Under impacts of climate change

Climate change refers to

significant changes in global temperature, precipitation, wind

patterns and other measures of climate that occur over several

decades or longer. The seas are rising. The foods we eat and

take for granted are threatened. Ocean acidification is

increasing.

Impacts of climate change

The global increase in temperatures can

influence the physical, biological and

human systems.

First, variations in the physical systems

of the planet can be observed in the

melting of the poles, which at the same

time cause glacial regression, snow

melting, warming and thawing of

permafrost, flooding in rivers and lakes,

droughts in rivers and lakes, coastal

erosion, sea level rise and extreme

natural phenomena.

In the biological systems, there is death

of flora and fauna in terrestrial and

marine ecosystems, wildfires and flora and

fauna displacement searching for better

In human systems, climate change

affects and destroys crops and food

production, causes disease and death ,

destruction and loss of economic

livelihoods and migrations of climate

refugees .In addition, these negatinegatiw and ice

causes sea level rise, which erodes the

coast and involves the destruction of

many economic means of subsistence.

- Droughts, rising sea levels, extreme

natural phenomena and floods cause

climate refugees .

How are humans changing the climate?

Burning fossil fuels produces energy, but also releases greenhouse

gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous monoxide into the
air. Over time, large quantities of these gases have built up in the

atmosphere.

Once in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide form

a 'blanket' around the planet. This blanket traps the heat from the sun

and causes the earth to heat up.

Natural causes

Natural causes

There are a number of natural factors responsible for climate change.

Some of the more prominent ones are continental drift, volcanoes,

ocean currents, the earth's tilt,plant power,sun's heat, and comets and meteorites.

Continental drift

The continents that we are familiar with today were formed when the

landmass began gradually drifting apart, millions of years back. This

drift also had an impact on the climate because it changed the physical

features of the landmass, their position and the position of water

bodies. The separation of the landmasses changed the flow of ocean

currents and winds, which affected the climate. This drift of the

continents continues even today; the Himalayan range is rising by about

1 mm (millimeter) every year because the Indian land mass is moving

towards the Asian land mass, slowly but steadily.

Ocean currents

The oceans are a major component of the climate system. They cover

about 71% of the Earth and absorb about twice as much of the sun's

radiation as the atmosphere or the land surface. Ocean currents move

vast amounts of heat across the planet - roughly the same amount as
the atmosphere does. But the oceans are surrounded by land masses,

so heat transport through the water is through channels.

Winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean

current patterns.

Plant Power

Plants and algae have actually played a pretty huge role in the

history of Earth's climate. Because they undergo photosynthesis , or

the process of turning carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and

glucose, they have helped to shape Earth's atmosphere. Back before

plants and algae evolved, Earth's atmosphere was high in carbon

dioxide and low in oxygen. The climate was much warmer than it is

today, since the greenhouse effect was stronger, trapping more of

the sun's heat. As plants evolved, they turned more carbon dioxide

into oxygen, slowly decreasing the greenhouse effect and cooling the

planet. If there were suddenly no more plants or algae on Earth's

surface, the amount of carbon dioxide would skyrocket and Earth's

climate would rapidly heat up!

Volcano

Volcanoes

When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide

(SO 2 ), water vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere. Although the

volcanic activity may last only a few days, yet the large volumes of

gases and ash can influence climatic patterns for years. Millions of

tonnes of sulphur dioxide gas can reach the upper levels of the

atmosphere (called the stratosphere) from a major eruption. The gases

to cooling. Sulphur dioxide combines with water to form tiny droplets of

sulphuric acid. These droplets are so small that many of them can stay

aloft for several years. They are efficient reflectors of sunlight, and

screen the ground from some of the energy that it would ordinarily

receive from the sun. Winds in the upper levels of the atmopshere,

called the stratosphere, carry the aerosols rapidly around the globe in

either an easterly or westerly direction. Movement of aerosols north

and south is always much slower. This should give you some idea of

the ways by which cooling can be brought about for a few years after a

major volcanic eruption.

The Sun's Heat

So Earth's atmosphere traps a lot of heat, which determines our

climate. Where does that heat originate? The sun! Our sun is the

ultimate source of the heat in our atmosphere. Though it may not

seem like it, the sun goes through cycles of its own, phases where it

puts out more heat or less heat. These cycles are due largely to the

presence of sunspots , which are essentially cool patches on the

sun's surface that appear darker when observed and last about 11

years. We have measured how much the sun's heat output changes

during these cycles, though it seems to have a fairly small impact on

Earth's climate.