Global Climatic Changes

Global Climatic Changes

Introduction:

Climatic change is a lasting change in the weather patterns around average conditions. Certain factors like global warming, greenhouse effect, biotic processes are some of the reasons for global climatic change. The average global temperatures have changed and the precipitation patterns as well. Over the past century human activities led to increase in the emission of heat trapping gases like carbon dioxide. The average earth’s temperature has risen by 1.4° F and it is also projected to rise about another 2-13.5° F in the coming decades. Large and potentially big shifts in weather and climate might result from small average weather conditions. Lot of places has seen changes in the form of floods, intense rainfall, frequent heat waves, droughts and improper rainfall distribution. These climatic changes left their impact on oceans and glaciers as well. Glaciers are melting up which results in the rise of sea level, oceans are turning more acidic. These climatic changes shall throw more challenges to our environment.

Greenhouse effect and Greenhouse gases:

Earth absorbs lot of energy from sun and gets warmth during the day. It gets cooled down by releasing infrared radiations. But the greenhouse gases do not let the infra-red radiations escape into the outer space. This trapping of the long wavelength infra-red radiation leads to higher temperature and more heat on the earth’s surface. Over the past few decades, human activities tend to release lots of greenhouse gases into atmosphere like carbon dioxide (Co2), methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, carbon tetra fluoride, hexafluororethane. Most of these greenhouse gases come from defores...

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...ng of Arctic sea cap and increased defrosting of Greenland and Antarctic glaciers, earlier blooming of trees and plants in spring. Earth’s temperature measurements show the surface warming which is consistent with warming of troposphere and cooling of stratosphere. This pattern agrees with global climatic changes and also depletion of ozone layer in stratosphere. There is also possibility of larger climatic changes than current scenarios and satellite records projected. The occurrence of unanticipated changes in climate increases as the human disturbances towards the climate system grows.

References:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html

http://downloads.globalchange.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/Global.pdf

http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_4_1.htm

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/grnhse.html