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Global warming and its impact on the environment
Global warming and its effects
The effects of global warming
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Global warming implies enhanced green house effect, which entraps solar radiations, consequently increasing the overall temperature of the earth. The GHG creates a blanket in the lower strata of the earth’s atmosphere and this phenomenon results mainly from human activities. The average global temperatures and CO2 level in the atmosphere are higher than they have ever been in the past. Records show that the last 25 years have been the warmest in the past 5 centuries. If temperature rises by 4 – 5° C; a flood event that is likely to occur only once in 100 years in the last century could occur every 10 to 50 years in the vulnerable locations. UN members have pledged to limit warming to 2° C but the current situation is going towards 4 - 5° C by 2100, which seems catastrophic to scientists for biodiversity, extreme weather or sea-level rise. An increase of 2-4° C may lead to 10-20% increase in cyclonic intensity. This warming can go up to an increase of mean surface temperature by 3.5-5° C by the end of the century.
The recent catastrophic climatic events in India are the consequences of global warming. Mumbai, the business capital of India extremely is vulnerable to rising sea levels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Arabian Sea level around Mumbai is steadily rising at the rate of 2.4 mm per year and expected to rise as much as 15-38 cm by 2050. The city is in a seismic zone and prone to experience massive earthquake or a giant tsunami causing unimaginable loss of human lives and assets. This necessarily means that this would affect the economy of the entire nation, city being the business capital of India. According to a 2012 report, about 2.7 million people live in areas at risk of flood...
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...g construction practices: Reducing the salt content of new building materials; upgrading of older buildings; and examination of stability of seaside buildings at risk of land erosion
Greater investment: Investments in heath sector, health care facilities and health infrastructure for providing medical care to people affected by climate change.
Introduction of Energy Conservation Measures at all levels
Enhancement of the urban ecosystem: Creation of more open spaces, greenery, parks and tree-lined roads.
The population increase and global warming effects in Mumbai will endanger the city much more in coming days. It is high time that Central, State Governments and Local bodies become aware of the gravity of the situation and make necessary policies in urban and environmental planning, where the inhabitants also take active participation to save the city.
Climate Change and Global Warming cause sea levels to rise. This increase in sea levels not only causes inundation of low lying and coastal areas but also irrevocable damage to coastal environments. Globally the ocean is predicted to rise nearly 140 cm on a global scale by the year 2100 (Cooper et al. 2013); therefore this has massive implications for countries all around the world with cities (settlements etc.) based near bodies of water. When compared to the last 80 years this is an acceleration of nearly twice the rate that ...
Global warming is a scientific, political, and controversial topic. Some believe it is catastrophic, a slow moving killer hiding in the shadows. Others do not even think twice about it as they race by in a Hummer. Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature throughout different climates. It is caused by the greenhouse gas effect in which greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide, reflect sunlight back and forth. This reflected ultraviolet light bounces between the earth and the ozone layer and becomes trapped, resulting in a gradual rise of temperature. Over time, the slow rise of temperature causes new climates throughout the globe. The article “What Megablazes Tell Us About the Fiery Future of Climate Change” by Tim Dickinson
Climate change has become of the world’s major issue today. The earth’s climate is always changing in a very fast and also in different ways. Climate changes affect our lives psychologically, emotional and also physically. Climate change is defined as a long term change in the earth’s climate, especially a change due to the increase in the average atmospheric temperatures. Due to this change in temperature, a lot of changes has occurred in our environment, these changes include rising sea levels, flooding, melting of polar ice caps, hotter days, colder nights and heat waves. These climate changes plays an important role in shaping our natural ecosystem, our human economics and also the most important, it affects the human race. For
Over 650 million Indians depend on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishery for their livelihoods. The adverse impacts of water availability due to change in rainfall, increased flooding in certain areas and recession of glaciers combined with increased water demand due to demographic development and climate change could threaten food security, destabilize the natural ecosystems including species that sustain the livelihood of rural households and impact the coastal system due to sea level rise and increased extreme weather events (Garg et al. 2007).
The causes of climate change are also known to them that though it is not only the human action playing role but it is the main cause of climate change. The effects of climate change does include harm and loss of environment and organisms but it also has impact on the human health. Semenza (2014) displays an assessment report which states that throughout the 21st century, the rapidly occurring climate change will lead to increase in number of humans with ill health in many regions mainly in those of developing countries where citizens face low income. Semenza (2014) also mentions how there are physiological limits to intense heat exposure and the global climate change will turn some parts of the world which are currently highly populated into uninhabitable even if the global temperature rises by 7 degrees Celsius. Johnson (2014) states how El-Niño-related hydroclimate variability will lead to being intensified under global warming mainly in areas as southern Asia which are already stressed by different droughts, floods, and crop yields. Dettinger, Udall, and Georgakakos (2015) mentions how climate change puts risk and threat on water resources in the western United States to an extent that no other part of the country matches it. Dettinger, Udall, and Georgakakos (2015) also states how recent research and studies strictly point a limited number
Global warming and global climate change is the study of future increases of temperature across the globe. Studying climate change refers to how the over- all climate will change such as the dry places getting dryer and the wet places getting wetter. Global climate is dependent on “the greenhouse effect a natural process that helps regulate temperature” (Easterling and Karl). In the past few centuries humans have had a monumental effect on increasing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate change is result of the increase amount of the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere such as methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone. “Global temperature has rose approximately 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over
The country Maldives is a string of beautiful islands that can be found just southwest of India. The problem with this is that the islands are surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the sea level is rising because of global warming and the islands are no higher than eight feet above sea level. There is an overwhelming consensus amongst scientist that human activities from countries around the world are primarily responsible for global warming due to the use of fossil fuel, pollution, and deforestation. These activities contribute to excessive fluorinate, nitrous, methane, chlorofluorocarbon, and carbon dioxide gases being emitted into the atmosphere. These emissions contribute largely to the greenhouse gases which are the cause of global warming. The effects of global warming are; record high temperatures, glaciers melting, and sea levels rising. Even though the effects of global warming will eventually be felt by everyone, it will however be felt by low-lying islands like Maldives first, threating their very existence. As the ocean slowly consumes the islands the islanders will be subject to economic hardship, civil conflict, and displacement.
According to the World Bank Development Report 2013 there has been an increase in global surface temperature of 0.4 to 0.9 Celsius (C) in the past 100 years. This change in temperature largely caused, according to the IPCC, by the release of GHGs through human activities. There are several effects associated to the change in global temperature, mainly affecting ecosystems and populations worldwide. Among these effects or consequences are sea-level rise, drought, floods, loss of mangroves, and the intensification of storms and climate processes such as El Nino and La Nina. Recent studies have focused on sea-level rise and the global effects. Over the past 100 years, sea levels have increased by 10 to 20 centimeters (World Bank, 2003). Moreover, arctic sea-ice has continued to shrink up to 10 percent or more of its total mass and by 40 percent of its thickness. Glaciers and small ice caps are rapidly melting, causing several changes in the flows of rivers and ecosystems, as well as adding to the increase of sea levels. Sea level rise will most likely severely affect unprepared, developing countries and their populations. Concomitantly, developed industrial countries with higher levels of GDP are likely to cope more efficiently with the effects of sea level rise. This paper will focus on the prognosticated socio-economic costs of s...
Indeed, many global cities face compelling urban planning issues like urban sprawl, population, low density development, overuse of non-renewable natural recourses, social inequities and environmental degradation. These issues affect the cities themselves, the adjacent regions and often even globally. The resulting ecological footprint upsets the balance in adjacent rural and natural areas. Unplanned or organic development leads to urban sprawl, traffic problems, pollution and slums (as evident in the case of Mumbai city). Such unplanned development causes solid waste management and water supply to fall inadequate. Urban sprawl gives rise to low density development and car dependent communities, consequently leading to increased urban flooding, low energy efficiency, longer travel time and destruction of croplands, forests and open spaces for development.
In a world where over half of the human population calls a city their home, the need to restructure and revolutionize the way we design our urban environments has never been greater. Currently, the notion that these vast metropolises of metal, concrete, and sludge could one day be fully realized pillars of sustainability is certainly laughable. However, when these same cities are constantly growing and multiplying across the globe, all the while using a greater and greater chunk of our planet’s energy, this impossible task becomes a necessary focus. To strive towards the closed, continuous loop of “true” sustainability could greatly alter the image of the modern city. Any improvement over the current state of urban affairs could carry weight, and even if that goal is not entirely fulfilled, the gained benefits would be immense.
Extreme event is another major problem of climate change. In the coastal cities, extreme events can result in many people who injured and died. Disaster plan can help people out of danger. Stephens et al. (Stephens 1996, cited in UNDP 2012) explain many poor people live in Indore who fix the shelves and put up the electrical on the walls. Moreover, they pack some portable valuables, cooking utensils and some clean clothes. A perfect disaster emergency plan can strongly reduce the economic loss and casualties. However, disaster emergency plan can only solve the current extreme
Global Warming is a condition caused by greenhouse gases and human activities. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases due to activities such as deforestation and fossil fuel burning is causing the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to warm up. As a result of this, global warming has some serious effects in the shape of extreme weather, species extinctions, and rising sea levels. These effects can contribute to the changes that are taking place all over the world, most of which are dangerous enough to pose a threat to the survival of life on Earth in the future.
These motives are behind the current world’s 50% urbanization rate. Among all countries, Canada heads the urbanization process with 80% of its total area (Snell par.7). The ever-increasing urbanization rate is characterized by human-related destructive activities, which lead to creation of urban centers by destroying inherent biodiversity. The rate is increasing each passing day. However, one thing to note is that destructive activities embody the causes of urban biodiversity wicked problem. The easy way of identification provides land conversion, climate change, consumerism, land fragmentation, and invasive species as the main causes of the wicked problem of urban biodiversity. These causes constitute every aspect of urban life. For instance, there is no way that people living in urban areas can do without proper infrastructures (such as houses, roads, and communication lines). All kinds of infrastructure need space, and, in creating it, there is clearance of all natural vegetation and conversion of land to other uses. The result is annihilation of nature and predisposition of climatic changes. The only easy approach to identify an appropriate solution to the wicked problem of urban biodiversity is to decrease the rate of urbanization by
As many already know, drugs that are prescribed to us for medical reasons are planted and grown in the ground. The earth warming can affect the growth of these drugs, which eventually can affect our health. As a future nurse it is my job to make this change known to my future patients so they can be aware of this change. According to the University of California San Francisco, “nurses can learn and then practice and lead others on their personal and institutional practices, implementing the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and re-educate at home and in the workplace” (Vlahov). The aspect of nursing for global warming is a lot bigger than what the average human would think. Not only to us nurses have to do the best we can with how the environment is but also we have to deal with it and inform the patients on how they can help
Nowadays, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Urban populations consume 75% of the world 's natural resources and generate 75% of waste. Cities have become consumers of enormous amounts of natural resources and generating massive environmental