What is climate change?
Not long ago such a question would have been discarded with the excuse that the change in climate was not really of any importance to man and his survival but that has changed drastically for some time now. The change in climate is now viewed as having a direct negative impact on all activities of man and current studies have showed that if not properly handled, a time will come when it will be very difficult to survive on this earth.
Climate change is seen as the drastic change in the pattern of the various aspects of the climate like temperature, wind and humidity. This change normally lasts for a minimum of ten years. Looking at the current trend of climate change, the worst can only be imagined for mankind. This is due to the fact that man has decided to throw all caution to the wind and engage in the very activities that have been earmarked on accelerating the rate at which the climate changes for the worst. Activities such as burning of fuel to produce energy for the various machines, smoke from industries and indiscriminate cutting down of trees all lead to the recent climate changes making some parts of the world very hot whilst other parts also become very cold. This climate change results in negative effects like high temperature, changing rainfall, rise in sea level, sea ice and ice sheets melting. These are further elaborated below;
- High temperature
The various activities of man has kept on emitting a lot of the harmful substances like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and these substances tend to deplete the protective ozone layer allowing the poisonous ultraviolet rays from the sun to have its full effect on humans. The heat that gets to the earth from the sun is also trapped by the carbon dioxide and other harmful substances in the atmosphere. The trapping of heat from the sun by these greenhouse gases leads to the high temperatures experienced by some parts of the earth. This results in the global phenomenon known as global warming which is the trapping of heat from the sun by the greenhouse gases which in actual fact should have been allowed to escape by the ozone in order to ensure that the temperatures of the various parts of the earth are kept well under control.
- Changing rainfall
Another negative effect of the change in climate is the changing rainfall. Changes in climate have also resulted in the change in rainfall patterns of late. This has led to the torrential downpour of rain in various parts of the world with its accompanying effects like the destruction of properties and loss of lives through flooding among other effects. This is due to the warm climatic conditions being experienced these days which gives way to such heavy downpour of rain. Taking a careful look at the various studies and research that have been conducted into the patterns that rainfall is currently taking will provide one with an insight into what is really in store for certain parts of the world.
- Sea level rises
This is an effect that is experienced in two main ways. The first way is through the rising of temperature of the sea water. When the temperature of the sea water rises, it leads to the expansion of the water molecules which in turn leads to the level of the sea water also rising. The other way is through the melting of the ice on the land. When the weather conditions become very warm, they lead to the melting of ice that has formed on the land and when this ice melts it flows until it joins the sea. This also adds to the level of sea water. When the sea level rises, it leads to flooding of all nearby habitations including towns resulting in the displacement of a lot of people from their homes and destruction of properties. It even some times leads to the loss of lives.
- Sea ice
Studies conducted shows that the temperature of the arctic has increased by a 100% which means that the sea ice in the arctic is really melting at a rate which is very alarming. The effects this intense melting of sea ice in the arctic include the endangering of various species of animals that depend on the ice for their survival and the accompanying increase in global warming and its effects on humankind.
- Ice sheets
Ice sheets are large sizes of ice that has been formed over an area for a very long time and they help in the regulating the atmospheric temperature of the earth. However, due to the increase in activities leading to global warming, it is a known fact that it won’t be long before all these ice glaciers melt away leaving the earth to the full effects of the atmospheric temperatures associated with global warming.
These are some of the effects that climate change, if unchecked, will unleash on all of humankind in the not so long future.