Climate change is arguably one of the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. So what is climate change and how does it affect people’s lives?
Climate change is a term used to refer to a change in climate caused mainly by anthropogenic changes in the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. This change in combination with natural fluctuations of nature leads to changes in climate over time. In a word, climate change is the change of the climate system from the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere to the lithosphere in the present and in the future.
Global climate change comes from two groups: objective causes and subjective causes.
According to research by scientists, the impact of humans on the natural environment is the cause of climate change. Accordingly, the increase in CO2 due to industrial production, deforestation, water use as well as other harmful gases is the cause of the above situation.
Here are 10 effects of Climate change you should know!
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The effects of climate change
Sea level rise is one of the 10 effects of climate change
Rising sea levels are caused by increasing temperatures on Earth. Rising temperatures cause ice sheets to melt faster, causing sea and ocean levels worldwide to rise.
We can easily see that the area of glaciers around the world is gradually shrinking. The tundra (high land where trees cannot grow and develop) was once covered by permafrost, now under the influence of high temperatures, the ice has melted and the life of plants on This land also appeared.
Hotter temperatures
In the past 50 years, the frequency of heat waves has increased by 2-4 times. It is likely that in the next 40 years, the number of heat waves will increase 100 times.
According to experts, the heat will increase the number of forest fires, the types of diseases, and the average temperature on the planet in the future will also increase.
Storms and floods
Statistics show that, in just the last 30 years, Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes have doubled.
The warm waters increased the strength of the storms. It is the high temperatures in the ocean and in the atmosphere that drive the storm’s speed to terrifying levels.
Drought
While some parts of the world are suffering from flooding due to sea level rise and storm surges, in many other places, drought is raging.
Experts estimate that drought will increase by at least 66% due to a warmer climate.
Frequent droughts will shrink water supplies, reduce the quality of agricultural products, and make global food supplies precarious.
Pandemic
Increasing temperatures combined with floods and droughts are becoming a threat to global population health. Because this is the ideal habitat for mosquitoes, parasites, mice, and many other disease-carrying organisms to thrive.
Economic collapse
Floods, along with losses in the agricultural industry, have caused billions of dollars in damage. Besides, governments also need a large amount of money to handle and control the spread of the disease.
In 2005, a historic hurricane hit Louisiana, causing a 15% drop in income levels in the months following the hurricane, and an estimated $135 billion in property damage.
While people have to deal with rising food and fuel prices, governments are also suffering from a drop in tourism revenue and a drop in industrial profits. In contrast, the demand for energy, food, clean water, and the cost of post-disaster cleanup activities are always increasing, along with border instability.
According to the prediction of the Institute of Global Environment and Development at Tufts University, USA, the cost of fighting climate change by 2100 will reach 20 trillion USD.
Reducing biodiversity
Rising temperatures have pushed many species to the brink of decline or extinction. If the average temperature increases from 1.1ºC to 6.4ºC, 30% of present plant and animal species will be at risk of extinction by 2050.
The cause of the extinction is the shrinking habitat of plant and animal species, the phenomenon of desertification, deforestation, and warmer water in the oceans, while many species do not. able to adapt to these changes in a timely manner.
Humans cannot escape the effects of climate change either. Desertification and rising sea levels directly threaten human habitats. As plants and animals decrease in number, the supply of food, fuel, and even human income will also decrease.
Destroy the ecosystem
Changes in climate conditions and rapidly increasing carbon dioxide emissions have severely affected ecosystems, freshwater supplies, air, fuel, clean energy, food, and health.
Under the influence of temperature, air, and melting ice, the number of coral reefs tends to decrease. That said, both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are suffering from the impacts of floods, droughts, wildfires, as well as ocean acidification.
Ice shakes more
Climate change is destabilizing the ice sheets. Scientists have recorded increased earthquakes from Alaska to Antarctica. They can occur in freeze-thaw cycles, or when blocks of ice collapse. This discovery will help to more accurately predict the fate of the ice shelves as well as the impact of climate change in the future.
The river changes color
The rivers in America are not what they used to be. In addition to being ravaged by drought, a report earlier this year found that a third of rivers in the US have changed color. The study used satellite data from 1984 to 2018 to catalog rivers more than 2 kilometers long across the country.
The results show that major changes are taking place. Scientists speculate that impacts from agricultural runoff, fluctuating flows of the rivers themselves, and rising water temperatures due to climate change may be to blame. Even so, the team notes that discolored rivers do not necessarily mean they are in decline.
Final thought
Climate change has been a thorny issue to deal with, therefore, we need to raise awareness of natural protection and limit materials consumption to keep nature in check.
Top News hopes this article can help you understand the harmful effects the climate change and the importance of the natural environment.
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