Have you ever asked yourself why there exists ever-changing seasons in Uganda or the globe with presentation of rains in seasons we thought were dry seasons and vice versa? This has been linked to climatic change an effect from global warming.
Global warming is the long term heating on the earth’s surface and Ozone depletion is a gradual thinning of Earth’s ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. These terms are used these days together since the causes of these are more less the same. Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14° F (0.08° C) per decade since 1880, and the rate of warming over the past 40 years is more than twice that: 0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade since 1981 and even basing on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) temperature data, 2020 was the second-warmest year on record. This clearly shows that the earth’s temperatures are rising every year.
Global warming is caused by a variety of issues which include the following;
- Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas causes a large chunk of global emissions.
- Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions
- Most cars, Lorries, ships and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions. Road vehicles account for the largest part, but emissions from ships and planes continue to grow.
- Poor disposal of waste like the plastic bank or chemical compounds that emit greenhouse gases.
These emissions cause a layer around the earth’s surface which causes the additional heat retained due to the increased amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that humans have released into the earth’s atmosphere.
Global warming is then followed by a series of different natural calamities such as:
- Hotter days: This has been observed even on records for example where 2020 was among the hottest years.
- Rising sea levels: Increased temperatures facilitate melting glaciers and ice caps all over the world. Melted ice increases the volume of water in our oceans. Warmer temperatures also result in the expansion of the water’s mass, which causes sea levels to rise, threatening low-lying islands and coastal cities with flooding.
- More frequent and intense extreme weather events: Extreme weather events like bushfires, cyclones, droughts and floods are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of global warming.
- Food and farming issues: Changes to rainfall patterns, increasingly severe drought, more frequent heat waves, flooding and extreme weather make it more difficult for farmers to graze livestock and grow produce, reducing food availability and making it more expensive to buy.
These and many other effects impact on not only the health of the population but also the environmental sustainability.
NB: Hence, our climate is determined by patterns of temperature, wind, atmospheric pressure, humidity and rain over a long period of time. There are different climates around the world, such as tropical, dry and moderate. As a large country, Australia has a variety of climates. The climate of an area determines its seasons and when they come and go. This, in turn, affects the type of plants that grow and which animals survive. The species and places we love depend on intricate ecosystems, and even small changes to the climate can disrupt the delicate balance of nature.
As humans, every aspect of our life is reliant on the natural environment. This includes the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear and the products that are made and sold to create jobs and drive the economy.
A healthy and stable climate is our most precious natural resource.
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