Climate Change: Causes, Effects and Solutions
What is climate change?
“Long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather conditions are referred as Climate change.”
Why climate change, its causes, effects and solutions are widely discussed? It can affect any region of the world. It is an irreversible process for the next hundreds and thousands of years. Scientists claim the Earth will continue to warm and warm and its effects will be severe and severe. Severe weather damage will continue. Temperature will increase. Ice and glaciers will melt. Sea level will increase. More intense heat waves will also be one of the harsh effects of climate change. I’m going to explain briefly but concisely the core causes, harsh effects and crucial suggestions to resist the severe effects of climate change.
Causes of Climate Change
According to science, Greenhouse gases and Human activities are the main causes of climate change. Human activities include burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture and cement production.
1). Greenhouse Gases
The Earth’s atmosphere contains some gases. These gases trap heat and stop it from escaping into space. These gases are called Greenhouse gases, which include CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs. When radiations from the sun reach the Earth, it absorbs most of them with short wavelengths. Longer wavelength infrared radiations are given off by Earth. Greenhouse gases trap these infrared radiations and cause global warming. It’s one of the main causes of Climate Change. As of the end of 2021, Global Greenhouse gas emissions had increased to 44% compared to 1990.
2). Human Activities
Human activities are responsible for the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That’s why there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than in the past 2 million years ago. During the 20th and 21st centuries, carbon dioxide emissions increased by 40%.
i). Burning Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels (Oil, coal and gas) are locked in the ground for thousands of years. These fossil fuels release carbon dioxide when taken out of Earth and burnt. Fossil fuels release more than 70% of the total greenhouse gas emissions.
ii). Deforestation
Forests are a great source of storage and absorbance of CO2. When trees are cut down, carbon dioxide storage is limited. When these cut trees are burnt, they produce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
iii). Agriculture
Planting crops and rearing animals are two of the main sources of greenhouse gases. Animals produce 30 times more powerful methane gas as compared to carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is used in fertilizers, which is 10 times worse than CO2. According to a report in 2011,
Agricultural GHG emissions were expected to be 4.6 billion metric tons up to 2015 worldwide.
iv). Cement Production
Production of cement causes almost 2% of entire carbon dioxide emissions. A recent report shows that Global greenhouse gas emissions from cement production reached 1.7 billion metric tons in 2021.
Effects of Climate Change
The effects of climate change depend upon the emission of carbon dioxide. If CO2 is emitted in a massive amount, the effects will also damage accordingly. The severity of the effects of climate change also depends upon human activities.
i). Increase in temperature
Since 1980, every decade has been hotter than the previous one. The recent 8 years have been the hottest globally. According to a UN report on climate change,
1.1 oC temperature increased than in the 1800s. It also shows that 2011–2020 has been the warmest decade in history.
ii). Longer periods of drought
Climate change is changing water availability. Water shortage in water-stressed regions leads to more agricultural droughts and ecosystem destruction. It leads to an increase in sand deserts. Agricultural and ecological droughts occur 2.4 times more frequently with an increase in each 2 oC temperature.
iii). Increase in severe storms
Warmer wind contains more moisture that, leads to tropical cyclones wetter. The latest report from IPCC shows that rainfall during extreme precipitation increases by about 7% for an increase in temperature each degree on the Celsius scale. Ultimately, it leads to an increase in flooding.
iv). Sea level increase
During the past 3 decades, sea level has increased at an average of 3.4 mm per year. An increase in sea level increases the risk of flooding. Oceans absorb more carbon dioxide making seawater more acidic. Acidic water causes dangers to marine life, the devastation of low-lying regions and densely populated coastal cities.
v). Loss of species
Countless species in the ocean and land are facing the risk of extinction. Climate change causes forest fires, extreme weather conditions and diseases. These severe weather conditions increase the chances of extinction. As of 2023, due to an increase in global temperature of 1.5 C, about 14% of terrestrial species are expected to face extinction.
vi). Human health
Climate change worsens air quality, leading to many diseases, particularly pre-existing illnesses like asthma. Insects causing diseases like malaria spread more in warmer conditions. In recent years, thousands have died from flooding in Pakistan, South Korea and the USA. According to a report,
45 people out of 100,000 could die due to the effects of climate change.
vii). Displacement
Climate change causes food shortage, flooding, water scarcity, sea level rise and economic instability. Due to these causes, people displace from one place to another. Communities with minimal resources suffer more devastatingly. According to a report,
“140 million people are expected to face displacement near 2050.”
Solutions
What is the best solution to avoid the impacts of climate change? The 5 most important suggestions that I would like to be practiced are given below:
· We should advance our policies to fight climate change.
· We should engage with businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
· We should run awareness campaigns in public.
· We should help people and nature adapt to the changing climate.
· We should stop deforestation.
