ISSN: 2641-1784

Review Article Advance in Environmental Waste Management & Recycling

Case study of Global Warming
Dr. Sudha Bansode and Miss. Aishwarya Banpatte

Prof. and Head of Zoology Depatment , Shankarao Mohite Corresponding author

*

Mahavidyalaya Akluj Sudha Bansode, Prof. and Head of Zoology Depatment , Shankarao Mohite
Mahavidyalaya Akluj
Ph.D. Scholar in Zoology, Shankarrao Mohite Mahavidyalaya
Akluj Submitted: 29 Sep 2021; Accepted: 05 Oct 2021; Published: 07 Oct 2021

Citation: Sudha Bansode and Aishwarya Banpatte (2021). Case study of Global Warming. Adn Envi Was Mana Rec, 4 (3):197-
206.

Abstract
Many researchers, engineers and environmentalists are expressing deep concerns about changes in the overall
climate of the planet. Fossil fuels are being continuously used to produce electricity. The burning of these fuels
produces gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides which lead to global warming. Deforestation is
also leading to warmer temperatures. The hazard of global warming is continuously causing major damage to the
Earth's environment. Most people are still unaware of global warming and do not consider it to be a big problem
in years to come. What most people do not understand is that global warming is currently happening, and we are
already experiencing some of its withering effects. It is and will severely affect ecosystems and disturb ecological
balance. Because of the treacherous effects of global warming, some solutions must be devised. The paper introduces
global warming, elaborates its causes and hazards and presents some solutions to solve this hot issue. Above all,
alternative energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, bio mass) need to be seriously pursued. Finding and
using renewable sources of energy is one of the methods to combat the ever increasing global warming effectively.
A greenhouse is a house made of glass that can be used to grow plants. The sun’s radiations warm the plants and
the air inside the greenhouse. The heat trapped inside can’t escape out and warms the greenhouse which is essential
for the growth of the plants. Same is the case in the earth’s atmosphere. During the day the sun heats up the earth’s
atmosphere. At night, when the earth cools down the heat is radiated back into the atmosphere. During this process,
the heat is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. This is what makes the surface of the earth
warmer, that makes the survival of living beings on earth possible.

However, due to the increased levels of greenhouse gases, the temperature of the earth has increased considerably.
This has led to several drastic effects.

Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment, Hot Mix Asphalt, Hot Mix Plant

Introduction do not understand is that global warming is currently happening,

Many researchers, engineers and environmentalists are expressing and we are already experiencing some of its withering effects. It
deep concerns about changes in the overall climate of the planet. is and will severely affect ecosystems and disturb ecological bal-
Fossil fuels are being continuously used to produce electricity. The ance. Because of the treacherous effects of global warming, some
burning of these fuels produces gases like carbon dioxide, methane solutions must be devised. The paper introduces global warming,
and nitrous oxides which lead to global warming. Deforestation is elaborates its causes and hazards and presents some solutions to
also leading to warmer temperatures. The hazard of global warm- solve this hot issue. Above all, alternative energy sources (solar,
ing is continuously causing major damage to the Earth's environ- wind, hydro, geothermal, bio mass) need to be seriously pursued.
ment. Most people are still unaware of global warming and do not Finding and using renewable sources of energy is one of the meth-
consider it to be a big problem in years to come. What most people ods to combat the ever increasing global warming effectively.

Adv Envi Was Mana Rec, 2021 www.opastonline.com Volume 4 | Issue 3 | 197
Material and Methods has been 0.9 degrees Celsius. The increase is 1.1 degrees Celsius
Causes of Global Warming when compared to the pre-industrial mean temperature.
Following are the major causes of global warming:
Agriculture
Man-made Causes of Global Warming Various farming activities produce carbon dioxide and methane
Deforestation gas. These add to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and in-
Plants are the main source of oxygen. They take in carbon dioxide crease the temperature of the earth.
and release oxygen thereby maintaining environmental balance.
Forests are being depleted for many domestic and commercial pur- Overpopulation
poses. This has led to an environmental imbalance, thereby giving Increase in population means more people breathing. This leads to
rise to global warming. an increase in the level of carbon dioxide, the primary gas causing
global warming, in the atmosphere.
Use of Vehicles
The use of vehicles, even for a very short distance results in var- Natural Causes of Global Warming
ious gaseous emissions. Vehicles burn fossil fuels which emit a Volcanoes
large amount of carbon dioxide and other toxins into the atmo- Volcanoes are one of the largest natural contributors to global
sphere resulting in a temperature increase. warming. The ash and smoke emitted during volcanic eruptions
goes out into the atmosphere and affects the climate.
Chlorofluorocarbon
With the excessive use of air conditioners and refrigerators, hu- Water Vapor
mans have been adding CFCs into the environment which affects Water vapor is a kind of greenhouse gas. Due to the increase in
the atmospheric ozone layer. The ozone layer protects the earth the earth’s temperature more water gets evaporated from the water
surface from the harmful ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun. The bodies and stays in the atmosphere adding to global warming.
CFCs has led to ozone layer depletion making way for the ultravi-
olet rays, thereby increasing the temperature of the earth. Melting Permafrost
Permafrost is there where glaciers are present. It is a frozen soil
Industrial Development that has environmental gases trapped in it for several years. As the
With the advent of industrialization, the temperature of the earth permafrost melts, it releases the gases back into the atmosphere
has been increasing rapidly. The harmful emissions from the fac- increasing the earth’s temperature.
tories add to the increasing temperature of the earth.
Forest Blazes
In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change reported Forest blazes or forest fires emit a large amount of carbon-con-
that the increase in the global temperature between 1880 and 2012 taining smoke. These gases are released into the atmosphere and
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increase the earth’s temperature resulting in global warming. last century or so, humans have been interfering with the planet's
energy balance, mainly through the burning of fossil fuels that add
Causes of Greenhouse Effect carbon dioxide to the air. The level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s at-
The major causes of the greenhouse effect are: mosphere has been rising consistently for decades and traps extra
heat near Earth's surface, causing temperatures to rise.
Burning of Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are an important part of our lives. They are widely
used in transportation and to produce electricity. Burning of fossil
fuels releases carbon dioxide. With the increase in population, the
utilization of fossil fuels has increased. This has led to an increase
in the release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Deforestation
Plants and trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Due to
the cutting of trees, there is a considerable increase in the green-
house gases which increases the earth’s temperature.

Farming
Nitrous oxide used in fertilizers is one of the contributors to the
greenhouse effect in the atmosphere.

Industrial Waste and Landfills Effects of Greenhouse Effect

The industries and factories produce harmful gases which are re- The main effects of increased greenhouse gases are:
leased in the atmosphere.
Global Warming
Landfills also release carbon dioxide and methane that adds to the It is the phenomenon of a gradual increase in the average tempera-
greenhouse gases. ture of the Earth’s atmosphere. The main cause for this environ-
mental issue is the increased volumes of greenhouse gases such as
Result carbon dioxide and methane released by the burning of fossil fuels,
Global warming is the phenomenon of a gradual increase in the emissions from the vehicles, industries and other human activities.
temperature near the earth’s surface. This phenomenon has been
observed over the past one or two centuries. This change has dis- Depletion of Ozone Layer
turbed the climatic pattern of the earth. However, the concept of Ozone Layer protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays from
global warming is quite controversial but the scientists have pro- the sun. It is found in the upper regions of the stratosphere. The
vided relevant data in support of the fact that the temperature of the depletion of the ozone layer results in the entry of the harmful UV
earth is rising constantly. rays to the earth’s surface that might lead to skin cancer and can
also change the climate drastically.
There are several causes of global warming, which have a negative
effect on humans, plants and animals. These causes may be natural The major cause of this phenomenon is the accumulation of natu-
or might be the outcome of human activities. In order to curb the ral greenhouse gases including chlorofluorocarbons, carbon diox-
issues, it is very important to understand the negative impacts of ide, methane, etc.
global warming.
Smog and Air Pollution
The greenhouse effect is the way in which heat is trapped close to Smog is formed by the combination of smoke and fog. It can be
Earth's surface by “greenhouse gases.” These heat-trapping gases caused both by natural means and man-made activities.
can be thought of as a blanket wrapped around Earth, keeping the
planet toastier than it would be without them. Greenhouse gases In general, smog is generally formed by the accumulation of more
include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Scientists greenhouse gases including nitrogen and sulfur oxides. The ma-
have determined that carbon dioxide's warming effect helps sta- jor contributors to the formation of smog are the automobile and
bilize Earth's atmosphere. Remove carbon dioxide, and the terres- industrial emissions, agricultural fires, natural forest fires and the
trial greenhouse effect would collapse. Without carbon dioxide, reaction of these chemicals among themselves.
Earth's surface would be some 33 °C (59 °F) cooler.
Acidification of Water Bodies
Greenhouse gases occur naturally and are part of our atmosphere's Increase in the total amount of greenhouse gases in the air has
makeup. For that reason, Earth is sometimes called the “Goldi- turned most of the world’s water bodies acidic. The greenhouse
locks” planet – its conditions are not too hot and not too cold, gases mix with the rainwater and fall as acid rain. This leads to the
but just right to allow life (including us) to flourish. Part of what acidification of water bodies.
makes Earth so amenable is its natural greenhouse effect, which
keeps the planet at a friendly 15 °C (59 °F) on average. But in the Also, the rainwater carries the contaminants along with it and falls
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into the river, streams and lakes thereby causing their acidification. enheit colder, and our current way of life would be impossible.

Runaway Greenhouse Effect We know that several gases in the atmosphere can absorb heat.
This phenomenon occurs when the planet absorbs more radiations These greenhouse gases are produced both by natural processes
than it can radiate back. Thus, the heat lost from the earth’s surface and by human activities. The primary ones are:
is less and the temperature of the planet keeps rising. Scientists
believe that this phenomenon took place on the surface of Venus Carbon dioxide (CO2)
billions of years ago. Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
This phenomenon is believed to have occurred in the following Industrial Gases, including hydrofluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons,
manner: and sulphur hexafluoride.

A runaway greenhouse effect arises when the temperature of a Effects of Climate Change
planet rises to a level of the boiling point of water. As a result, all A broad range of evidence shows that the climate system has
the water from the oceans converts into water vapour, which traps warmed. Evidence of global warming is shown in the graphs (be-
more heat coming from the sun and further increases the planet’s low right) from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
temperature. This eventually accelerates the greenhouse effect. istration (NOAA). Some of the graphs show a positive trend, e.g.,
This is also called the “positive feedback loop”. increasing temperature over land and the ocean, and sea level rise.
Other graphs show a negative trend, such as decreased snow cover
There is another scenario giving way to the runaway greenhouse in the Northern Hemisphere, and declining Arctic sea ice, both
effect. Suppose the temperature rise due to the above causes reach- of which are indicative of global warming. Evidence of warming
es such a high level that the chemical reactions begin to occur. is also apparent in living (biological) systems such as changes in
These chemical reactions drive carbon dioxide from the rocks into distribution of flora and fauna towards the poles.
the atmosphere. This would heat the surface of the planet which
would further accelerate the transfer of carbon dioxide from the Human-induced warming could lead to large-scale, abrupt and/or
rocks to the atmosphere, giving rise to the runaway greenhouse irreversible changes in physical systems. An example of this is the
effect. melting of ice sheets, which contributes to sea level rise and will
continue for thousands of years. The probability of warming hav-
In simple words, increasing the greenhouse effect gives rise to a ing unforeseen consequences increases with the rate, magnitude,
runaway greenhouse effect that would increase the temperature of and duration of climate change.
the earth to such an extent that no life will exist in the near future.
Effects on weather
Global warming leads to an increase in extreme weather events
such as heat waves, droughts, cyclones, blizzards and rainstorms.
Such events will continue to occur more often and with greater
intensity. Scientists have not only determined that climate change
is responsible for trends in weather patterns, some individual ex-
treme weather events have also directly be attributed to climate
change.

Precipitation
Higher temperatures lead to increased evaporation and surface
drying. As the air warms, its water-holding capacity also increas-
es, particularly over the oceans. In general the air can hold about
7% more moisture for every 1 °C of temperature rise. In the trop-
ics, there's more than a 10% increase in precipitation for a 1 °C
Greenhouse Gases increase in temperature. Changes have already been observed in
Many chemical compounds in the atmosphere act as greenhouse the amount, intensity, frequency, and type of precipitation. Wide-
gases. These gases allow sunlight (short wave radiation) to freely spread increases in heavy precipitation have occurred even in plac-
pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and heat the land and oceans. es where total rain amounts have decreased.
The warmed Earth releases this heat in the form of infrared light
(long wave radiation), invisible to human eyes. Some infrared Projections of future changes in precipitation show overall in-
light released by the Earth passes through the atmosphere back creases in the global average, but with substantial shifts in where
into space. However, greenhouse gases will not let all the infrared and how precipitation falls. Projections suggest a reduction in rain-
light pass through the atmosphere. They absorb some and radiate it fall in the subtropics, and an increase in precipitation in subpo-
back down to the Earth. This phenomenon, called the greenhouse lar latitudes and some equatorial regions. In other words, regions
effect, is naturally occurring and keeps the Earth’s surface warm. which are dry at present will in general become even drier, while
It is vital to our survival on Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, regions that are currently wet will in general become even wet-
the Earth’s average surface temperature would be about 60° Fahr- ter. Although increased rainfall will not occur everywhere, models
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suggest most of the world will have a 16–24% increase in heavy but 25% - 30% of the food is lost, 2 billion adults suffer from being
precipitation intensity by 2100. overweight while 821 million people suffer from hunger.

Temperatures The rate of soil erosion is 10 - 20 times higher than the rate of soil
As described in the first section, global temperatures have risen accumulation in agricultural areas that use no-till farming. In areas
by 1 °C and are expected to rise further in the future. Over most with tilling it is 100 times higher. Climate Change increases land
land areas since the 1950s, it is very likely that at all times of year degradation and desertification.
both days and nights have become warmer due to human activities. In the years 1960 - 2013 the area of drylands in drought, increased
Night-time temperatures have increased a faster rate than daytime by 1% per year.
temperatures. In the U.S. since 1999, two warm weather records
have been set or broken for every cold one. In the year 2015 around 500 million people lived in areas that was
impacted by desertification in the years 1980s - 2000s.
Future climate change will include more very hot days and fewer
very cold days. The frequency, length and intensity of heat waves People who live in the areas affected by land degradation and
will very likely increase over most land areas. Higher growth in desertification are "increasingly negatively affected by climate
anthropogenic GHG emissions would cause more frequent and se- change".
vere temperature extremes.
IPCC SRCCL 2019, pp. 7, 8 IPCC SRCCL Summary for Policy-
Heat waves makers 2019, p. 7,8
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021) projected multiplica-
tive increases in the frequency of extreme events compared to the Climate change will also cause soils to warm. In turn, this could
pre-industrial era for heat waves, droughts and heavy precipitation cause the soil microbe population size to dramatically increase 40–
events, for various global warming scenarios. 150%. Warmer conditions would favor growth of certain bacteria
species, shifting the bacterial community composition. Elevated
Global warming boosts the probability of extreme weather events carbon dioxide would increase the growth rates of plants and soil
such as heat waves where the daily maximum temperature exceeds microbes, slowing the soil carbon cycle and favoring oligotrophs,
the average maximum temperature by 5 °C (9 °F) for more than which are slower-growing and more resource efficient than copi-
five consecutive days. otrophs.

In the last 30–40 years, heat waves with high humidity have be- Flooding
come more frequent and severe. Extremely hot nights have doubled High tides flooding is increasing due to sea level rise, land subsid-
in frequency. The area in which extremely hot summers are ob- ence, and the loss of natural barriers.
served has increased 50–100 fold. These changes are not explained
by natural variability, and are attributed by climate scientists to Warmer air holds more water vapor. When this turns to rain, it
the influence of anthropogenic climate change. Heat waves with tends to come in heavy downpours potentially leading to more
high humidity pose a big risk to human health while heat waves floods. A 2017 study found that peak precipitation is increasing
with low humidity lead to dry conditions that increase wildfires. between 5 and 10% for every one degree Celsius increase. In the
The mortality from extreme heat is larger than the mortality from United States and many other parts of the world there has been a
hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes together. marked increase in intense rainfall events which have resulted in
more severe flooding. Estimates of the number of people at risk of
Tropical cyclones coastal flooding from climate-driven sea-level rise varies from 190
Global warming not only causes changes in tropical cyclones, it million, to 300 million or even 640 million in a worst-case scenar-
may also make some impacts from them worse via sea level rise. io related to the instability of the Antarctic ice sheet. the Green-
The intensity of tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons, etc.) is land ice sheet is estimated to have reached a point of no return,
projected to increase globally, with the proportion of Category 4 continuing to melt even if warming stopped. Over time that would
and 5 tropical cyclones increasing. Furthermore, the rate of rain- submerge many of the world's coastal cities including low-lying
fall is projected to increase, but trends in the future frequency on islands, especially combined with storm surges and high tides.
a global scale are not yet clear. Changes in tropical cyclones will
probably vary by region. Droughts
Climate change affects multiple factors associated with droughts,
On land such as how much rain falls and how fast the rain evaporates again.
In the year 2019 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change It is set to increase the severity and frequency of droughts around
issued a Special Report on Climate Change and Land. The main much of the world. Due to limitations on how much data is avail-
statements of the report include: able about drought in the past, it is often impossible to confidently
attribute droughts to human-induced climate change. Some areas
Humans affect 70% of the ice free land, that play a key role in sup- however, such as the Mediterranean and California, already show
plying the needs of humans and in the climate system. a clear human signature. Their impacts are aggravated because of
increased water demand, population growth, urban expansion, and
The global food supply have raised what increased GHG emission, environmental protection efforts in many areas.
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Wildfires once every decade at a warming level of 2.0 °C.
Warm and dry temperatures driven by climate change increase the
chance of wildfires. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, there has also been a
widespread retreat of alpine glaciers, and snow cover in the North-
Prolonged periods of warmer temperatures typically cause soil ern Hemisphere. During the 21st century, glaciers and snow cover
and underbrush to be drier for longer periods, increasing the risk are projected to continue their retreat in almost all regions. The
of wildfires. Hot, dry conditions increase the likelihood that wild- melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets will contin-
fires will be more intense and burn for longer once they start. In ue to contribute to sea level rise over long time-scales.
California, summer air temperature have increased by over 3.5 °F
such that the fire season has lengthened by 75 days over previous Oceans
decades. As a result, since the 1980s, both the size and ferocity of Global ocean heat content
fires in California have increased. Since the 1970s, the size of the Global ocean heat content from 1955 to 2019
area burned has increased fivefold. Global warming is projected to have a number of effects on the
oceans. Ongoing effects include rising sea levels due to thermal
In Australia, the annual number of hot days (above 35 °C) and very expansion and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and warming of
hot days (above 40 °C) has increased significantly in many areas of the ocean surface, leading to increased temperature stratification.
the country since 1950. The country has always had bushfires but Other possible effects include large-scale changes in ocean circu-
in 2019, the extent and ferocity of these fires increased dramatical- lation. The oceans also serve as a sink for carbon dioxide, taking
ly. For the first time catastrophic bushfire conditions were declared up much that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere, but in-
for Greater Sydney. New South Wales and Queensland declared a creased levels of CO
state of emergency but fires were also burning in South Australia 2 have led to ocean acidification. Furthermore, as the temperature
and Western Australia. of the oceans increases, they become less able to absorb excess CO
2. The oceans have also acted as a sink in absorbing extra heat
Cryosphere from the atmosphere.
Earth lost 28 trillion tonnes of ice between 1994 and 2017, with
melting grounded ice (ice sheets and glaciers) raising the global According to a Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in
sea level by 34.6 ±3.1 mm.[91] The rate of ice loss has risen by a Changing Climate published by the Intergovernmental Panel
57% since the 1990s−from 0.8 to 1.2 trillion tonnes per year. on Climate Change, climate change has different impacts on the
oceans, including an increase in marine heatwaves, shift in species
2012 Arctic sea ice extent distribution, ocean deoxygenation.
A map that shows ice concentration on 16 September 2012, along
with the extent of the previous record low (yellow line) and the The decline in mixing of the ocean layers piles up warm water
mid-September median extent (black line) setting a new record near the surface while reducing cold, deep water circulation. The
low that was 18 percent smaller than the previous record and near- reduced up and down mixing enhanced global warming. Further-
ly 50 percent smaller than the long-term (1979–2000) average. more, energy available for tropical cyclones and other storms is
expected to increase, nutrients for fish in the upper ocean layers
The cryosphere is made up of those parts of the planet which are so are set to decrease, as well as the capacity of the oceans to store
cold, they are frozen and covered by snow or ice. This includes ice carbon.
and snow on land such as the continental ice sheets in Greenland
and Antarctica, as well as glaciers and areas of snow and perma- Sea Ice
frost; and ice found on water including frozen parts of the ocean, Sea ice reflects 50% to 70% of the incoming solar radiation, while
such as the waters surrounding Antarctica and the Arctic. The 6% of the incoming solar engery is reflected by the ocean. With
cryosphere, especially the polar regions, is extremely sensitive to less solar energy, the sea ice absorbs and holds the surface colder,
changes in global climate. which can be a positive feedback toward climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a Special Oxygen depletion

Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Ac- Warmer water cannot contain as much oxygen as cold water, so
cording to the report climate change caused a massive melting of heating is expected to lead to less oxygen in the ocean. Other pro-
glaciers, ice sheets, snow and permafrost with generally negative cesses also play a role: stratification may lead to increases in respi-
effects on ecosystems and humans. Indigenous knowledge helped ration rates of organic matter, further decreasing oxygen content.
to adapt to those effects. The ocean has already lost oxygen, throughout the entire water
column and oxygen minimum zones are expanding worldwide.
Arctic sea ice began to decline at the beginning of the twentieth This has adverse consequences for ocean life.
century but the rate is accelerating. Since 1979, satellite records in-
dicate the decline in summer sea ice coverage has been about 13% Ocean heat uptake
per decade. The thickness of sea ice has also decreased by 66% or Oceans have taken up over 90% of the excess heat accumulated on
2.0 m over the last six decades with a shift from permanent ice to Earth due to global warming. The warming rate varies with depth:
largely seasonal ice cover. While ice-free summers are expected to at a depth of a thousand metres the warming occurs at a rate of
be rare at 1.5 °C degrees of warming, they are set to occur at least almost 0.4 °C per century (data from 1981 to 2019), whereas the
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warming rate at two kilometres depth is only half. The increase in drought, pest infestation, invasion of species, storms, and coral
ocean heat content is much larger than any other store of energy bleaching events. The stresses caused by climate change, added
in the Earth's heat balance and accounts for more than 90% of the to other stresses on ecological systems (e.g. land conversion, land
increase in heat content of the Earth system, and has accelerated degradation, harvesting, and pollution), threaten substantial dam-
in the 1993–2017 period compared to 1969–1993. In 2019 a paper age to or complete loss of some unique ecosystems, and extinction
published in the journal Science found the oceans are heating 40% of some critically endangered species. Key interactions between
faster than the IPCC predicted just five years before. species within ecosystems are often disrupted because species
from one location do not move to colder habitats at the same rate,
As well as having effects on ecosystems (e.g. by melting sea ice giving rise to rapid changes in the functioning of the ecosystem.
affecting algae that grow on its underside), warming reduces the The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the global mean. Seas are
ocean's ability to absorb CO2. It is likely that the oceans warmed on track to rise one to four feet higher by 2100, threatening coastal
faster between 1993 and 2017 compared to the period starting in habitats.
1969.
Terrestrial and wetland systems
Sea level rise Biodiversity
Historical sea level reconstruction and projections up to 2100 pub- Climate change has been estimated to be a major driver of biodi-
lished in January 2017 by the U.S. Global Change Research Pro- versity loss in cool conifer forests, savannas, mediterranean-cli-
gram. The IPCC's Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere mate systems, tropical forests, and the Arctic tundra. In other
concluded that global mean sea level rose by 0.16 metres between ecosystems, land-use change may be a stronger driver of biodi-
1901 and 2016.The rate of sea level rise since the industrial revo- versity loss, at least in the near-term. Beyond the year 2050, cli-
lution in the 19th century has been larger than the rate during the mate change may be the major driver for biodiversity loss global-
previous two thousand years. ly. Climate change interacts with other pressures such as habitat
modification, pollution and invasive species. Interacting with these
Global sea level rise is accelerating, rising 2.5 times faster between pressures, climate change increases extinction risk for a large frac-
2006 and 2016 than it did during the 20th century. Two main fac- tion of terrestrial and freshwater species. Between 1% and 50%
tors contribute to the rise. The first is thermal expansion: as ocean of species in different groups were assessed to be at substantially
water warms, it expands. The second is from the melting of land- higher risk of extinction due to climate change.
based ice in glaciers and ice sheets due to global warming. Prior
to 2007, thermal expansion was the largest component in these Ocean ecosystems
projections, contributing 70–75% of sea level rise. As the impact A part of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2016 after a
of global warming has accelerated, melting from glaciers and ice coral bleaching event
sheets has become the main contributor. Warm water coral reefs are very sensitive to global warming and
ocean acidification. Coral reefs provide a habitat for thousands
Even if emission of greenhouse gases stops overnight, sea level of species and ecosystem services such as coastal protection and
rise will continue for centuries to come. In 2015, a study by Pro- food. The resilience of reefs can be improved by curbing local pol-
fessor James Hansen of Columbia University and 16 other climate lution and overfishing, but 70–90% of today's warm water coral
scientists said a sea level rise of three metres could be a reality by reefs will disappear even if warming is kept to 1.5 °C.Coral reefs
the end of the century. Another study by scientists at the Royal are not the only framework organisms, organisms that build phys-
Netherlands Meteorological Institute in 2017 using updated pro- ical structures that form habitats for other sea creatures, affected
jections of Antarctic mass loss and a revised statistical method also by climate change: mangroves and seagrass are considered to be
concluded that, although it was a low probability, a three-metre at moderate risk for lower levels of global warming according to
rise was possible. Rising sea levels will put hundreds of millions of a literature assessment in the Special Report on the Ocean and
people at risk in low-lying coastal areas in countries such as China, Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Marine heatwaves have seen
Bangladesh, India and Vietnam. an increased frequency and have widespread impacts on life in the
oceans, such as mass dying events. Harmful algae blooms have
Wildlife and nature increased in response to warming waters, ocean deoxygenation
A vast array of physical and biological systems across the Earth and eutrophication. Between one-quarter and one-third of our
are being affected by human-induced global warming. Recent fossil fuel emissions are consumed by the earth's oceans and are
warming has strongly affected natural biological systems. Species now 30 percent more acidic than they were in pre-industrial times.
worldwide are moving poleward to colder areas. On land, species This acidification poses a serious threat to aquatic life, particularly
move to higher elevations, whereas marine species find colder wa- creatures such as oysters, clams, and coral with calcified shells or
ter at greater depths. Of the drivers with the biggest global impact skeletons.
on nature, climate change ranks third over the five decades before
2020, with only change in land use and sea use, and direct ex- Regional effects
ploitation of organisms having a greater impact. Average global temperatures from 2010 to 2019 compared to a
baseline average from 1951 to 1978. Source: NASA.
The impacts of climate change in nature and nature's contribu-
tions to humans are projected to become more pronounced in the Regional effects of global warming vary in nature. Some are the
next few decades.Examples of climatic disruptions include fire, result of a generalised global change, such as rising temperature,
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resulting in local effects, such as melting ice. In other cases, a 2050, "climate change is expected to cause about 250,000 addi-
change may be related to a change in a particular ocean current or tional deaths per year." As global temperatures increase, so does
weather system. In such cases, the regional effect may be dispro- the number of heat stress, heatstroke, and cardiovascular and kid-
portionate and will not necessarily follow the global trend. ney disease deaths and illnesses. Air pollution generated by fossil
fuel combustion is both a major driver of global warming and – in
There are three major ways in which global warming will make parallel and for comparison – the cause of a large number of annu-
changes to regional climate: melting or forming ice, changing the al deaths with some estimates as high as 8.7 million[dubious – dis-
hydrological cycle (of evaporation and precipitation) and changing cuss] excess deaths during 2018.[164][165] It may be difficult to
currents in the oceans and air flows in the atmosphere. The coast predict or attribute deaths to anthropogenic global warming or its
can also be considered a region, and will suffer severe impacts particular drivers as many effects – such as possibly contributing
from sea level rise. to human conflict and socioeconomic disruptions – and their mor-
tality impacts could be highly indirect or hard to evaluate.
The Arctic, Africa, small islands, Asian megadeltas and the Middle
East are regions that are likely to be especially affected by climate Food security
change. Low-latitude, less-developed regions are at most risk of Climate change will impact agriculture and food production
experiencing negative impacts due to climate change. Developed around the world due to the effects of elevated CO2 in the atmo-
countries are also vulnerable to climate change. For example, de- sphere; higher temperatures; altered precipitation and transpira-
veloped countries will be negatively affected by increases in the tion regimes; increased frequency of extreme events; and modified
severity and frequency of some extreme weather events, such as weed, pest, and pathogen pressure.[166] Climate change is pro-
heat waves. Already in 2021 climate change became "very obvi- jected to negatively affect all four pillars of food security: not only
ously a rich-country problem,”. how much food is available, but also how easy food is to access
(prices), food quality and how stable the food system is.
Projections of climate changes at the regional scale do not hold
as high a level of scientific confidence as projections made at the Food availability
global scale. It is, however, expected that future warming will fol- 2011 projected changes in crop yields at different latitudes with
low a similar geographical pattern to that seen already, with the global warming. This graph is based on several studies. 2011 pro-
greatest warming over land and high northern latitudes, and least jected changes in yields of selected crops with global warming.
over the Southern Ocean and parts of the North Atlantic Ocean. This graph is based on several studies.
Land areas warm faster than ocean, and this feature is even stron-
ger for extreme temperatures. For hot extremes, regions with the As of 2019, negative impacts have been observed for some crops
most warming include Central and Southern Europe and Western in low-latitudes (maize and wheat), while positive impacts of cli-
and Central Asia. mate change have been observed in some crops in high-latitudes
(maize, wheat, and sugar beets). Using different methods to project
The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations future crop yields, a consistent picture emerges of global decreases
(ASEAN) are among the most vulnerable in the world to the nega- in yield. Maize and soybean decrease with any warming, whereas
tive effects of climate change, however, ASEAN's climate mitiga- rice and wheat production might peak at 3 °C of warming.
tion efforts are not commensurate with the climate change threats
the region faces. In many areas, fisheries have already seen their catch decrease be-
cause of global warming and changes in biochemical cycles. In
On humans combination with overfishing, warming waters decrease the maxi-
The effects of climate change, in combination with the sustained mum catch potential. [Global catch potential is projected to reduce
increases in greenhouse gas emissions, have led scientists to char- further in 2050 by less than 4% if emissions are reduced strongly,
acterize it as a climate emergency Some climate researchers and and by about 8% for very high future emissions, with growth in
activists have called it an existential threat to civilization. Some the Arctic Ocean.
areas may become too hot for humans to live in while people in
some areas may experience displacement triggered by flooding Other aspects of food security
and other climate change related disasters. Climate change impacts depend strongly on projected future so-
cial and economic development. As of 2019, an estimated 831
The vulnerability and exposure of humans to climate change var- million people are undernourished Under a high emission scenario
ies from one economic sector to another and will have different (RCP6.0), cereals are projected to become 1-29% more expensive
impacts in different countries. Wealthy industrialised countries, in 2050 depending on the socioeconomic pathway, particularly af-
which have emitted the most CO2, have more resources and so are fecting low-income consumers. Compared to a no climate change
the least vulnerable to global warming. Economic sectors that are scenario, this would put between 1-181 million extra people at risk
likely to be affected include agriculture, human health, fisheries, of hunger.
forestry, energy, insurance, financial services, tourism, and recre-
ation. The quality and quantity of freshwater will likely be affected While CO
almost everywhere. Some people may be particularly at risk from 2 is expected to be good for crop productivity at lower tempera-
climate change, such as the poor, young children and the elderly. tures, it does reduce the nutritional values of crops, with for in-
According to the World Health Organization, between 2030 and stance wheat having less protein and less of some minerals. It
Adv Envi Was Mana Rec, 2021 www.opastonline.com Volume 4 | Issue 3 | 204
is difficult to project the impact of climate change on utilization A study by the World Health Organization concluded that climate
(protecting food against spoilage, being healthy enough to absorb change was responsible for 3% of diarrhoea, 3% of malaria, and
nutrients, etc.) and on volatility of food prices. Most models pro- 3.8% of dengue fever deaths worldwide in 2004. Total attributable
jecting the future do indicate that prices will become more volatile. mortality was about 0.2% of deaths in 2004; of these, 85% were
child deaths. The effects of more frequent and extreme storms
Droughts result in crop failures and the loss of pasture for live- were excluded from this study.
stock.
The human impacts include both the direct effects of extreme
Water security weather, leading to injury and loss of life, as well as indirect ef-
A number of climate-related trends have been observed that affect fects, such as undernutrition brought on by crop failures. Various
water resources. These include changes in precipitation, the cryo- infectious diseases are more easily transmitted in a warmer cli-
sphere and surface waters (e.g., changes in river flows). Observed mate, such as dengue fever, which affects children most severely,
and projected impacts of climate change on freshwater systems and malaria. Young children are the most vulnerable to food short-
and their management are mainly due to changes in temperature, ages, and together with older people, to extreme heat.
sea level and precipitation variability. Changes in temperature are
correlated with variability in precipitation because the water cycle According to a report from the United Nations Environment Pro-
is reactive to temperature. Temperature increases change precip- gramme and International Livestock Research Institute, climate
itation patterns. Excessive precipitation leads to excessive sedi- change can facilitate outbreaks of Zoonosis, e.g. diseases that pass
ment deposition, nutrient pollution, and concentration of minerals from animals to humans. One example of such outbreaks is the
in aquifers. COVID-19 pandemic.
A minor further effect are increases of pollen season lengths and
The rising global temperature will cause sea level rise and will concentrations in some regions of the world.
extend areas of salinization of groundwater and estuaries, resulting
in a decrease in freshwater availability for humans and ecosystems References
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