Climate change, one of the most important challenges facing the planet in the present day, is the broad description of patterns of change influenced by countless human activities. Variation in global temperatures, weather, and other forms of near-surface environment are primarily the concomitant results of human actions. In order to understand the consequent climate change and its implications on the world, we need to delve deep into the underlying science behind this phenomenon.
The Greenhouse Effect and Nature’s Thermostat
Central to climate change is the greenhouse effect: a naturally occurring process that provides the Earth with a good enough meteorology for sustaining life. Solar energy from the Sun reaches Earth as both light and heat. Some is reflected back into space, but large amounts are absorbed by Earth’s surface. This absorption in turn warms Earth, which then emits this energy again in the form of infrared radiation or heat.
Some of this heat is trapped in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases (GHGs)-like carbon dioxide (CO₂); methane (CH₄), and works such as nitrous oxide (N₂O) and such an abundance of vapor-in other words, those gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, ultimately hindering it from escaping back into the great unknown outer space. This natural process of heat retention is termed the greenhouse effect, and it is very important because Windows of Earth would become too cold for life to exist as we know it without this greenhouse effect.
Nonetheless, the accumulation of greenhouse gases due to human activities causes climate to become altered from natural trends. Climate change domino sets its commencing stage with rising greenhouse gas emission levels. Hence, the more we release greenhouse gases, the more we trap the heat, which warms the earth.
Human Activities With Greenhouse Gas Emission
The natural greenhouse effect, enhanced by cumulative human activities, looms large over a backdrop of a changing environment. Since the backdrop of human activities, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, very large amounts of greenhouse gases (even private surges) are being poured into the world’s atmosphere. This is primarily because of dependence on customary sources of energy and greenhouse emissions produced from the burning of gaseous fuels. With other supporting activities including
Deeply rooted in its hinterlands, the planet’s top GHG contributor comes from burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, for energy generation (electricity, heating, transportation). These fossil fuels release carbon that has been stored underground for eons, pushing yet more CO₂ into our atmosphere.
Deforestation: Trees absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere in carbon sequestration. When forests are cut down for agricultural or urban development, not only is the natural CO₂ sink destroyed, but the cut trees are also allowed to return their carbon reserves to the atmosphere.
Agriculture: Livestock farming, particularly cattle, releases a powerful greenhouse gas called methane. Fertilizers used in agriculture also release nitrous oxide-another potent GHG.
Industrial Processes: Production of cement, steel, and various goods generate mass amounts of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases. Some industrial processes also emit fluorinated gases-anthropogenic compounds that may last in the atmosphere for centuries and trap heat even more effectively than does CO₂.
Carbon dioxide and other GHGs: They stand first in line among the major anthropogenic greenhouse gas sources causing climate change. Essentially, so far as one may virtually detect such a fact, it is shown to be fit, fired chiefly from three sources: fossil fuels burn, deforestation, and a tendency of existing in the Earth’s atmosphere for centuries hence giving again a chance to build up and therefore leading to long-term warming trends.
Although methane exists in lesser amounts than carbon dioxide, its effectiveness at heat trapping is far superior to that of carbon dioxide. Methane is a byproduct in the production and shipment of coal as well as oil and natural gas, livestock, and landfills. Methane can trap heat over 25 times more than CO₂ on a timescale of 100 years.
Another strong greenhouse gas is nitrous oxide, normally generated from farming actions such as fertilizing crops. However less abundant than carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide is much more efficient in trapping heat in a time period that may restrict its residence in the atmosphere for more than a century.
The most abundant greenhouse gas is water vapor; however, the extent of vapor in the air is largely controlled through the processes of nature. However, as temperatures rise due to incremental increases in other GHGs, more water vapor enters the air, further thermally coupling the system and resulting in additional warming.
Climate Feedback Loops Amplifying Impacts
Feedback loops reinforce climate change by causing some initial change in climate to trigger secondary impacts that amplify, not lessen, the original change.
One example is the ice-albedo feedback. With rising global temperatures, ice sheets and glaciers begin to melt, so reflectivity (or albedo) of the Earth is decreased. The darker ocean or land surface is thus exposed, causing higher sunlight exposure and heating, which in turn causes further warming and accelerated ice melting. This is a very vicious cycle of enhanced warming.
Another water vapour feedback: when the temperature rises, water evaporates from the surface of the Earth into the atmosphere. Water vapour being a potent greenhouse gas creates a further increase in heat retention in the atmosphere, which again leads to further temperature increases causing still further volumes of water vapour to enter the atmosphere.
Human-Caused Climate Change
There is accumulating research and data over the years that point to anthropogenic climate change. Some of the potential alarm bells include the following:
Rise in Global Average Temperature: The average global temperature in the world today compared to the late 1800s is higher by about 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and of late decades, many of these hottest years on record span.
The Dissipation of Ice Caps and Glaciers: Instead, however, the polar ice caps are melting at an accelerated pace raising concerns over possible increases in global sea levels. Glaciers are retreating in all parts of the globe, in conjunction with which, arctic sea ice is thinning and disappearing as well causing a great change to the biological systems while endangering species such as polar bears.
Rouse of the Oceans: Flooding and coastal erosion have also been exacerbated by the rise in sea levels. When warm oceans encroach, the water not only melts the ice but also raises its level.
Intense Weather Patterns: This is resulting in more and more severe storms, dry spells, and heat surges than previously seen, especially in the case of climate change. This often leads to ecosystem destruction, loss of means of survival and disbandment of people.
Changes in the Distribution of Ecosystems and Species: A large number of species which have a clinal distribution are tending to shift towards either poles or towards higher altitudes due to increase in temperature and change in other environmental factors. Some of them are invading the cooler areas while others are at the risk of becoming extinct due to changes in climate and loss of their habitats.
The downturn of climate change
The progression of climate change is highly contingent on the steps we take toward the minimization of the greenhouse gas emissions. Should the present rate of emission increases be maintained, then by the end of this century the earth’s surface temperature is likely to rise with a margin of not less than 3°C (5.4°F) which will have disastrous consequences on the ecosystems, food supply, and health of the populace.
It is however not too late to beat some of these effects. National and international pursuits of greenhouse gas emissions containment, conversion to clean sources of energy, enhancement of energy use, and conservation of forests are all very imperative in diminishing climate change. The Paris Accord and similar initiatives further target that climatic warming should be maintained below 2 0c, and more so below 1.5 0c, under related controlled emission interventions and other supportive measures.
Conclusion
Change in climates is a cause that is hard to define because it is an issue that has many causes and almost all of them are human postulates. Scientific analysis of climate change shows how critical the presence of certain gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, is in causing climate warming. The factors and impacts of climate change should be well understood so that there are workable remedies to assist in reducing emission, improving conditions of the biosphere and making life vitally lasting for the following generations. The science is clear and it is now time to implement mitigation measures in order to mitigate the impact of climate change and to save the planet for the future generations.
