Global warming is deadly and is slowly impacting the environment, humanity, ecosystems, and life itself. Before one learns about global warming and its thousands of effects, one should first understand the basic concepts about this widely controversial topic. Changes in weather patterns and changes in climate are two very different things, but people tend to get them confused. Both weather and climate refer to the state of the atmosphere. The difference is that weather refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere that can change quickly, while climate describes the weather in a specific area for a long period of time which can take place over decades. Now, we arrive at global warming, which specifically refers to the Earth’s climate system and it’s increase in warmth over a long period of time. According to NASA, global warming has been observed since the pre-industrial period due to human activities.
This brings us to greenhouse gas emissions, a crucial factor in global warming. A greenhouse gas is a gas in the atmosphere that traps and retains heat causing an increase in the atmosphere’s heat. Some of these gases would be carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, among others. These gases are what leads to the greenhouse effect causing global warming.
According to the Earth Observatory in NASA, global warming impacts humans in a vast amount of ways. Especially for those who live near the ocean (low-coastal areas) and in poorer countries, since they have a limited water supply and little to no access to essential resources needed to adapt to this dramatic change in climate. With the tropical period expanding, diseases like malaria will be easier to contract given the fact that mosquitoes are more common during this seasonal weather. Precipitation patterns will change, altering the severity of storms, droughts, and floods. This will cause loss of human life, resources, and habitable property. Other than these self-evident impacts, the rise in temperature can also lead to wildfires, causing an increase of near-surface ozone and smoke which produces dangerous air quality. If humanity doesn't take action, malnutrition may occur because water sources will become scarcer in many regions. Global warming can take over humanity and it’s human beings doing, so it is up to humans to defeat it.
In addition to causing tragic events towards humanity, global warming will also endanger numerous amounts of ecosystems. It is altering the natural way of life in which plants, animals, and climate co-exist. Warmer temperatures are extending the growing season and this will only lead to devastating scenarios. In parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the growing season is now two weeks longer than in the first half of the 20th century and Spring comes earlier in both hemispheres. This causes animals to migrate for food earlier than usual. It also causes bees to become unsynchronized with trees and plants limiting their role as pollinators. In some regions, plants are in need of more water and when dried out, crops can fail creating immense difficulty for farmers. Since the growing season has become longer, winter has become shorter. The short winter kills a much smaller amount of dormant insects leading to infestations during summer and spring. Some animals are unable to live in extreme temperatures and have to migrate. Those who can't adapt or migrate quickly become extinct. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 20-30% of animal and plant species will be at higher risk of extinction if temperatures keep rising to more than 1.5-2.5°C.
When it comes to our environment, global warming also impacts rising sea levels. Rising sea levels will cause more coastal floodings as well as eroding coasts which can lead to possible disappearance of island nations over time. One issue with rising sea levels is that 10% of the human race lives in high-risk areas that are less than 10 meters above sea level putting those people in danger. Since 1993, satellites from NASA have shown that sea levels are now rising 3 millimeters per year (48 millimeters between 1993-2009). This increase in sea level per century could be greater than estimated if ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melt quicker due to rising temperatures. Satellite measurements show that these ice sheets are shedding about 125 billion tons of ice per year causing sea levels to rise much higher. The IPCC estimated that by 2099, due to glaciers melting and warm sea water expanding, sea levels will rise between 0.18 and 0.59 meters.
Even though the human race has all this evidence and 97% of scientists believe that climate change has emerged due to human activity, there are still people refusing to believe its existence. There are multiple reasons for this and individuals give out all sorts of explanations. Many believe that this change in climate is just a natural way of life; others have alternative theories for why these events are occurring. People who follow this line of thought are refusing to accept news reports and disbelief any scientific evidence. People around the world continue to avoid global warming and its impact on the planet. This is happening. It is changing human lives, changing ecosystems and altering climate patterns. It’s not possible to fix it overnight. If humanity keeps on believing that there is “someone out there” acting to prevent this from getting worse, causing the majority of us to “sit back and relax”, then there will be no change within our planet and global warming will get the best of us.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “If human actions had no effect on climate, the purple and pink stripes would occupy the same space on each graph. Instead, they're different in almost every case, meaning human actions have a definite effect on climate change. Most tellingly, the black lines on each graph represent the changes we've observed in real life — not just in models — and they match up with the pink stripe in every case”.
This chart placed above developed by a credible source can show the individuals who deny climate change that this extreme change in our weather is not a gift from human nature, but more of a consequence of human activity. This is not terrible news, because if humans caused it, humans can also eliminate it.