Earth's climate has changed throughout our history. The planet's average temperature has risen by almost 1.14 Celsius since the 19th century, largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming had taken place in the last 40 years, with the six warmest years on record taking place since 2014. So, what is the difference between climate change and global warming? Global warming is to do with the long-term warming of the planet whereas climate change refers to the broader range of changes, these include: rising sea levels, accelerating ice melt; especially in places like Greenland and Antarctica. Certain gasses block heat from escaping, which ultimately lead to the ‘Greenhouse effect’, major masses include: Carbon dioxide, Methane, CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons), Water vapour and Nitrous oxides.
It has been approximately 80 years since the first calculations showed the earth was warming due to rising greenhouse gas emissions. Many people argue that global warming is a warming phenomenon. In 1896, Swedish scientist and Nobel prize winner, Svante Arrhenius, explained how CO2 negatively influences the climate. He suggested how increasing emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels could lead to global warming. In 1938, Guy Callendar first showed how the earth's temperature was already increasing. In between ice ages, the earth's atmosphere contained around 0.03% of CO2, today it's around 0.04%, however, you may be thinking that this is still an infinitesimally small number. The light emitted by the sun contains a broad spectrum of light. Almost half of that light reaches earth is either reflected by clouds or absorbed by the atmosphere. The rest reaches earth's surface and is absorbed by the land, sea and plants, warming the earth's surface.
So, how is climate change affecting our lives? The same fossil fuel emissions that lead to the greenhouse effect also lead to respiratory diseases such as asthma. Air pollution kills almost 7 million people worldwide every year (according to the WHO). as our globe warms, glaciers melt and ocean water expands, leading to the sea level to rise about 7 to 8 inches since 1900. The added volume of water is slowly swallowing land and homes and fuels more flooding. In the United States, from 2005 to 2015, the annual number of floods more than doubled on the east coast. In Miami, even residents living further away from the beach could be forced to relocate. Lower-income people of color and immigrants could lose their homes to more wealthy residents who want to move away from the coast into homes that are safer from water. The same CO2 we accumulate from fossil fuels also changes the composition of fruits and vegetables we eat, making them less nutritious. Extra CO2 is speeding up the photosynthesis and causes plants to grow with more sugar and less calcium, zinc, protein and important vitamins. According to Harvard researchers, if we don't reduce our carbon
emissions, by the middle of the century about 175 million people could have a zinc deficiency and 122 million people could have a protein deficiency due to changes in plant physiology.
There are various ways to stop global warming. These include: using electric vehicles, using renewable energy (i.e.: wind and solar), recycling etc. Climate change has contributed to changing patterns of extreme weather across the globe. After reading this, are you going to change your lifestyle to help save our planet?
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