Image source: https://futureoflife.org/background/risks-of-climate-change/)
Ever wondered the changing climate can cause extinction of about a million of species. Climate is changing, and temperature is rising. Since the industrial revolution the global annual temperature has risen by more than 1 degree Celsius. The aftereffects of which are already being witnessed without any doubt. Some of them majorly include rising temperature, extinction of species, increase in climate related disasters, increased health problems, oceanic acidification, sea level rise etc. Tackling climate change is the need of the hour and everyone needs to act accordingly. To get an insight of what climate change is doing with our planet earth, read the section below:
1. Carbon dioxide concentration crossed 419 ppm in May 2021, known to be highest in human history [1]
Human activities has been the major cause for rising CO2, including power generation, transportation, construction, conversion of forest land into agricultural land, deforestation etc. Mauna Loa observatory in 2021 May, showed the concentration of 419 ppm, known to be highest emissions till date.
2. More than 800 million people (which is roughly 11%) around the world are vulnerable to climate change [2]
As per WHO reports, climate change can cause a quarter of million deaths per year from year 2030 to 2050 [5]. Climate change has increased the frequency of heatwaves, droughts, flood, cold waves, vector borne diseases etc. and thereby increased the illness and death risk of many people and communities around the world.
3. Coastal mangroves are just 0.7% of total world's forest, but they store more than 10 times carbon stored by the normal tropical forest [2]
Carbon stored by coastal and marine ecosystem is known as blue carbon. As per researches, mangroves has a carbon sequestration potential of about 6 to 8 tons of CO2 equivalent/ hectare. Surprisingly this rate is 2-4 times greater than the sequestration rate of grown tropical forest [6] .
Image Source: https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/10/11/new-science-mangrove-forests-carbon-store-map/
4. Earth's average surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Celsius since 1880. Carbon dioxide emissions rise has primarily driven this change [3].
Oceans, being massive in size are capable of storing huge amount of heat resulting from the GHG emissions, due to which temperature changes little even with enormous increase of heat. As per IPCC report, 1 degree Celsius of warming has resulted since Industrial revolution and the earth's temperature is rising by about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade.
5. Ocean has also warmed, the rise of 0.33 degree Celsius temperature of the oceanic surface has been observed [2]
Ocean absorbs most of the heat resulting from the GHG emissions, as a result of which oceanic temperature is rising. This rise in temperature is detrimental for the marine and coral species. Oceanic warming results in reduction of dissolved oxygen from the ocean, leads to thermal expansion of the ocean and ultimately rise in the water level. This all affects the marine life, triggers coral bleaching, and also impacts breeding activities of marine animals
6. Sea level is rising, the rise of 20 cm of the sea level has been observed in the last century [2]
Temperature rise has caused glacier melting and thermal expansion of sea which in turns resulted in sea level rise. Sea level rise may create stress on coastal ecosystem, as the risk of contamination of saltwater with the nearly freshwater aquifer increases with sea level rise. In addition to this, sea level rise increases flood risk in the nearby communities.
7. Oceanic acidity has risen by 30% since industrial revolution. This increased acidity is detrimental for marine organisms [2].
Carbon dioxide is acidic in nature, it reacts with water to produce carbonic acid. Carbonic acid being acidic, decreases the pH of the water. This increase in acidity is detrimental for marine organisms, as the increased acidity it is difficult for the marine species to form the calcium carbonate. shells
8. Loss of working hours due to excessive heat
Excessive heat in year 2019 has caused the loss of about 302.4 billion work hours and India alone lost 118.3 million work hours in the same year [7] . Day workers especially the agricultural workers and construction labor, working in the open areas are worst effected. The increase in heat stress due to climate change, can also increase the inequality between rich and poor communities.
9. Biodiversity loss
Half of the amphibians are at risk of extinction due to climate change, and more than 1 Millions species of plants and animals can go extinct due to climate change [4] . Climate Change has accelerated the events of forest fires, increased the extinction risk of coral species, and has changed the geographical distribution of animal species.
10. Deforestation activities are responsible for 11% of carbon emissions [2]
Deforestation is the leading cause of climate change. Averaged carbon emissions due to deforestation in the year 2015-2017 was about 5 gigatons, deforestation along with other land- use changes has caused 11% of carbon emissions [8] .
Image source: https://eartheclipse.com/climate-change/how-does-deforestation-affect-climate-change.html
References
- https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2764/Coronavirus-response-barely-slows-rising-carbon-dioxide
- https://www.conservation.org/stories/11-climate-change-facts-you-need-to-know
- https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
- https://www.earthday.org/5-terrifying-climate-change-facts-scare-halloween/
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
- https://www.thebluecarboninitiative.org/about-blue-carbon
- https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/india-lost-118-billion-work-hours-in-2019-due-to-extreme-heat-study-6183941.html
- https://www.carbonbrief.org/deforestation-has-driven-up-hottest-day-temperatures
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