Global Warming and its Impact on the Environment
Introduction
Global warming has been an issue of concern in the world’s environmental circles as there are growing concerns about its increase. It is the gradual rising in temperatures when green house gases that include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and water vapor are trapped within the earth’s atmosphere. This has caused the melting of the icecaps which have led to a rise in sea levels. Other effects of global warming are changing weather patterns which have caused flooding, heat waves and drought. All these effects show that global warming has impacted significantly on the environment.
I. Rise in temperatures
a) The future global warming levels are uncertain though several projections have been made on the expected temperatures. Most of the projections in use by the United Nations and other environmental bodies have been made using the SRES scenario (Houghton, 2009).
b) A rise in temperatures leads to increased desertification of areas which results in reduced water and organic food for the population in the area.
c) The increase in temperature due to global warming also leads to the melting of the polar ice-caps which disturbs the biodiversity of these areas.
II. Physical Impacts
a) Global warming has resulted to extreme weather evidenced through things such as heat waves and increased occurrence of tropical cyclones (Hoggan, 2009).
b) Global warming has led to disappearance of glaciers. About a sixth of the global population is supplied with water from these glaciers and hence their disappearance would lead to reduced water for these areas (Hoggan, 2009).
c) Some of the effects of global warming such as melting of glaciers have increased the likelihood of volcanoes occurring.
d) Increased presence of Carbon (IV) Oxide in the atmosphere results in acidification of the ocean. This change in ocean pH affects the general balance of marine ecology (Spencer, 2010).
e) Increased temperatures heat up large water bodies which in turn reduces the amount of Carbon (IV) oxide these bodies can absorb from the atmosphere.
f) Global warming has also led to the unpredictability of weather patterns which also impacts on activities such as farming.
III. Unexpected or Irreversible Changes to the Ecology
a) Global warming is altering biogeochemical cycles such as the carbon cycle (Spencer, 2010). Such alterations would change the global ecosystem for years to come and affect some of man’s activities.
b) The receding of global glaciers at the Arctic would change the whole ecology of the region such that 100 years to come the place may be totally different as compared to the Arctic in the 20th century. The melting of the glaciers will also lead to rising of sea levels leading to submersion of some coastal areas. A country such as The Netherlands that was reclaimed from the sea would also be put at risk of flooding.
c) The increased global temperatures due to radioactive forcing resulting from increased terrestrial radiation as there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is also seen as an irreversible impact to the global ecology.
Conclusion
Global warming and its effects cannot be overlooked for the future good of the planet earth. The main impacts of this phenomenon which include increase in temperature, physical impacts, and irreversible changes to ecology show the great dangers global warming poses to mankind and the environment.
Houghton, J. (2009). Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. Cambridge: CUP
Spencer, R. (2010). The Great Global Warming Blunder: How Mother Nature Fooled the
World’s Top Climate Scientists. London: Encounter Books
Hoggan, J. (2009).Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming. Vancouver:
Greystone Books
