What is climate change? Weather is in terms of everyday climate of a region which varies from day to day, whereas climate is a phenomenon that is experienced by a region over a couple of months for e.g. summer season. Climate change is a long-term shift in the climate of a specific location, region or planet. The shift is measured by changes in features associated with average weather, such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. What most people don’t know is that a change in the variability of climate is also considered climate change, even if average weather conditions remain the same. What causes climate change? Climate has changed since prehistoric times but these changes were due to natural processes. The changes can be caused by natural processes like volcanic eruptions, variations in the sun's intensity, or very slow changes in ocean circulation or land surfaces which occur on time scales of decades, centuries or longer. But… humans also cause climates to change by releasing greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere, by changing land surfaces, and by depleting the stratospheric ozone layer. It’s the human-induced enhanced greenhouse effect that causes environmental concern, because it has the potential to warm the planet at a rate that has never been experienced in human history. Earth is heated by sunlight. Most of the sun's energy passes through the atmosphere, to warm the earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere. However, in order to keep the atmosphere's energy budget in balance, the warmed earth also emits heat energy back to space as infrared radiation. As this energy radiates upward, most is absorbed by clouds and molecules of greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere. These re-radiate the energy in all directions, some back towards the surface and some upward, where other molecules higher up can absorb the energy again. This process of absorption and re-emission is repeated until, finally, the energy does escape from the atmosphere to space However, because much of the energy has been recycled downward, surface temperatures become much warmer than if the greenhouse gases were absent from the atmosphere. This natural process is known as the greenhouse effect. Carbon Dioxide or CO2 is the most significant greenhouse gas released by human activities, mostly through the burning of fossil fuels. It is the main contributor to climate change. Methane is produced when vegetation is burned, digested or rotted with no oxygen present. Garbage dumps, rice paddies, and grazing cows and other livestock release lots of methane Nitrous oxide can be found naturally in the environment but human activities are increasing the amounts. Nitrous oxide is released when chemical fertilizers and manure are used in agriculture. Water vapour is the most common greenhouse gas. But others that are very important too. Some occur naturally and some come from human activity. The effect of these gases is as follows: Because we burn fossil fuels to heat our homes, run our cars, produce electricity, and manufacture all sorts of products, we’re adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. By increasing the amount of these gases, we’ve enhanced the warming capability of the natural greenhouse effect.
State the effects of climate change? Climate change is more than a warming trend (which is why the term “global warming” is an inaccurate description of the phenomenon). Increasing temperatures will lead to changes in many aspects of weather, such as wind patterns, the amount and type of precipitation, and the types and frequency of severe weather events. Such climate change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social and economic consequences. The global sea level could rise due to several factors including melting ice and glaciers. Also the permafrost layers of the glaciers will melt which will result in the release of green house gases trapped in their core. Rising sea levels could damage coastal regions through flooding and erosion. The climate of various regions could change too quickly for many plant and animal species to adjust. Harsh weather conditions, such as heat waves and droughts, could also happen more often and more severely. Climate change could also affect health and well-being. Many larger cities could experience a significant rise in the number of very hot days. Air pollution problems would increase, placing children, the elderly and people suffering from respiratory problems at greatest risk of health effects. Increases in moulds and pollens due to warmer temperatures could also cause respiratory problems such as asthma for some people. Rise in temperature will affect bio diversity. It will affect aquatic animals as they would not be adapted to the changing climate and may die. Due to climate change several species of butterflies have become extinct in North America. Melting of glaciers will result in changing of sea routes which will mean more human intervention in regions which were naturally protected. On the whole the flora fauna of a region will be harmed. Climate change has affected the corals too. The algae which give colour to the corals are on the verge of extinction as they are not able to adapt to the changing temperatures. Some scientists believe that the increased intensity and frequency—now every two to three years—of El Niño and La Niña events in recent decades is due to warmer ocean temperatures resulting from global warming. El Niño is a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that periodically develops off the western coast of South America and can cause climatic changes across the Pacific Ocean. There is a phase of 'El Niño–Southern Oscillation' (ENSO), which refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (El Niño and La Niña) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. The two variations are coupled: the warm oceanic phase, El Niño, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western Pacific, while the cold phase, La Niña, accompanies low air surface pressure in the western Pacific. The extremes of this climate pattern's oscillations cause extreme weather (such as floods and droughts) in many regions of the world. In a 1998 report, scientists from NOAA explained that higher global temperatures might be increasing evaporation from land and adding moisture to the air, thus intensifying the storms and floods associated with El Niño. Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer. Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favourably to increased atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities.
One can say that climate change is a global impact. Below are some of the regional impacts of global change forecast by the IPCC: • North America: Decreasing snowpack in the western mountains; 5-20 percent increase in yields of rain-fed agriculture in some regions; increased frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in cities that currently experience them. • Latin America: Gradual replacement of tropical forest by savannah in eastern Amazonia; risk of significant biodiversity loss through species extinction in many tropical areas; significant changes in water availability for human consumption, agriculture and energy generation. • Europe: Increased risk of inland flash floods; more frequent coastal flooding and increased erosion from storms and sea level rise; glacial retreat in mountainous areas; reduced snow cover and winter tourism; extensive species losses; reductions of crop productivity in southern Europe. • Africa: By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to increased water stress; yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent in some regions by 2020; agricultural production, including access to food, may be severely compromised. • Asia: Freshwater availability projected to decrease in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia by the 2050s; coastal areas will be at risk due to increased flooding; death rate from disease associated with floods and droughts expected to rise in some regions. State the steps taken to remedy the effects of climate change Climate change affects the entire globe. Therefore several steps have to be taken to reduce its effects and stopping it from occurring. As green house gases are a major cause for climate change we can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, plant more trees, save electricity and use public transport to reduce the release of greenhouse gases. Developed and developing countries are working together to find solutions to climate change. In June 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was signed by 154 countries that agreed to stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that won’t cause harm. In December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, Canada and 160 industrialized nations committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as part of an international agreement on climate change called the Kyoto Protocol.
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, andvolcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming".[1] Climate change as a phenomenon
The ongoing anthropogenic climate change is mainly caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. If emissions continue to rise at the present rate, the global average surface temperature will rise between two and six degrees by the end of this century due to the amplification of the greenhouse effect. In some parts of the world, changes in precipitation will lead to more severe droughts and in others, an increased risk of flooding.
Climate research experts agree that there has been a stagnation in global warming since 2000. Increased release of GHG emissions in the 1980s and 1990s led to a new atmospheric high of 400 ppm vs 310 ppm in 1962. An entirely possible 500 ppm GHG concentration or more in the next 40 years spells severe survival problems for all life.
Even though global warming has slowed in recent years, the long term trend is clear: the annual average rate of increase in atmospheric C02 has been going up steadily decade to decade – more than doubling at 2.1 ppm per year for the last 10 years vs 0.9 ppm per year 50 years ago! Statistical variations may suggest a temporary cooling effect, but the long term trend largely due to GHG emissions is for more global warming.
The sharp contrast with the stagnation in average earth temperature increases over the last 12 years and the expected cooling down over the next 15 years has climate change skeptics crying “lies” to predictions that CO2 pollution is the cause of climate change. Nevertheless, ice-free Arctic summers could occur as early as 2014. The Arctic permafrost could disappear in 5 years. An ecologically calamitous earth-warming of 2 degrees Celsius or more – accelerated by a potentially massive release of Arctic methane – could envelop planet earth by 2050.
Climate change mitigation are actions to limit the magnitude and/or rate of long-term climate change.[2] Climate change mitigation generally involves reductions in human (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).[3] Mitigation may also be achieved by increasing the capacity of carbon sinks, e.g., through reforestation.[3] By contrast, adaptation to global warming are actions taken to manage the eventual (or unavoidable) impacts of global warming,[4] e.g., by building dikes in response to sea level rise.[5]
Examples of mitigation include switching to low-carbon energy sources, such as renewable and nuclear energy, and expanding forests and other "sinks" to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.[3] Energy efficiency can also play a major role,[6] for example, through improving the insulation of buildings.[7] Another approach to climate change mitigation isgeoengineering.[8]
The main international treaty on climate change is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).[9] In 2010, Parties to the UNFCCC agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industriallevel.[10] Analysis suggests that meeting the 2 °C target would require annual global emissions of greenhouse gases[11] to peak before the year 2020, and decline significantly thereafter,[12] with emissions in 2050 reduced by 30-50% compared to 1990 levels.[13]Analyses by the United Nations Environment Programme[14] and International Energy Agency[15] suggest that current policies (as of 2012) are too weak to achieve the 2 °C target.
What is climate change?
ReplyDeleteWeather is in terms of everyday climate of a region which varies from day to day, whereas climate is a phenomenon that is experienced by a region over a couple of months for e.g. summer season.
Climate change is a long-term shift in the climate of a specific location, region or planet. The shift is measured by changes in features associated with average weather, such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. What most people don’t know is that a change in the variability of climate is also considered climate change, even if average weather conditions remain the same.
What causes climate change?
Climate has changed since prehistoric times but these changes were due to natural processes. The changes can be caused by natural processes like volcanic eruptions, variations in the sun's intensity, or very slow changes in ocean circulation or land surfaces which occur on time scales of decades, centuries or longer.
But… humans also cause climates to change by releasing greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere, by changing land surfaces, and by depleting the stratospheric ozone layer. It’s the human-induced enhanced greenhouse effect that causes environmental concern, because it has the potential to warm the planet at a rate that has never been experienced in human history.
Earth is heated by sunlight. Most of the sun's energy passes through the atmosphere, to warm the earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere. However, in order to keep the atmosphere's energy budget in balance, the warmed earth also emits heat energy back to space as infrared radiation. As this energy radiates upward, most is absorbed by clouds and molecules of greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere. These re-radiate the energy in all directions, some back towards the surface and some upward, where other molecules higher up can absorb the energy again. This process of absorption and re-emission is repeated until, finally, the energy does escape from the atmosphere to space However, because much of the energy has been recycled downward, surface temperatures become much warmer than if the greenhouse gases were absent from the atmosphere. This natural process is known as the greenhouse effect.
Carbon Dioxide or CO2 is the most significant greenhouse gas released by human activities, mostly through the burning of fossil fuels. It is the main contributor to climate change.
Methane is produced when vegetation is burned, digested or rotted with no oxygen present. Garbage dumps, rice paddies, and grazing cows and other livestock release lots of methane
Nitrous oxide can be found naturally in the environment but human activities are increasing the amounts. Nitrous oxide is released when chemical fertilizers and manure are used in agriculture.
Water vapour is the most common greenhouse gas. But others that are very important too. Some occur naturally and some come from human activity.
The effect of these gases is as follows:
Because we burn fossil fuels to heat our homes, run our cars, produce electricity, and manufacture all sorts of products, we’re adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. By increasing the amount of these gases, we’ve enhanced the warming capability of the natural greenhouse effect.
fatema,umaima,ainee
State the effects of climate change?
ReplyDeleteClimate change is more than a warming trend (which is why the term “global warming” is an inaccurate description of the phenomenon). Increasing temperatures will lead to changes in many aspects of weather, such as wind patterns, the amount and type of precipitation, and the types and frequency of severe weather events. Such climate change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social and economic consequences.
The global sea level could rise due to several factors including melting ice and glaciers. Also the permafrost layers of the glaciers will melt which will result in the release of green house gases trapped in their core. Rising sea levels could damage coastal regions through flooding and erosion. The climate of various regions could change too quickly for many plant and animal species to adjust. Harsh weather conditions, such as heat waves and droughts, could also happen more often and more severely.
Climate change could also affect health and well-being. Many larger cities could experience a significant rise in the number of very hot days. Air pollution problems would increase, placing children, the elderly and people suffering from respiratory problems at greatest risk of health effects. Increases in moulds and pollens due to warmer temperatures could also cause respiratory problems such as asthma for some people.
Rise in temperature will affect bio diversity. It will affect aquatic animals as they would not be adapted to the changing climate and may die. Due to climate change several species of butterflies have become extinct in North America. Melting of glaciers will result in changing of sea routes which will mean more human intervention in regions which were naturally protected. On the whole the flora fauna of a region will be harmed.
Climate change has affected the corals too. The algae which give colour to the corals are on the verge of extinction as they are not able to adapt to the changing temperatures.
Some scientists believe that the increased intensity and frequency—now every two to three years—of El Niño and La Niña events in recent decades is due to warmer ocean temperatures resulting from global warming. El Niño is a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that periodically develops off the western coast of South America and can cause climatic changes across the Pacific Ocean. There is a phase of 'El Niño–Southern Oscillation' (ENSO), which refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (El Niño and La Niña) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. The two variations are coupled: the warm oceanic phase, El Niño, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western Pacific, while the cold phase, La Niña, accompanies low air surface pressure in the western Pacific. The extremes of this climate pattern's oscillations cause extreme weather (such as floods and droughts) in many regions of the world.
In a 1998 report, scientists from NOAA explained that higher global temperatures might be increasing evaporation from land and adding moisture to the air, thus intensifying the storms and floods associated with El Niño.
Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer.
Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favourably to increased atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities.
One can say that climate change is a global impact. Below are some of the regional impacts of global change forecast by the IPCC:
ReplyDelete• North America: Decreasing snowpack in the western mountains; 5-20 percent increase in yields of rain-fed agriculture in some regions; increased frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in cities that currently experience them.
• Latin America: Gradual replacement of tropical forest by savannah in eastern Amazonia; risk of significant biodiversity loss through species extinction in many tropical areas; significant changes in water availability for human consumption, agriculture and energy generation.
• Europe: Increased risk of inland flash floods; more frequent coastal flooding and increased erosion from storms and sea level rise; glacial retreat in mountainous areas; reduced snow cover and winter tourism; extensive species losses; reductions of crop productivity in southern Europe.
• Africa: By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to increased water stress; yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent in some regions by 2020; agricultural production, including access to food, may be severely compromised.
• Asia: Freshwater availability projected to decrease in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia by the 2050s; coastal areas will be at risk due to increased flooding; death rate from disease associated with floods and droughts expected to rise in some regions.
State the steps taken to remedy the effects of climate change
Climate change affects the entire globe. Therefore several steps have to be taken to reduce its effects and stopping it from occurring.
As green house gases are a major cause for climate change we can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, plant more trees, save electricity and use public transport to reduce the release of greenhouse gases.
Developed and developing countries are working together to find solutions to climate change. In June 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was signed by 154 countries that agreed to stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that won’t cause harm. In December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, Canada and 160 industrialized nations committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as part of an international agreement on climate change called the Kyoto Protocol.
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, andvolcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming".[1]
ReplyDeleteClimate change as a phenomenon
The ongoing anthropogenic climate change is mainly caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. If emissions continue to rise at the present rate, the global average surface temperature will rise between two and six degrees by the end of this century due to the amplification of the greenhouse effect. In some parts of the world, changes in precipitation will lead to more severe droughts and in others, an increased risk of flooding.
Climate research experts agree that there has been a stagnation in global warming since 2000. Increased release of GHG emissions in the 1980s and 1990s led to a new atmospheric high of 400 ppm vs 310 ppm in 1962. An entirely possible 500 ppm GHG concentration or more in the next 40 years spells severe survival problems for all life.
ReplyDeleteEven though global warming has slowed in recent years, the long term trend is clear: the annual average rate of increase in atmospheric C02 has been going up steadily decade to decade – more than doubling at 2.1 ppm per year for the last 10 years vs 0.9 ppm per year 50 years ago! Statistical variations may suggest a temporary cooling effect, but the long term trend largely due to GHG emissions is for more global warming.
The sharp contrast with the stagnation in average earth temperature increases over the last 12 years and the expected cooling down over the next 15 years has climate change skeptics crying “lies” to predictions that CO2 pollution is the cause of climate change. Nevertheless, ice-free Arctic summers could occur as early as 2014. The Arctic permafrost could disappear in 5 years. An ecologically calamitous earth-warming of 2 degrees Celsius or more – accelerated by a potentially massive release of Arctic methane – could envelop planet earth by 2050.
Climate change mitigation are actions to limit the magnitude and/or rate of long-term climate change.[2] Climate change mitigation generally involves reductions in human (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).[3] Mitigation may also be achieved by increasing the capacity of carbon sinks, e.g., through reforestation.[3] By contrast, adaptation to global warming are actions taken to manage the eventual (or unavoidable) impacts of global warming,[4] e.g., by building dikes in response to sea level rise.[5]
ReplyDeleteExamples of mitigation include switching to low-carbon energy sources, such as renewable and nuclear energy, and expanding forests and other "sinks" to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.[3] Energy efficiency can also play a major role,[6] for example, through improving the insulation of buildings.[7] Another approach to climate change mitigation isgeoengineering.[8]
The main international treaty on climate change is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).[9] In 2010, Parties to the UNFCCC agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industriallevel.[10] Analysis suggests that meeting the 2 °C target would require annual global emissions of greenhouse gases[11] to peak before the year 2020, and decline significantly thereafter,[12] with emissions in 2050 reduced by 30-50% compared to 1990 levels.[13]Analyses by the United Nations Environment Programme[14] and International Energy Agency[15] suggest that current policies (as of 2012) are too weak to achieve the 2 °C target.