Climate Change

Name: Tooba Ahmad

Roll No.: L1F19BSME0010

1. Why is climate change a problem?

“Manmade climate change is real, it’s happening now, and it’s among the greatest
challenges we face on planet Earth.” - Wildlife in a Warming World report

The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have
been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about
7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human
civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s
orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives
The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely
(greater than 95 percent probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-
20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia.
Current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-
recovery warming.

2. Evidence for rapid climate change

2.1 Global Temperature Rise: The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 1.62
degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. Most of the warming
occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record taking place since
2010. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that
make up the year, from January through September, with the exception of June, were the
warmest on record for those respective months.

Rank Year Anomaly/ °C Anomaly /°F

1 2016 0.94 1.69
2 2015 0.90 1.62
3 2017 0.84 1.51
4 2018 0.77 1.39
5 2014 0.74 1.33
6 2010 0.70 1.26
7 2013 0.66 1.19
8 2005 0.65 1.17
9 2009 0.64 1.15
10 1998 0.63 1.13
Table 1- Top ten hottest years in history till 2018
2.2 Warming Oceans: The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top
700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of more than 0.4 degrees
Fahrenheit since 1969.
2.3 Shrinking Ice Sheets: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass.
Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an
average of 286 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2016, while Antarctica lost
about 127 billion tons of ice per year during the same time period.
2.4 Glacial Retreat: Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world, including
in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa.
2.5 Sea Level Rise: Global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the
last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and is accelerating
slightly every year.
2.6 Ocean Acidification: Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of
surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent.

3. The Causes of Climate Change

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the
human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" warming, that results when the atmosphere
traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat
from escaping.

On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the
burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric
carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines
carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for
agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of
greenhouse gases.

Graph 1 - atmospheric CO2 levels measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, in recent years.
4. The Effects of Climate Change

Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers
have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have
shifted and trees are flowering sooner.

Image 1-Iceland’s Ok Glacier; Sep 1986 Image 2-Iceland’s Ok Glacier; Aug 2019

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to
come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit
over the next century. The magnitude of climate change beyond the next few decades
depends primarily on the amount of heat-trapping gases emitted globally, and how sensitive
the Earth’s climate is to those emissions.

The length of the frost-free season (and the corresponding growing season) has been
increasing nationally since the 1980s. The growing season is projected to continue to
lengthen.

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to
weeks) everywhere are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense
everywhere.

Summer temperatures are projected to continue rising, and a reduction of soil moisture,
which exacerbates heat waves, is projected for much of the western and central U.S. in
summer. By the end of this century, what have been once-in-20-year extreme heat days (one-
day events) are projected to occur every two or three years over most of the nation.

The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency
of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s..
Hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate
continues to warm.
Sea level will rise 1-4 feet by 2100. In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides
could combine with sea level rise and land subsidence to further increase flooding in many
regions. Sea level rise will continue past 2100 because the oceans take a very long time to
respond to warmer conditions at the Earth’s surface. Ocean waters will therefore continue to
warm and sea level will continue to rise for many centuries at rates equal to or higher than
those of the current century.

The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century.

5. Solutions to Climate Change

The global consensus on the need for climate action is strong and continues to grow.
There are a number of measures that we must take to reduce global warming. Main focus
is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

5.1. Renewable energies: The first way to prevent climate change is to move away from
fossil fuels. What are the alternatives? Renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass
and geothermal.

5.2. Energy and water efficiency: Producing clean energy is essential, but reducing our
consumption of energy and water by using more efficient devices (e.g. LED light
bulbs, innovative shower systems) is less costly and equally important.

5.3. Sustainable transportation: Promoting public transportation, carpooling, but also

electric and hydrogen mobility, can definitely help reduce CO2 emissions and thus
fight global warming.

5.4. Sustainable infrastructure: In order to reduce the CO2 emissions from buildings –
caused by heating, air conditioning, hot water or lighting – it is necessary both to
build new low energy buildings, and to renovate the existing constructions.

5.5. Sustainable agriculture and forest management: Encouraging better use of natural
resources, stopping massive deforestation as well as making agriculture greener and
more efficient should also be a priority.

5.6. Responsible consumption and recycling: Adopting responsible consumption habits is

crucial, be it regarding food, clothing, cosmetics or cleaning products. Last but not
least, recycling is an absolute necessity for dealing with waste.