Is Global Warming a reality? Will there be more serious disasters and will they be more frequent? And can human activities change the Earth´s climate system? These are questions that everyone is asking in these days. Global warming has become familiar to many people
as one of the most important environmental issues of our day. Vice President Al Gore has divined that the threat of global warming, resulting from human production of greenhouse gases, is „the most serious problem our civilization faces.“ A series of studies on the impacts of climate change have systematically shown that the older literature overestimated climate damages by failing to allow for adaptation and for climate benefits. The scientific evidence is now overwhelming, that climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response. It threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world.
Access to water, food production, health, and use of land and the environment. Global warming is a reality. The global temperature has risen significantly over the last hundred years. In this past century, the temperature rise was faster and lasted longer than any period over the past ten thousend years. It is one of the most pressing environmental, social and economical problems facing the planet. Numerous studies have already reported changes in nature driven by global warming. The results of a recent study by American researchers suggests that, because of a rapid warming trend over the past decades, the Earth is now reaching, and exceeding, the warmest levels in the current interglacial period, which has lasted nearly 12,000 years. In figure 1 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, you can see the global variations on the Earth´s surface temperature for the past 140 years, and for the past 1000 years in the Northern Hemisphere. On current trends, average global
temperatures will rise by 2 - 3°C within the next fifty years or so.
The Earth will be committed to several degrees more warming if emissions continue to grow. This may not sound very much, especially when it is compared with normal temperature variations from day to night or between one day and the next. But you have to remember that
it is not the temperature at one place but the temperature average over the whole world. Rising temperatures may sound appealing to people who live in cooler climates, but an increase in temperature will lead to global climate change.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and overview
2. Modelling the climate
3. Causes of Global Warming
4. Effects of global warming
4.1. Sea level rise
4.2 More extreme weather
4.3 Increased Evaporation
4.4 Ocean currents
4.5 Glacier Retreat
5. The Impacts of climate change
5.1 Economic Impacts
5.1.1 Agriculture and food supply
5.1.2 Cost of more extreme weather
5.1.3 Development
5.1.4 Migration
5.1.5 Other Sectors
5.2 Environmental Consequences
5.3 Health
5.4 Impacts of Glacier Retreat
5.5 Fresh Water Supply
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Themes
This academic paper examines the reality of global warming, focusing on its causes, the mechanisms of climate modelling, and the multifaceted impacts on human civilization and natural ecosystems. The central research objective is to analyze how human-induced climate change affects essential life-supporting systems, such as water availability, agricultural productivity, and human health, while evaluating potential adaptation and mitigation strategies.
- Scientific foundations of climate modelling and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Economic and social consequences of rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
- Impacts of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity, and public health.
- Analysis of glacier retreat and its implications for global fresh water supplies.
- Critical review of mitigation policies and the necessity for global collective action.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1 Sea level rise
The trend of rising sea levels is one of the most troublesome aspects of global climate change. Because more than 100 million people live within 1 m of mean sea level. Sea-level changes are caused by several different processes, including ocean-water warming and freshening, changes in surface and groundwater storage, and the loss of glacier ice mass. Figure 4 shows the rise of the relative sea level over the last 300 years in Amsterdam, Brest and Swinoujscie. The largest contribution to this rise, about one-third, is from thermal expansion of ocean water, as the oceans warm the water expands and the sea level rises.
The expansion for warmer water for a given change of temperature is bigger than for cold water. For instance, if the top 100 m of ocean, which is approximately the depth of what is called the mixed layer, was at 25 °C, a rise to 26 °C would increase the depth by about 3 cm. There will be serious risks and increasing pressures for coastal protection in South East Asia (Bangladesh and Vietnam), and low-lying small islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and large coastal cities, such as Tokyo, New York, Cairo and London. According to one estimate, by the middle of the century, 200 million people may become permanently displaced due to rising sea levels, heavier floods, and more intense droughts. Bangladesh for example is a densely populated country of about 120 million people located in the complex delta region of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers. Figure 5 shows, that with a half a metre of sea level rise, about ten per cent of the country´s habitable land (with about six million population) would be lost. With a 1-m rise about twenty per cent (with about 15 million people population) would be lost.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction and overview: This chapter establishes the reality of global warming, emphasizing the urgent need for a global response to the significant risks posed by human-induced climate change.
2. Modelling the climate: It explains the history and complexity of numerical climate modelling, highlighting that the climate system is a coupled interaction between the atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and biosphere.
3. Causes of Global Warming: This section identifies human activities, particularly the emission of greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane, as the primary drivers of the observed warming trend.
4. Effects of global warming: The chapter details physical consequences including sea level rise, extreme weather, increased evaporation, changes in ocean currents, and widespread glacier retreat.
5. The Impacts of climate change: This extensive chapter analyzes the wide-ranging consequences for the global economy, agriculture, food security, migration patterns, biodiversity, human health, and fresh water resources.
6. Conclusion: The concluding chapter advocates for urgent policy intervention, emphasizing that a combination of mitigation and adaptation strategies is essential to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.
Keywords
Global Warming, Climate Change, Greenhouse Gases, Sea Level Rise, Glacier Retreat, Extreme Weather, Economic Impacts, Agriculture, Food Security, Migration, Ecosystems, Public Health, Fresh Water Supply, Mitigation, Adaptation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this publication?
The work provides a comprehensive analysis of global warming, specifically focusing on its causes, the physical changes it induces, and the subsequent impacts on human society and the environment.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The central themes include the scientific modeling of climate systems, the role of human industrial activity in greenhouse gas emissions, and the socio-economic risks associated with rising global temperatures.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to synthesize evidence regarding the reality of global warming and to evaluate the scale of risks it presents to life-supporting systems, while outlining the necessary steps for global response.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The paper utilizes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon data from the IPCC, economic reports like the Stern Review, and various environmental studies to analyze climate trends and future projections.
What does the main body of the text cover?
It covers physical effects like sea level rise and glacier melt, alongside thematic analyses of economic sectors, health risks, and agricultural stability in a warming world.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include Climate Change, Greenhouse Gases, Sustainability, Mitigation, Adaptation, and Economic Risk Assessment.
How does the author characterize the potential economic impact of climate change?
The author highlights the findings of Sir Nicholas Stern, noting that while the cost of immediate mitigation is manageable, the long-term cost of inaction could be as high as 20 percent of global GDP.
Why is the role of glaciers described as critical for fresh water supplies?
Glaciers act as natural reservoirs, buffering ecosystems against climate variability by regulating water release throughout the seasons; their rapid retreat threatens the water security of billions of people.
- Quote paper
- Ralph Fuchs (Author), 2007, Global Warming - Impacts and consequences of Global Warming, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/78116
