase of approx 13.5 degrees Celsius or 22.5 deg F. A large part of the planet would become arid. Depending on how rapidly the change took place, many life forms, including plants and animals would be unable to adapt. Without plants there would be no food for any animal that did manage to adapt quick enough.

The polar ice caps and glaciers would melt with the resulting changes in sea levels. It is quite likely that the gulf stream and other major oceanic currents that drive the climate will change drastically.

Basically a major disaster.