In recent times you might have come across various news about an increase in natural disasters, an extension of various animal species, melting of glaciers at a much faster pace and their link to the term climate change but are those disasters actually ‘natural’ or destructive gifts by humankind?
So when energy from the sun is reflected off the earth and back into space by the atmosphere, clouds, and land, ice and water surfaces, the planet cools. But currently, when the earth absorbs sun’s energy, the greenhouse gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane prevent heat released by the earth from radiating into space (the greenhouse effect) and hence the planet warms.
Who Is Responsible For Change In Climate Temperature?
Change in global temperature could be due to natural processes like the sun’s radiations, volcanic eruptions, ocean currents and changes in naturally occurring greenhouse gas concentrations. But a survey of over 12000 science abstracts confirms that 97% of climate scientists agree that global warming is real and very likely human cost.
The average temperature of Earth has already increased by 1 degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution began roughly around the year 1880. It is the warmest temperature in the last 10,000 years. This 1-degree increase in temperature is equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs exploding each day. According to NOAA’s 2020 Annual Climate Report, the combined land and ocean temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.08 degrees Celsius per decade since 1880; however, the average rate of increase since 1981 (0.18°C ) has been more than twice that rate. On a record, the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 2005, and 7 of the 10 have occurred just since 2014. Looking back to 1988, a pattern emerges: except for 2011, as each new year is added to the historical record.
Impacts Of Climate Change
Many physical impacts of climate change are already visible, including extreme weather events, glacier retreats, changes in the timing of seasonal events (e.g., earlier flowering of plants), declines in Arctic sea ice and sea levels are rising by a mark of 3 mm per year globally. The ocean has taken up between 20% and 30% of human-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide since the 1980s, leading to ocean acidification. The ocean is also warming and since 1970 has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system. Entire coastal cities such as Miami, Osaka, Mumbai and entire islands in North Pacific could submerge underwater within the next 80 years.
Climate change makes food insecurity worse in many places and puts pressure on the freshwater supply. As ocean temperatures rise, hurricanes are getting stronger and wetter, which can cause direct and indirect deaths. Dry conditions lead to more wildfires, which bring many health risks. Higher incidences of flooding can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, injuries, and chemical hazards.
The Paris Agreement Impropriety
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century.
But we are on the verge to hit the 1.5 degree C mark by 2030. If the world takes a carbon-intensive pathway, global warming could climb to 3.3–5.7 degrees C higher than pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. To put that in perspective, the world has not experienced global warming of more than 2.5 degrees C for more than 3 million years, a period with a very different climate system. It could mean catastrophe within our own lifetime.
