Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases consist of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases form part of the earth’s atmosphere and act like a blanket around the planet. The earth surface absorbs energy from the sun in the form of visible light, which passes through the atmosphere unhindered. The earth, in turn, reflects some of this energy in the form of infrared light, which is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This energy absorbed by the atmosphere, in turn, causes it to retain heat. The heat retained by the atmosphere warms up the earth and provides suitable temperatures and conditions that support life. Without the greenhouse effect, the earth’s surface would be far much colder, and most of the life on earth would die off.

This delicate balance of nature is, however, disrupted by human activities, which have caused a significant increase in the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. The additional greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, industrial smog, and cattle rearing have thickened the atmospheric blanket. These additional greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause more absorption of infrared light and consequently lead to more heat being retained. The extra heat causes the earth’s surface to warm up above its typical temperature range. Energy getting to earth from the sun has an even harder time leaving it, causing the average temperature of the planet to increase hence resulting in global warming.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen by 40% since the industrial revolution.

The first significant effect of climate change is the rise in sea levels around the world. This rise has mainly been caused by the thermal expansion of the world’s oceans and the melting of ice caps and glaciers. The rise in sea level eventually leads to the flooding of low lying coastal towns leading to mass displacements of people and animals. This includes regions like Bangladesh, shanghai, and the state of Florida.

Climate change is also responsible for the extreme weather conditions being experienced in different parts of the world. The heating up of the earth is now causing more erratic weather conditions such as more torrential rainfall, more powerful and frequent hurricanes, prolonged drought, and hotter heatwaves. An excellent example of these extreme weather changes is the bushfires in Australia and California caused by heat waves and the powerful hurricanes which have hit the United States in recent years.

The rising levels of carbon dioxide being absorbed by water have caused increased acidification in the world’s oceans. This increased acidification has brought dire ramifications to marine life, causing the dying off of coral reefs around the world. The increased acidification also causes the calcium carbonate shells of aquatic creatures to be dissolved, leading to the death of the creatures.

Another significant effect of global warming is the mass extinction of different species, with a few thousand going extinct each year. The change in climate conditions has led to the dissemination of natural habitats for various plant and animal species, thus leading to their extinction. Intense heatwaves have caused forest fires in the Amazon rainforest and the Australian outback which has led to the disappearance of several plant and animal species in this year alone.

Climate change has also had a significant effect on the agriculture sector due to the change in weather patterns. The change in weather patterns across the world has disrupted agricultural calendars leading to less food production. Prolonged drought and delayed rainfall seasons have disrupted planting seasons leading to the loss of several food basket regions around the globe.

Global warming and climate change are also responsible for the increase in chronic diseases around the world. The increasing temperatures have favored the breeding of more pests such as mosquitoes leading to increased cases of malaria, zika virus, and dengue fever. The medical association has also attributed the increase in chronic diseases such as asthma to climate change.