Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect, a natural process by which the atmosphere retains some of the Sun’s heat, allowing the Earth to maintain the necessary conditions to host life. Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature of the planet would be -180C.
Impacts of Global Warming
ot only are global warming-induced changes currently underway, but scientists also expect additional effects on human society and natural environments around the world. Some further warming is already unavoidable due to past heat-trapping emissions; unless we aggressively reduce today's emissions, scientists project extra warming and thus additional impacts.
The Climate Hot Map arranges current and future climate impacts into five main groupings:
The Effects of Climate Change
Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad
More frequent and severe weather - The increasing number of droughts, intense storms, and floods we're seeing as our warming atmosphere holds—and then dumps—more moisture poses risks to public health and safety, too. Prolonged dry spells mean more than just scorched lawns. Drought conditions jeopardize access to clean drinking water, fuel out-of-control wildfires, and result in dust storms, extreme heat events, and flash flooding in the States. Elsewhere around the world, lack of water is a leading cause of death and serious disease. At the opposite end of the spectrum, heavier rains cause streams, rivers, and lakes to overflow, which damages life and property, contaminates drinking water, creates hazardous-material spills and promotes mould infestation and unhealthy air. A warmer, wetter world is also a boon for food-borne and waterborne illnesses and disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks.
Higher death rates
Today's scientists point to climate change as "the biggest global health threat of the 21st century." It's a threat that impacts all of us—especially children, the elderly, low-income communities, and minorities—and in a variety of direct and indirect ways. As temperatures spike, so does the incidence of illness, emergency room visits, and death.
Dirtier air
Rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground-level ozone, which is created when pollution from cars, factories, and other sources react to sunlight and heat. Ground-level ozone is the main component of smog, and the hotter things get, the more of it we have. Dirtier air is linked to higher hospital admission rates and higher death rates for asthmatics. It worsens the health of people suffering from cardiac or pulmonary disease.
Higher wildlife extinction rates
As humans, we face a host of challenges, but we're certainly not the only ones catching heat. As land and sea undergo rapid changes, the animals that inhabit them are doomed to disappear if they don't adapt quickly enough. Some will make it, and some won't. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2014 assessment, many lands, freshwater, and ocean species are shifting their geographic ranges to cooler climes or higher altitudes, in an attempt to escape warming.
More acidic oceans
The earth's marine ecosystems are under pressure as a result of climate change. Oceans are becoming more acidic, due in large part to their absorption of some of our excess emissions. As this acidification accelerates, it poses a serious threat to underwater life, particularly creatures with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, including molluscs, crabs, and corals. This can have a huge impact on shellfisheries
Higher sea levels
The polar regions are particularly vulnerable to a warming atmosphere. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere on earth, and the world's ice sheets are melting fast. This not only has grave consequences for the region's people, wildlife, and plants; its most serious impact may be on rising sea levels. By 2100, it's estimated our oceans will be one to four feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas,
Future Effects
Change Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond
Temperatures Will Continue to rising
Frost-free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen
Changes in Precipitation Patterns
More Droughts and Heat Waves
Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense
The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s. The relative contributions of human and natural causes to these increases are still uncertain. Hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.
Sea Level Will Rise 1-4 feet by 2100
Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since
reliable record keeping began in 1880. It is projected to rise
another 1 to 4 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from
melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could
combine with sea level rise and land subsidence to further increase
flooding in many regions. Sea level rise will continue past 2100
because the oceans take a very long time to respond to warmer
conditions at the Earth’s surface. Ocean waters will, therefore,
continue to warm and sea level will continue to rise for many
centuries at rates equal to or higher than those of the current
century.
Arctic Likely to Become Ice-Free
The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century
As individuals, we can help by taking action to reduce our personal carbon emissions. But to fully address the threat of global warming, we must demand action from our elected leaders to support and implement a comprehensive set of climate solutions:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:
Go Solar:
Use Less Hot Water:
Avoid Products With Lot of Packaging:
Turn Off the Lights:
Turn off Electronic Devices:
Plant a Tree:
Look for Renewable Fuel Options:
Replace Filters on Air Conditioner and Furnace
Global warming is a serious issue affecting us today. Detail some ways that global warming both...
Global warming is a serious issue affecting us today. Detail some ways that global warming both directly and indirectly affects society. What are some severe consequences that might occur if global warming continues, with regards to both society and the natural world? What are some ways we can combat the effects of global warming and prevent it from continuing to worsen?
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