Today, talks on the environment are centered on and revolve around climate change. It is one of the most serious environmental concerns that has permeated global talks since the nineteenth century. The United Nations (2021) states that climate change was a major issue of concern at the 1970s World Climate Conference (WCC). During this time, climate change escalated into an independent public problem to be dealt with by enacting appropriate environmental policies.
Climate change has manifested itself in the form of rising atmospheric and oceanic temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, rising acidity of the ocean water, and the increasing occurrence and strength of some dangerous weather occurrences, such as hurricanes. Scientific studies and literature point toward human beings as the primary cause of these observed conditions since the mid-20th century (“Understanding Climate Change – DAWE” n.d.). Therefore, climate change can be defined as the global spectacle of climate alteration described by the earth’s natural climate variations due to human activities.
The last three decades have been characterized by major industrial activities leading to an increase in the emission of greenhouse gases that move about in the air, causing an increase in atmospheric temperatures. The main human actions causing climate change include burning fossil fuels, especially coal, oil, and natural gas, which release toxic materials trapped in the air. Rosso Grossman (2018) states that the materials also trap heat from the sun rays bouncing back from the earth, resulting in a rise in temperatures. Even though the greenhouse gases are beneficial to the environment, the excessive emissions uplift the earth’s absorption of energy leading to an increase in temperature (Australian Academy of Science 2017). Global warming comes with significant side effects, such as melting the ice, more substantial rainstorms, or more recurrent drought. However, global warming is one side of the much more significant challenge due to human conduct.
People sometimes get confused between weather and climate change. The critical difference is that climate change takes a period over a long period instead of whether that changes in a short span of maybe hours, days, or months. Besides, climate change may lead to less predictable weather patterns. As a result, climate change impacts day-to-day human actions, especially in agriculture, because it is hard to conserve and cultivate crops in areas that rely on farming. Climate change has made it challenging, given that rainfall patterns and temperature projections cannot be depended upon. In addition, climate change is linked to other destructive weather conditions, including more intense and recurrent hurricanes, downpours, floods, and winter storms. The earth’s Polar Regions have experienced the melting of ice and glaciers due to the rising temperatures caused by climate change (Michael Taylor 2017; Levitt and Niko Kommenda 2018). Consequently, there has been a rise in the sea level across different parts of the planet, which has caused significant destruction along the coast due to the increase in seawater.
References
Australian Academy of Science. 2017. “What Is Climate Change? | Australian Academy of Science.” Science.org.au. Web.
“After Decade of Progress, Rural Areas of Latin America, Caribbean Slide Back into Poverty – UN Report.” 2018. Web.
Brindley, David. 2018. “Months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Still Struggling.” National Geographic. Web.
Census of Marine Life. n.d. “Humans Have Caused Profound Changes In Caribbean Coral Reefs.” ScienceDaily. Web.
Rachel Bierly. 2019. “Environmental and Social Impacts of Climate Change in the Caribbean.” Panoramas. Web.
Levitt, Daniel, and Niko Kommenda. 2018. “Is Climate Change Making Hurricanes Worse?” The Guardian. Web.
Michael Taylor. 2017. “Climate Change in the Caribbean – Learning Lessons from Irma and Maria.” The Guardian. Web.
Rosso Grossman, Margaret. 2018. “Climate Change and the Individual.” The American Journal of Comparative Law 66: 345–378. Web.
“Understanding Climate Change – DAWE.” n.d. Www.awe.gov.au. Web.
United Nations. 2021. “What Is Climate Change?” United Nations. Web.