What is Global Warming?
In a
nut hell - when you put on a coat, you warm up because you loose less heat.
Similarly, as we put ever more carbon dioxide into the atmoshere, the entite
planet is warming up because it is losing less heat.
Scientifically, it is
the slow increase in the average temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere because an increased amount
of the energy (heat) striking the earth from the sun is being trapped in the
atmosphere and not radiated out into space.
Global
warming is the long-term heating of earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial
period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel
burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in the earth’s
atmosphere. The term is frequently used interchangeably with the term climate change;
though the latter refers to both human- and naturally produced warming and the
effects it has on our planet. It is most commonly measured as the average
increase in earth’s global surface temperature.
Since
the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased earth’s
global average temperature by about 1°C (1.8°F), a number that is currently
increasing by 0.2°C (0.36°F) per decade. Most of the current warming trend is
extremely likely (>95% probability) the result of
human activity since the 1950s and is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over
decades to millennia.
Q1: What causes global warming?
A: Global warming occurs when carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the
atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the
earth’s surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space but these
pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the
heat and cause the planet to get hotter. That's what's known as the greenhouse effect.
In the United States, the burning of
fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping
pollution, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. Coal-burning
power plants are by far the biggest polluters. The country’s second-largest
source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector, which generates about
1.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions a year.
Q2:
How is global warming linked to extreme weather?
A: Scientists
agree that the earth’s rising temperatures are fuelling longer and hotter heat
waves, more frequent droughts, heavier rainfall, and more powerful hurricanes.
In 2015, for example, scientists said that an ongoing drought in California—the
state’s worst water shortage in 1200 years had been intensified by 15 % to 20 %
by global warming. They also
said
the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over
the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering
and Medicine announced that it’s now possible to confidently attribute certain
weather events, like some heat waves, directly to climate change.
Q3: What are the other effects of global
warming?
A:Each year, scientists learn more
about the consequences
of global warming,
and many agree that environmental, economic, and health consequences are likely
to occur if current trends continue. Here’s just a smattering of what we can
look forward to:
·
Melting
glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water
shortages and increase the risk of wildfires in the American West
·
Rising
sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in
Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
·
Forests,
farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy downpours,
and increased flooding. All those factors will damage or destroy agriculture
and fisheries.
·
Disruption
of habitats such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows could drive many plant and
animal species to extinction.
·
Allergies,
asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to
increased growth of pollen-producing
ragweed,
higher levels of air
pollution,
and the spread of conditions favourable to pathogens and mosquitoes.
So let us save our Planet earth
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate
Change
https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/
Causes and Effects of Climate Change |
National Geographic
What causes climate change (also known as global
warming)? And what are the effects of climate change? Learn the human impact
and consequences of climate change for the environment and our lives. Courtesy:
National Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4H1N_yXBiA
