What is Climate Change?
Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. Climate change could refer to a particular location or the planet as a whole. Climate change may cause weather patterns to be less predictable. These unexpected weather patterns can make it difficult to maintain and grow crops in regions that rely on farming because expected temperature and rainfall levels can no longer be relied on. Climate change has also been connected with other damaging weather events such as more frequent and more intense hurricanes, floods, downpours, and winter storms.
In polar regions, the warming global temperatures associated with climate change have meant ice sheets and glaciers are melting at an accelerated rate from season to season. This contributes to sea levels rising in different regions of the planet. Together with expanding ocean waters due to rising temperatures, the resulting rise in sea level has begun to damage coastlines as a result of increased flooding and erosion.
The cause of current climate change is largely human activity, like burning fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere. There, these gases trap heat from the sun’s rays inside the atmosphere causing Earth’s average temperature to rise. This rise in the planet’s temperature is called global warming. The warming of the planet impacts local and regional climates. Throughout Earth’s history, climate has continually changed. When occuring naturally, this is a slow process that has taken place over hundreds and thousands of years. The human influenced climate change that is happening now is occuring at a much faster rate.
What causes climate change?
What is the greenhouse effect?
It is crucial to understand that the greenhouse effect is critical to life on earth. Without a blanket of greenhouse gases trapping in heat, the temperature would be bitterly cold, and humans would be unable to survive. However, by adding extra greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, humans have created an enhanced greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse gas blanket is now thicker and is absorbing more infrared radiation than before. In other words, the greenhouse effect is stronger and, instead of keeping the earth at a stable temperature, it is causing the planet to heat up.
What are the sources of greenhouse gases?
One-quarter of human-made greenhouse gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat production.
Another quarter of human-made greenhouse gas emissions come from Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU).
To feed our livestock and ourselves, people have chopped down large areas of the forest and used the land to grow crops. Forests are very good at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and so cutting down trees allows carbon dioxide to build up in the atmosphere even more.
Land can also be used to rear livestock, such as cattle for meat and milk. These animals produce additional gases, like methane. They also eat crops that might otherwise have been needed by humans, meaning that even more land is required.
As well as fossil fuels, deforestation and land use, aeroplanes and the production of cement also contribute to emissions of carbon dioxide.
How can we stop climate change?
Reduce global greenhouse gas emissions
The most crucial step to limit climate change is to make big and rapid reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. There are many different ways this can be done and governments, businesses, organisations and individuals around the world can all contribute. In June 2019, the UK became the world’s first major economy to pass a law committing the country to a target of ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/what-is-climate-change
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/climate-change
