The day is not far that the World will vanish due to Global warming.
In the last few years, India and many other countries have been facing unusual climatic changes like some unseasonable rainfall, the warmer temperature during cold seasons, etc. This situation is a direct result of various human activities and its interference with natural processes. The excessive use of private vehicles has worsened this situation.
Even for travelling small distances we prefer to take our private vehicles. Petrol and diesel are the main sources of energy for these vehicles. When petrol or diesel is burnt, it emits out smoke. This smoke contains gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) which is let out into the environment.
The level of CO2 is increasing every day, which is affecting the overall composition of other gases like oxygen, nitrogen, etc. The global average atmospheric carbon dioxide in 2017 was 405.0 parts per million (ppm).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 out of 10 people around the world breathe polluted air. 7 million people die each year from air pollution. Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in many parts of the world. This has become an "alarming" situation all through the world.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels today, are higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years. Due to these reasons, people are suffering from various diseases. These diseases are majorly related to respiratory functions.
Increased level of CO2 gas is causing the environment to heat up, through the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a process by which the solar radiation that is reflected back, gets trapped, which leads to the heating up the earth’s surface to a temperature above its normal. This heat cannot find its space to escape out and hence, remains on the surface of the earth for a long time. The surface of the earth is getting heated up. Therefore, this condition is called ‘Global Warming’.
Many negative effects are seen and experienced by nature. The melting of snow and ice glaciers in the Himalayan regions are causing the water level to rise in the rivers and sea. Due to which, we face the issues of floods almost every monsoon. The aquatic environment is also affected by an increase in temperature and sea levels.
Global warming can be explained by an analogue of boiling water. Initially, it takes time for the temperature to rise and then, as the temperature rises and reaches its threshold, the water starts boiling. In a similar way, the earth takes time to get heated; and once it exceeds its threshold temperature, it will start to boil and may eventually burst out. As a global citizen, we should find solutions to reduce global warming for a better and secure present and future.
Editor: Anomitra Dey
References:
1. Root, T. L., Price, J. T., Hall, K. R., Schneider, S. H., Rosenzweig, C., & Pounds, J. A. (2003). Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants. Nature, 421(6918), 57. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01333
2. Meinshausen, M., Meinshausen, N., Hare, W., Raper, S. C., Frieler, K., Knutti, R., & Allen, M. R. (2009). Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 C. Nature, 458(7242), 1158. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08017
3. Freeman, B. G., Lee‐Yaw, J. A., Sunday, J. M., & Hargreaves, A. L. (2018). Expanding, shifting and shrinking: The impact of global warming on species’ elevational distributions. Global ecology and biogeography, 27(11), 1268-1276. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12774
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouseffect
6. Youtube Video link:
