Climate change in the world can be caused by various activities. When climate change occurs; temperatures can increase drastically. When the temperature rises, many alterations can occur on Earth. For example, it can result in more floods, droughts, or severe rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some changes: oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these changes frequently occur in the future, they will likely present challenges to our society and environment.
Throughout the past century, human activities have released immense amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy. After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on the planet. But its benefits disguise enormous dangers to the planet, to life. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world with up to 2.8bn tons, surpassed only by China and the US.
Greenhouse gases are like a blanket around the Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This is called the greenhouse effect and it is natural and necessary to support life on earth. However, while greenhouse gases buildup, climate changes and result in dangerous effects on human health and ecosystems. People have adapted to the stable climate we have enjoyed since the last ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warmer climate can bring changes that can affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our health and safety. Some climate changes are unavoidable and nothing can be done about it. For example, carbon dioxide can linger in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so Earth will continue to warm in the future.
Global warming has taken effect in the world over the last century. It is the unusually rapid increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil fuels. Global warming is due to the enhancing of greenhouse gases emission and build-up in the Earth’s environment. The gases that influence the atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, dinitrogen-oxide, and methane. Almost 30 percent of incoming sunlight is reflected into space by bright surfaces like clouds and ice. In the other 70 percent, most is absorbed by the land and ocean and then is further absorbed by the atmosphere. The absorbed solar energy heats our planet. This absorption and radiation of heat by the atmosphere is beneficial for life on Earth. Today, the atmosphere contains more greenhouse gas molecules, so more of the infrared energy emitted by the surface ends up being absorbed by the atmosphere. By increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases, we are making Earth’s atmosphere a more effective greenhouse.
Climate has cooled and warmed throughout the Earth's history for various reasons. Accelerated warming like we see today is unusual in the history of our planet. Some of the factors that affect climates, like volcanic eruptions and changes in the amount of solar energy, are expected. Climate can change if there is a change in the amount of solar energy that gets to the Earth. Volcano eruptions can affect climate because when it erupts it spews out more than just lava, ash, and toxic gases. These particles get into the stratosphere and reflect solar radiation out to space. Snow and ice also have a great effect on the climate. When snow and ice melt Earth’s climate warms, less energy is reflected and this causes even more warming. There are many different ways that plants, animals, and other life on our planet can affect climate. Some can produce greenhouse gases that trap heat and aid global warming through the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by plants as they make their food by photosynthesis. During the night, plants also release some carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Methane is made while farm animals, such as cattle and sheep digest their food. Cars and trucks can affect the climate by releasing carbon dioxide when fossil fuels are burned to power them. When a wildfire occurs, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Presently, record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fueled a series of massive bushfires across Australia. However, if a forest of similar or more size grows again, about the same amount of carbon that was added to the atmosphere during the fire will be eliminated.
Though it is required to control global warming, weather control is not one of them. China spent millions on a suspicious project known as cloud seeding to control the weather ahead of the Beijing Olympics by making it rain sooner than it has to. This could have a variety of effects on the country or even the world.
Some outcomes that scientists have predicted in the past when a global change would occur were loss of sea ice, accelerated sea-level rise, and more intense heat waves. Scientists have certainty that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. This has been the warmest decade since 1880. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016 and 2019 have been the warmest years on record.
The earth could warm by an additional 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 21st century if we fail to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The rising temperature will have great effects on the earth’s climate patterns and all living things. Industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Some countries have strict laws that control CO2 emissions. These countries are:
Norway
United Kingdom
Switzerland
Germany
France
Austria
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Luxembourg
And by coincidence, they all lie in Europe. They are the greenest countries around the world. Countries around the world should follow their good examples immediately.
We need to take part and make an attempt to stop or at least slow down global warming and other effects on climate change. Here are some international organizations which help preserve nature:
Summing up, if the earth’s temperatures continue to rise in the future, living things on earth would become extinct due to the high temperatures. If humans contribute to control global warming, this world would be cooler and this world would be a safer place to live on.
/Migration-Workers.jpg "Migrant workers in Kathmandu queue for labour department documents authorising them to leave Nepal. Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images")
/409818_120173_800_auto_jpg.jpg "Photo: KCNA")
