More efforts are empowered to educate the population about the dangers of Global Warming.
Imagine yourself sitting in a room filled with smoke containing suite. It becomes difficult to breathe, to the extent that you choke. Merely opening your eyes is challenging due to the rapid stream of tears pouring from them. This is just the situation our future generations will face in this world unless we wake up and act now!
The difference in the quality and purity of air is felt even if you move a few kilometres away from bigger cities to smaller towns and villages. This is due to the trees and plants and the absence of industrial units in the latter areas. Also, the number of vehicles in these areas is significantly lower than in the cities. Thus, due to the tremendous exploitation of nature due to human interventions, we are harming the other living organisms and in turn ourselves.
An immediate effect of the human actions, one of the conditions that we are facing is that of ‘Global warming’. This term has been coined for a situation of excessive heat on the earth’s surface. This is mainly caused due to the long-time accumulation of green-house gases in the environment. The major culprits are carbon dioxide and other gases like methane, nitrous oxide, into the atmosphere. These gases are emitted from the industries, from vehicles that run on petrol and diesel, and due to deforestation. Since these gases have been trapped in our environment, they have increased the Earth’s average surface temperature by about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius), since the late 19th century. Continuous emission of these gases has led to massive warming over the past 35 years, with the five warmest years being recorded since 2010. 2016 was the warmest year on record and these effects have been experienced in all parts of the world.
India’s sensitivity to drastic weather conditions and cyclones during monsoon as it surrounded by seas and oceans on three sides. On the other hand, deforestation and over-exploitation of land for human benefits is causing India to be at the stage of the disaster. The ever- increasing population, lack of infrastructure and ignorance makes India at the top of the list as the disaster-prone country. 27 out of its 35 states being disaster-prone and the most frequent disastrous effect of global warming being floods. 82% of the population are at the risk of natural hazards.
A study carried out in the year 2016 and was published in the domain Theoretical and Applied Climatology of the journal Springer by the authors Ms Savita Patwardhan & Ms Ashwini Kulkarni and Mr K. Koteswara Rao discussed the ‘Changes in rainfall and temperature over homogeneous regions of India’. The result of climate change on the features of maximum and minimum temperature and seasonal summer monsoon rainfall was evaluated over five similar regions of India, using a high-resolution regional climate model. Three simulations models were used in their study and the projections showed an increase in the summer monsoon rainfall, over all the regions, by about 15 to 19%. The investigation suggested that the mean highest surface air temperatures for the pre-monsoon season, as well as the mean least surface air temperature for the winter season, could be warmer by around 4 °C, by the end of the 21st century. The resulting repercussions include rising sea levels, seasonal changes, more frequent extreme weather events such as heatwaves, and expansion of deserts etc.
Further, the increase in temperature and the resulting melting of the ice slaps and the glaciers has resulted in a rise in the sea level. India witnessed floods in thirteen states listing Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Pune, Punjab, Assam and Bihar was also the effect of climate change.
Apart from the environment, global warming is affecting all the living things on our planet. The animals and plants are not able to grow and survive due to higher temperatures, which has caused a disturbance in the biodiversity. This has also resulted in the extinction of some of the plants and animals from the earth. Furthermore, these effects have also started affecting the health and survival of humans.
It is important for now to start implementing measures to reverse this appalling situation. Following are some of the ways in which this may be achieved.
- Make use of the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
- Reduce the use of heat and air conditioning.
- Replace tube lights with CFL bulbs.
- Decrease the use of private vehicles and make use of public transport that runs on CNG.
- Buy energy-efficient products.
- Trying planting a tree.
- Spread awareness about Global warming through mass media, social platforms, campaigns, etc.
These individual actions, along with the measures instituted by our governments, can save our planet and retain it suitable for the generations to come.
Editor: Prajakta Dandekar Jain
References:
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190516090841.htm
- Patwardhan, S., Kulkarni, A., & Rao, K. K. (2018). Projected changes in rainfall and temperature over homogeneous regions of India. Theoretical and applied climatology, 131(1-2), 581-592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1999-z
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
- https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
