Climate Change: What is it and why we should look into it

Definition of Climate Change

Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon of climate transformation defined by changes in the planet's normal climate (temperature, precipitation, and wind) that are mostly driven by human activity. The viability of the planet's ecosystems and the future of humanity and the global economy, are all threatened as a result of unbalanced weather on Earth.

Who and what is responsible for climate change?

When we talk about climate change, we frequently refer to temperature rises caused by industrial activity, namely the greenhouse effect. As a result, we sometimes refer to global warming as being "anthropogenic in origin." Global warming is ultimately caused (at least at its current rate) by the human economy and industry, not by natural forces. Many experts are researching this phenomena and are attempting to figure out how human activities are causing this warming.

When was the greenhouse effect first discovered?

Scientist Jacques Fourier established the first assumptions about the greenhouse effect in 1824, and his work was followed by numerous scientists who attempted to quantify the phenomena, including Claude Pouillet, John Tyndall, and Svante Arrhenius. At the late 19th century, it was Arrhenius who conducted the first experiment that precisely confirmed and measured the greenhouse effect. He observed that carbon dioxide-rich air holds more heat from solar radiation, resulting in a rise in air temperature.

In the end, he came to the conclusion that releasing significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere (due to industrial operations that burn coal) will charge the air with CO2 and cause more heat to be retained. By that time, Arrhenius and other scientists had calculated that doubling the amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere would result in a 5º Celsius increase in average global temperature. Gustaf Ekholm used the term "greenhouse effect" to describe this occurrence for the first time in 1901.

These discoveries were dismissed by the scientific community for decades. Many scientists at the time felt that nature could self-regulate and that man's effect was small. Many scientists, for example, believed that any extra CO2 would be absorbed by the ocean, which is accurate under certain CO2 limitations. Nonetheless, Gilbert Plass proved and supported the concept that global warming was connected to greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide) in the 1940s. There is strong evidence that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere impacts the air's capacity to hold infrared radiation and heat with today’s technology.

Effects of Climate Change on the Environment

At the same time, rising temperatures are affecting oceans' ability to regulate itself. Ocean levels will not only rise if global temperatures rise considerably; they will also face the biological difficulties of marine acidification and deoxygenation. Forests, vulnerable ecosystems, and biodiversity are all threatened at the same time.

Effects of Climate Change on the Communities and the Economy

Furthermore, climate change is already hard and will continue to be so. The flow of climate refugees is shifting and expanding as temperatures rise in certain nations, particularly in Equatorial areas, placing pressure on other countries to welcome them, assist them succeed, and overcome political impediments.

The reasons for this shift have to do with limited natural resources, such as drinking water, and many crops and livestock that are unlikely to survive in specific locations due to excessive heat, dryness, cold, or wetness (affecting locals as well as the global economy of several industries that rely on raw materials). And, as it turns out, research show that the world's wealthiest countries will see fewer changes in their local climate than the poorest regions if global average surface temperatures hit 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius.