Though politics and other entertainment news often make headlines, nothing can replace the vitality of climate and its impact. Every alternate day you would find some environmentalists talking about the importance of preserving the planet and positively impacting the overall environment.
In addition, meteorologists across the globe report certain cyclones, storms and natural disasters that often emerge, damaging a thousand lives altogether. The most regular news is melting the Atlantic and Arctic glaciers and rising sea levels.
What do you think is the direct reason for all these climatic hazards?
The reason is adverse climate changes due to irreplaceable human activities that are putting the earth and its life at risk. Climate change is harming human lives, and people are already seeing its effects. Though there is some progress in this field, extensive changes are required to ensure that humans get to live on this planet for millions of years without extreme hazards.
What is Climate Change?
The United Nations defines Climate change as a phenomenon that stands for the long-term changes in weather patterns and geographical temperatures. Such shifts are often natural, primarily depending on the solar cycle and its changes—the dynamic change from the 17th century, when human contributions to the change increased exponentially.
The human contributions here refer to activities like burning fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas. When we burn fossil fuels, it leads to the emergence of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases rise above the atmosphere and form a layer around the earth. The coating does not let the gases and heat exit the atmosphere, thus leading to an exponential increase in the earth’s temperatures.
The primary examples of greenhouse gases that have the most impact are methane and carbon dioxide. These gases emerge from the gasoline burnt while driving cars or heating or cooling a building via air conditioners. Cutting down trees and clearing forests are other promoters of carbon dioxide.
Causes of Climate Change
The primary reason behind climate is global warming. The increasing temperature within the earth’s atmosphere induces such climate change, and this overall warming is known as Global warming. Global warming finds its emergence through a lot of actions conducted by humans.
Let us understand the causes of global warming that induces climate change. The greater detail will help you assume your contributions towards this negative growth and constrain the same for a safer future;
Overfishing
Humans are massive consumers of fish. The omega-3 fatty acids and protein content make fish an irreplaceable part of a human’s diet. The increasing demand for fish results in overfishing by the fishers to amass greater profits. Little do they realize that through these short-term initiatives of gaining wealth, they are putting their future at risk.
Fishes are the primary part of oceanic diversity and play an irreplaceable role in maintaining a balance in aquatic life. Their presence allows the ocean and its flora to survive. Conversely, the lacking company of fish messes up the whole oceanic cycle as the algae content grows in the sea and pollutes the surface. As a result, the ocean’s surface temperature rises by manifolds and contributes to the overall temperature increase.
Booming Industrialization
As much as industrialization is concerned with the overall economic development of a country, it is a significant contributor to deterring climatic conditions. It is because the growing industries are always into manufacturing products that would improve human lives and ease daily struggles. Moreover, the industry goods get sold within and outside the territorial boundaries, resulting massive income for a country.
Nevertheless, the pollution caused by these industries gets ignored. Often you would find dark grey clouds of smoke escaping the chimneys of such huge sectors. Such smoke contributes to air pollution. In addition, the industries dump their chemical waste into the nearby rivers or ponds, thus polluting flora and fauna in that water body. Overall, it induces disastrous harm to the environment that impacts the climate in the long run.
Increasing Consumer Requirements
We, humans, are consumers of comfort and extravagance. We need new clothes and equipment to sustain our daily lives dazzlingly. Little do we understand that our increasing consumerism is harming the planet. often, the products we use are not made of sustainable materials that might cause harm to the earth. After use, we end up dumping the product for nothing. Such products often aren’t biodegradable and stay in the soil or the oceans for years.
Vehicle Movement and Transport
Vehicles are the biggest consumer of fossil fuels in the form of petroleum. Even though electric vehicles have arrived, they are marginal in number compared to the mammoth number of petrol-run vehicles. Besides the vehicles, the airlines and ships running throughout the year consume a humongous amount of fuel and leave dust residue in the atmosphere. Thus, the overt consumption of fossil fuels and going the carbon and chemical air into the air ensure that the climate gets adversely affected. No wonder the seawater and the overall temperature feel so dusty and polluted!
The Infamous Oil Drilling
Humans are very greedy when it comes to garnering profits for our monetary and livelihood benefits. Oil drilling across the ocean shores is pretty standard, keeping in mind the rising oil demands among countries across the globe. The sea bed is a treasury of petroleum, and the oil drilling corporations ensure that they mine out the gold.
Nevertheless, they add 30% of the total methane pollution and 8% of the total carbon dioxide pollution while conducting the drilling procedures. Moreover, during the process, the harmful gases are released to ensure that the planet’s climatic conditions worsen.
Waste
Humans produce a humongous amount of waste daily due to everyday use of various commodities. For example, though numerous firms use paper for packaging, multiple pieces of equipment come in non-degradable goods like plastic. Such non-degradable goods get piled up in landfills and end up staying there to decompose. When decomposing, they release harmful gases that can easily pollute the air. These gases contribute to global warming and ensure that the climate goes downhill.
Deforestation
Who does not understand the relevance of trees on our planet? Trees provide us with oxygen to breathe and absorb the carbon dioxide we release. They offer us food and other necessities to sustain our lives. Unfortunately, when people cut down trees for their benefit, they lose the absorbers of the polluting carbon dioxide gas. Thus, the carbon dioxide gets released into the atmosphere and does the harm it is destined to.
In addition, some people practice slash-and-burn agriculture, which causes more harm. They not only cut down the forest but also burn the lands for greater fertility. The loss of trees and the release of toxic gases do extra harm.
Effects of Climate Change
The effects of climate change can have horrific effects on us and our coming generations;
The sea level is rising.
Since 1880, the global sea level has risen eight inches. Scientists claim that by 2100, the sea level will rise by another foot to add to the woes. If the current carbon consumption continues, floods will become regular, and the ice near the polar caps will continue melting faster.
Stronger hurricanes
The hurricanes will continue gaining strength from the drastic climatic changes. Data shows that since the 1980s, the North-Atlantic storms have grown stronger. Consequently, the frequency of hurricanes increased by manifolds. The continuation of such a situation will cause numerous people to lose their homes and close ones.
A higher number of heat waves and droughts
Warming up the earth’s atmosphere will cause more heat waves across the planet and an increased frequency of droughts. Weird hot weather will last weeks and months more than regular, while droughts will snatch away a million lives, keeping them starving for water.
Altering rainfall patterns
The diverse locations of the planet got habituated to a specific time for rainfall. Depending on the rainfall patterns, the agricultural procedures and cropping differ from one place to another. Climatic changes will induce disruptive rainfall patterns that will spoil the crops.
While some locations will receive intense precipitation leading to flooding, some places will starve from drought.
Rising global temperatures
Temperatures will continue rising across the globe. As a result, Hill stations will no more feel like the cool and breezy retreat you used to enjoy. In addition, people will eventually find it difficult to sustain themselves in the hot weather, with numerous falling ill to geographical circumstances.
The Arctic will lose its ice.
The arctic polar cap is already experiencing thinning ice, with enormous glacier breakages. Climatic changes will make the ice melt, and soon the place might get devoid of all ice!
Final Thoughts
The wake-up call has arrived! If we do not take steps now, our future generations are doomed. Everyone, alongside the world governments, has to collaborate and formulate policies to overturn the harm. Only humans can protect the earth and its residents now!
