CLIMATE CHANGE - CAUSES,EFFECT,AND SOLUTION / GLOBLE WARMING

 Global climate change is the long-term shift in weather patterns globally. It is

a holistic concept which refers to the changes in a region’s overall weather

patterns including precipitation, temperature, cloud cover and other such

conditions which prevail for a longer period of time.

The concept emphasises on the change in Earth’s average temperature. Weather

includes the short-term changes witnessed in a region’s temperature, humidity,

clouds and precipitation etc. The weather may vary from one day to another and

morning to evening. However, the climate is the weather condition prevailing over

an area for a longer period of time.

Evidences of Climate Change

There are several indicators to show that climate is changing. Some of them are

mentioned below :

- According to the scientists the accumulation of heat in the oceans is the

strongest evidence of how fast Earth is warming. In recent years, oceans have

absorbed 90% of the extra heat trapped by increasing greenhouse gases.

- Lower troposphere temperature as measured by satellites showed that 2010s

was the warmest decade. The specific humidity has risen with change in

temperature which indicates that the climate is changing.

-Sea level has risen at an accelerating rate. There have been net loss of ice

from glaciers worldwide. Northern Hemisphere snow cover has also decreased

in recent decades.

 -Changes in rainfall and weather patterns also indicate towards the climate

change.

- The climate change phenomena made favourable conditions for desert locusts to

breed consists of moist sand and green vegetation in the desert region of

Africa and Arabian Peninsula.

-Other factors like earlier unfolding of new leaves in spring, changes in bird

migration patterns etc also show that climate is changing.

Factors Responsible for Climate Change

The Earth’s climate is dynamic and always changing through a natural cycle but

the climate changes that are occuring today have been speeded up because of

man’s activities. The causes of climate change can be divided into two

categories-Natural and Man-made.

Natural Causes of Global Climate Change

There are a number of natural factors responsible for climate change. Some of

them are as follows

Continental Drift The continents that we are familiar today are parts of large

landmass that began gradually drifting apart, millions of years back. This drift

of continents continue even today and has an impact on climate because it

changed the physical features of the landmass, their position and the position

of water bodies. For instance, the Himalayan range is rising by about 1 mm

every year because the Indian landmass is moving towards the Asian landmass,

slowly but steadily.

 Volcanoes When a volcano erupts, it throws out large volume of SO2, water

vapour, dust and ash into the atmosphere. These gases and ash can influence

climate patterns for years.

 Ocean Currents and La Nina and EI Nino Effects Ocean currents have

been known to change direction or slow down and hence have an impact

on the climate. The fluctuations in EI Nino and La Nina lead to the

interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere resulting in the variaton

of global temperature. Such variations last for several days and hence impact

the climate.

Geothermal Energy The geothermal energy produced due to the heat and

decay of radioactive compounds below the surface of the earth is one of the

contributing factors to the rising temperatures.

Human Causes

There are several human factors which lead to climate change. Some of them are

as follows

 Industrial Revolution The Industrial revolution in the 19th century saw the

large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities. The burning of fossil fuel

is the largest source of greenhouse gases. It was responsible for rise in global

temperature.

Deforestation More and more land that was covered with vegetation has been

cleared to make way for houses. Natural resources are being used extensively

for construction, industries, transport and consumption. These are the factors

responsible for global warming.

Greenhouse Gases Effect Anything that has an impact on the amount of

energy being absorbed and radiated from the sun is a contributor to the global

climate change. One such process is the greenhouse gas effect which leads to

the global warming. The human activities have led to the rise in greenhouse

gases which have resulted in global warming. The GHGs have the potential to

trap the heat from the atmosphere and keep the earth warm. Besides

deforestation, emissions from the vehicles and industrial effluents are some of

the causes of the rising of GHGs in the atmosphere.

Effects of Climate Change

Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers

have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal

ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.

Climate change has resulted in more heat waves, droughts, floods or intense rain.

The rising ocean temperature and acidity seriously impacts the existence of flora

and fauna in marine ecosphere. Due to melting of glaciers and subsequent rise in

sea level the future of port cities looks grim which can impact millions worldwide.

Climate change is likely to contribute substantially to food insecurity in the future

by increasing food prices and reducing food production. Due to increase in

extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, heavy rainfall and

heat waves, the extent and frequency of vector borne diseases may increase.

Climate change also result in enhanced land degradation and expansion of

sub-tropical deserts. Ocean acidification due to climate change also poses a serious

threat to underwater life, particularly creatures with calcified shells or skeletons

like oysters, clams and corals.

Climate change create an imbalance in the natural ecosystem by disruption in

timing of seasonal life cycle events, range shifts and food web of many species.

There will be an affect on the basis necessities such as water supplies, air quality

and supply of electricity.

Suggestions and Initiatives

All these hint towards a dire need of the urgent steps to be taken in order to

reduce the greenhouse effect. People can make a difference by changing their

everyday habits and lifestyle. The problem of global warming can be controlled by

minimising the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment.

To secure water supplies, societies have traditionally used ‘grey infrastructure’ such

as pipelines, dams and man-made reservoirs. However, ‘green infrastructure’ uses

natural or semi-natural systems to provide similar benefits with positive long-term

environmental consequences.

First the Amazon, then California, then Australia-wildfires were catastrophic in

2019. Our preventive efforts to reduce the spread of wildfires often involve the

removal of forests to create a firebreak (a strip of land devoid of flora). It can be

reduced if we promote and work for reforestation.

Cities are significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside.

This ‘urban heat island effect’ has many causes. Urban tree cover is a win-win

solution for our cities. Trees cool the surrounding air by releasing water through

their leaves.

By 2050 sea levels could be so high that 300 million people in coastal

communities will face severe floods every year. There are some coastal ecosystems

that can act as cost-effective seawalls. Mangrooves and coral reefs, for instance,

cause waves to break before they hit the shore. With this, there would be minimal

destruction of lives and properties.

Steps Taken by Government of India for climate change

In the recent past the Government has taken number of initiatives to combat the

challenge of climate change. Some of the key initiatives of Government of India

include the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), National

Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC), Climate Change Action Programme

(CCAP) and State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC).

Further, the ambitious goal of generating 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022,

smart cities, electric vehicles, energy efficiency initiatives, leapfrogged from Bharat

Stage–IV to Bharat Stage–VI emission norms by April 2020 etc., have been

undertaken proactively to minimise the impact of climate change.

UN Initiative in Fight Against Climate Change

At global stage, IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was founded

in 1988 by the World Meterological Organisation (WMO) and UNEP jointly as a

place to study global warming problems at a governmental level. In 1994,

UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) came into

force and is considered as the Parent Treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

Their objective is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a

level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

Later initiatives include REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation), REDD+, establishment of Green Climate Fund, etc.

The Paris Climate Change Agreement came up in 2015 within the aegis of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a giant leap in this

direction. Under the agreement, the countries are expected to set their own targets

for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Here the

target is not to give legal binding commitment, but the countries need to update

them every five years. The agreement is scheduled to go into effect from 2020.

More than 60 countries at UN Action Summit 2019 on 21st September, 2019

agreed to revise contributions to fight against greenhouse gas emissions.

Conclusion

Restoring and protecting nature is one of the greatest strategies for tackling

climate change. It not only sucks carbon dioxide out the air but forests, wetlands

and other ecosystems act as buffers against extreme weather, protecting crops,

water resources and vital infrastructures. Thus, there is a need to put check on

and contain the rising menace of climate change with the joint efforts of the

people, countries and the global environment regulators so that the problem of

global climate change can be reversed.