The IPCC has reported that extremes weather conditions will be observed if the Global Warming phenomenon is not tackled now. Drastic cuts should be made to the emissions.
Heatwaves, Drought, and Flood are devastating the land from America, Europe, and China and displacing millions of people from their homes. This is said to worsen after the temperatures keep rising. Global warming, if unchecked will cause the mercury to rise, as reported on the world’s climate.
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What Is Global Warming?
The main driver of global warming is the emissions of greenhouse gases. The burning of fossil fuels for energy is the main reason to release such gases, which includes carbon dioxide and methane.
The Greenhouses gases trap the heat reflected by the surface of the Earth and keep it stuck inside the atmosphere. This trapped heat, in turn, raises the net temperature of the planet that we live on.
Agriculture, deforestation, and manufacturing units also contribute to these greenhouse gases. The rise in temperatures due to global warming is accelerated by the sunlight-reflecting snow, increased water vapor in the atmosphere, and carbon sink changes.
The IPCC is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes and it reports the increase in such impacts and measures the rise in temperature ascertained to it.
Climate changes involve global warming driven by emissions and large-scale shifts in weather. Humans have had a major impact on Earth’s climatic systems and had led to a major change.
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It is theorized that the change in climate is associated with massive changes in the weather. The 6th report by the IPCC has trashed that idea by saying that human-caused climate change is the main reason behind the change in weather. The planet has warmed by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit after the industrial age and is still on the rise. This rise in temperature is manifesting itself by raising the temperature to its extremes.
Feedback Loops Created By Global Warming
Global warming creates feedback loops that create other extreme events. For example, droughts can intensify the heat waves as the Sun will heat the ground easily, without the presence of moisture in the soil to evaporate.
The extreme heat in the Pacific Northwest had shown us how dangerous the heat waves were. Hundred of people had died in June and more than 30 cities had set up their new temperature records. Heatwaves occur when the ridge of high pressure stays over a region and suppresses the formation of clouds. This causes the air to compress and get warmed up. These newly-formed heat domes will associate with cyclonic activity and change the circulation of air currents in the Northern Hemisphere and cause unusual weather patterns.
Fire has also been a part of forests, so when we look back, we can see the evidence of similar fires in our history. These might seem normal but global warming, induced by humans, is altering the ecosystems in a new and rapid way. When a wildfire breaks out, it changes the landscape entirely and the same type of forest does not grow in its place. Forest fires are said to open up the land and can promote the growth of some species in that particular region.
Friederike Otto has stated that the change in climate has caused extreme weather, just like smoking leads to cancer. The damage done is hard to reverse in both cases.
