What is climate change? its effect and causing

What is climate change? The answer to this question has become extremely important for everyone today. Topics like climate change, global warming, greenhouse gases are interconnected and are being discussed worldwide today, as this issue is related to our life pattern.

What is climate change

It cannot be denied that climate change is the biggest challenge facing human society at present and it has become a great necessity at the present time. Statistics show that the average surface temperature of the Earth's surface has risen by about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (i.e. about 0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. Apart from this, sea level has also been increased by about 8 inches since last century. And it is increasing day by day. Statistics make it clear that this is the time to seriously consider climate change.

In this article, we will discuss in detail the topics of climate change, the causes of climate change, its effects, global efforts to deal with it. So let's first know what is climate change?

What is climate change?

Before understanding climate change, it is necessary to understand what is climate. Climate means the average season of any region over a long period of time. And the change seen in the average weather of a particular region is called Climate Change.

Climate change can also be felt in a particular place or the whole world. In the present context, its impact is being seen almost all over the world. The weather in different places of the world is showing changes from normal to large. Any such change can have a major impact on mankind. Glaciers are melting as the Earth's temperature rises and the water level of the oceans continues to increase day by day, resulting in an increased risk of natural disasters and the sinking of some islands.

The climate here has changed many times in the entire history of the earth and many incidents of climate change have come to light. According to scientists studying the Earth, the temperature of the Earth is constantly increasing. Earth's temperature has risen to 0.75 ° C (1.4 ° F) in the last 100 years. Even though this change in Earth's temperature seems small, it can have a big impact on Homo sapiens.

What is climate change simple definition?

Climate change is the long-term change of temperature and specific weather patterns in one place. The reason for the current climate change is large scale human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels like forests, natural gas, oil, and coal. Due to which greenhouse gases are deposited in the earth's atmosphere.

What is climate change for kids?

Climate change is the change observed in the average season of a particular region at a given time. For example, 2016 is the hottest year in the last 150 years.             

What is causing climate change?

There are many reasons for climate change. These have some natural causes as well as human reason. The main reason for this is as follows.

Natural causes of climate change

According to science, the earth has gone through hot and cold phases in the past; there has been a great stir on the earth from time to time Due to which the shape of its surface along with the creatures have been changing. Climate change has also occurred due to natural causes such as high-intensity earthquakes, the intensity of the sun, volcanic eruptions, floods, etc. caused by the movement of the Earth's tectonic plate.

Human causes of climate change

The human causes of climate changes are depicted as follows.

Greenhouse gases:

A layer of Heat (radiation) trapping gas remains in the atmosphere around the Earth; this layer contains gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and fluorinated gas. This layer of greenhouse gases serves to maintain the temperature balance on the Earth's surface. According to scientists, if this layer is not there, the temperature of the Earth will be reduced considerably.

As human activities are increasing after the start of the Industrial Revolution, the greenhouse gases emission is also increasing and due to which the global temperature is increasing day by day.

Total greenhouse gas emissions have increased by nearly 80% since 1970, which is equivalent to an atmospheric concentration of 473 ppm CO₂e, a radioactive forcing of 283mW / m ^ 2.

According to NASA, "These natural causes still persist today, but they have little effect or occur more slowly than the rapid heat observed in recent decades."

Land use change

Deforestation for development construction or other private use is also a major factor in climate change. Trees give us fruits and shade, as well as absorb important greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The way trees are being harvested at the present time for National Highway, School, Collage, Play Ground etc. is quite worrisome, as the trees act as natural instruments absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is decreasing day by day.

Urbanization

With increasing urbanization, agricultural land is decreasing. People cut large forests and settle the city. Also, due to increasing urbanization and industrialization, there has been a lot of change in the way people live. People are using different types of vehicles. The number of vehicles on the roads has increased considerably. Due to which the contribution of hazardous gases has increased considerably.

Effects of climate change

High temperature

The global average temperature has been steadily increasing over the last 150 years and the year 2016 is recorded as the hottest year. Emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation, power plants, automobiles and other sources are heating the Earth relatively quickly. Increased temperature can also be considered as a reason for the rise in heat related deaths and diseases, rising sea level, increase in storm intensity and many other dangerous consequences of climate change. According to a research, if the issue of greenhouse gases emissions is not taken seriously and efforts are not made to reduce it, by the end of the century the average surface temperature of the earth can rise by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Change in rainfall pattern

As a result of climate change, irregularities of floods, droughts, and rains, etc. have increased considerably in the last few decades. Rainfall is not there on time, there is too much rain in some places, due to lack of water in some places leads to drought, it is the effect of climate change.

Sea level rise

The glacier is melting day by day due to global warming globally. Because of this, the sea level of the sea is rising. The effect of rising water levels increases the risk of submergence of islands around the sea. People living in small island countries like the Maldives are already looking for alternative destinations.

Loss of wildlife species

Some bird species are on the verge of extinction due to the constant rise in temperature and changes in vegetation patterns. According to experts, one-fourth of the Earth's species may become extinct by the year 2050. In the year 2008, the polar bear was added to the list of animals that could become extinct due to the rise in sea level.

Disease spread and economic loss

Day and day new diseases are visible. The corona epidemic that started at the end of the year 2019 is also a reason for climate change. Due to this, more than 5 lakh people have been killed all over the world till now. According to experts, as a result of climate change in the future, diseases like malaria and dengue will increase more and will be difficult to control. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, over 150,000 people have died due to heatwaves since the last decade.

Forest fire

Long-lasting heat waves due to climate change has created hot and dry conditions suitable for wildfires. According to data from the National Institute for Space Research-INPE based in Brazil, Brazil's Amazon Forests have faced a total of 74,155 times since January 2019. It has also been revealed that the incidence of fire in the Amazon forest has increased by 85 percent since the last year (2018).

A fire in various areas of the Australian state of New South Wales from September 2019 to March 2020 destroyed an estimated 18.6 million hectares (46 million acres; 186,000 square kilometers; 72,000 square miles) of the forest, 5,900 buildings (including 2,779 homes). This killed at least 34 people, as well as nearly three billion terrestrial vertebrates alone, most of which are reptiles. The fire caused some endangered species to become extinct. Air quality in all the southern and eastern states fell to alarming levels.

Climate change and food security:

In Europe, crop yields are falling due to the heatwave. Food crop problems can arise due to reduced crop yield due to climate change, as well as problems such as land degradation.

Different countries in Asia and Africa depends on imported foods. Due to the rapidly rising temperature, these areas may come under the grip of drought. According to the IPCC report, low altitude areas are already witnessing a decline in yields of crops such as wheat and corn due to rising temperatures.

Increasing carbon content in the environment is decreasing the nutritional quality of crops. For example, due to high carbon environment, nutritional deficiency of wheat is decreasing from 6% to 13% of protein, 4% to 7% of zinc, and 5% to 8% of iron.

The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index is a price measure of 9 crops that hit a decade low in May. The volatility of this index reflects the volatility of food security.

Global efforts to tackle climate change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations body for conducting scientific assessments related to climate change. It was founded in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). IPCC has 195 member countries.

It aims to provide regular scientific assessment to policymakers to strategize to mitigate climate change, its effects, and future potential risks as well as adaptation in climate change. This institution provides scientific information to governments at all levels which can be used to develop a liberal policy towards climate.

The IPCC assessment plays an important role in international negotiations to combat climate change.

United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

It is an international agreement aimed at controlling the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This agreement was reached during the Earth Conference of June 1992. It was implemented on March 21, 1994, after the signing of the agreement by various countries.

Since 1995, annual UNFCCC annual meetings are held. It was in this year that the famous Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 and the target was set by the developed countries (countries included in Annex-1) to control greenhouse gases. Under the Kyoto Protocol, 40 industrialized countries have been placed on a separate lists Annex-1.

The annual meeting of the UNFCCC is known as the Conference of the Parties (COP).

Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is an international agreement to deal with climate change. From 30 November to 11 December 2015, representatives of governments of 195 countries discussed a possible new global agreement to deal with it in Paris.

The Paris Agreement, with 32 pages and 29 articles, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is a recognized historic agreement to curb global warming.

Conclusion: At present, it is the biggest challenge facing human society and in the present times, reducing or completely reducing it has become a big necessity.

In the end

In this post, you have learned what is climate change, as well as causing, effect, Global efforts to tackle it, etc. Hope you all like this article. You are requested; please share this article so that it can reach as many people as possible. We look forward to your support so that I can write more new articles.

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