IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE
More frequent and severe weather
Higher temperatures and worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier. Extreme weather events are costing more and more, says Aliya, deputy director of NRDC’S Clean Power Plan initiative. ‘’The number of billion-dollar weather disasters is expected to rise.’’ According to Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric administration, in 2015 there were 10 weather and climate disaster events in United States- including severe storms, floods, droughts and wildfires- that caused at least $ 1 billion in losses. Each year from 1980 to 2015 averaged $5.2 billion in disasters. If you zero in on the year between 2011 – 2015, you see an annual average cost of $10.8 billion.
The increasing number of droughts, intense storms, and floods we are seeing as our warming atmosphere holds and then dumps more moisture poses risk to public health and safety. Drought conditions jeopardize access to clean drinking water, fuel out of control, wildfires, and result in dust storms, extreme heat events and flash flooding in the states. Elsewhere around the world, lack of water is leading cause of death and serious disease, At the opposite end of spectrum, heavier rain cause streams, rivers and lakes to overflow, which damages life and property, contaminates drinking water, creates hazardous –material spills, and promotes mold infestation and unhealthy air. A warmer, wetter world is also a boon for food-borne and waterborne illnesses and disease carrying insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks.
· Higher death rates
Today’s scientists point to climate change as the ‘’biggest global threat of 21st century’’. It’s a threat that impact all of us especially children, the elderly, low-income communities, and in a variety of direct and indirect ways. As temperature spike, so does the incidence of illness, emergency, room visits and death. There are more hot days in places where people are not used to it. They don’t have air conditioning or can’t afford it. One or two days is not a big deal. But four days straight where temperature don’t go down, even at night, leads to severe health consequences. In the U.S. hundreds of heat related deaths occur each year due to direct impact and the indirect effects of heat-exacerbated, life-threatening illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke and cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Indeed, extreme heat kills more Americans each year on average, than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and lightning combined.
· Dirtier Air
Rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground level ozone, which is created when pollution from cars, factories and other sources react to sunlight and heat. Ground-level ozone is the main component of smog, and the hotter things get the more of it we have. Dirtier air is linked to higher hospital admission rated and higher death rates for asthmatics. It worsens the health of people suffering from cardiac or pulmonary disease. And warmer temperature also significantly increases airborne pollen, which is bad news for those who suffer from other allergies.
· Natural Cause of global warming:
Natural causes are, as the name suggests created by nature. Methane gas from wetlands, the arctic tundra, and other climates are given off naturally, with little to no explanation. Because methane is considered a greenhouse gas, which is a gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, it is considered to be a natural toxin that is negatively impacting the Earth’s atmosphere. As another example of the potential implications of such behavior, we are seeing more and more examples of wildfires. While wildfires are common and natural, they have been more recently attributed to the temperature fluctuations as a result of global warming.
· Man -made cause of global warming:
Man- made causes are primarily those occurring through pollution, particularly through the air in this case. Fossil fuel such as coal or oil are released into the air via factories, car engine emissions, etc. When these fuels are burned off, they give off a greenhouse gas called CO2. When the toxins enter the atmosphere, it produces hole in it; puncturing the ozone layer, which essential keeps us safe from the powerful rays of the sun. Consequently, extended CO2 exposure can cause the polar ice caps to melt, resulting in mass flooding and even temperature fluctuations.