Students wondered what the weird looking green-brown pillars were.
‘Trees’, the museum guide explained.
Though an extreme predicament, its possibilities cannot be denied.
“On climate change, we often don’t fully appreciate that it is a problem. We think it is a problem waiting to happen.”
—Kofi Annan
And thus there arises a need to gain a deeper understanding of climate change and its hazards. Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns lasting for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to million of years). Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in time variation of weather around longer-term average conditions (i.e. more or fewer extreme weather events).
The earth climate now-a-days is changing very rapidly differently. Besides that, the climate change in our earth is affecting our lives physiologically, physically and emotionally. Climate change is the seasonal change for a long period of time in the world.
Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who one is—rich or poor, small or big. Therefore, these are what is called as ‘global challenges’ which require global solidarity. The hazards can be geographical, environmental, biological, economical, political as well as social. Climate change, demographics, water, food, energy, global health, women’s empowerment—these issues are all intertwined. And thus one cannot look at one strand in isolation.
The severity of the environmental hazard can be understood from the fact that even 1∞ rise in temperature is enough to disturb the delicate balance of the biosphere. The rise in frequency of natural disasters and their increasing impact is the most severe hazard from every perspective. The frequency of floods in China, droughts in India, storms and hurricanes in America clearly highlight the impact.
The different climate change hazards can interact with each other to potentially intensity the impact they have. For example, two of the major potential threats to coastal areas are sea level rise and increased intensity of storm events. When such changes are combined, there is likely to be an overall risk of flooding and erosion. Another example is that the impact of increase in sea temperature, sea level rise and ocean acidification can all combine to increase the total threat from climate change to coral reefs and their associated ecosystem services.
Such hazards not only cause ecosystem destruction but are also a threat to various biological species. In recent times, warmer temperatures and less rainfall have produced droughts of historic proportions. The Amazon suffered its worst droughts of the last 100 years in 2005 and 2010. Long dry spells wither crops, decimate fisheries and lead to forest fires. This can result in significant shifts in the makeup of ecosystems and loss of species.
Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Warming temperatures are linked to many changes in the Arctic, including reduced sea ice, melting permafrost and rising sea levels that have serious implications for marine mammals that depend on the ice for their survival, such as ringed seals and polar bears. Burning of fossil fuels makes the Arctic waters more acidic and harmful to plankton—the very base of the Arctic’s rich food chain—as well as corals and shellfish.
Climate change affects coral ecosystems in the coral Triangle through warming, rising seas and ocean acidification. Not only are ocean waters warming, but they also absorb more carbon dioxide—a GHG that contributes to climate change. CO2 alters the ocean‘s pH balance, which makes it more acidic and toxic to some marine organisms. Shellfish and corals are extremely vulnerable to ocean acidification because it interferes with their ability to form hard skeletons. Climate change also causes sea level to rise—a big threat to coastal communities in the Coral Triangle, as well as to beach dependent species such as marine turtles.
The recent heat waves in India and Pakistan which took a heavy toll of human life highlight the fact that climate change is lethal and dangerous to humans as well. Exposure to extreme heat can lead to heat stroke and dehydration, as well as cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebro-vascular disease. Excessive heat is more likely to affect populations in northern latitudes where people are less prepared to cope with excessive temperature. Scientists project that warmer temperatures from climate change will increase the frequency of days with unhealthy levels of ground level ozone, a harmful air pollutant and a component in smog. Also changes in temperature, precipitation, and extreme events increases the geographic range of diseases spread by vectors and can lead to illness. For example, mosquitoes thrive in certain climate conditions and can spread diseases like West Nile virus. Extreme temperatures too cold, too hot, wet or dry—influence the location and number of mosquitoes that transmit the virus.
Furthermore, climate change also has adverse impacts on the economy of various countries. Agricultural sectors face tremendous hazards because of either natural disasters like droughts, floods or desertification leading to lesser yield and poorer nutrition content. Higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the air can act as a ‘fertilizer’ for some plants, but lowers the level of protein and essential minerals in crops such as wheat, rice and potatoes, making these food less nutritious. Extreme events such as flooding, droughts create challenges for food distribution if roads and waterways are damaged or made inaccessible. This further endangers the food security, which is much highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A number of other sectors will be affected by climate change, including the livestock, forestry and fisheries industries. Other sectors sensitive to climate change include the energy, insurance, tourism and recreation industries. The aggregate impact of climate change on most of these sectors is highly uncertain.
Also poor health results in poorer human resource further affecting the economy. There would arise a shift of expenditure from development purpose to providing healthcare and infrastructural repairing that got damaged because of the disasters arising due to climate change.
The political implications of climate change can be understood from the rise of climate refugees. Climate refugees are people who have to leave their homes and communities because of the effects of climate change and global warming. The International Red Cross estimates that there are more environmental refugees than political refugees fleeing from wars and other conflicts. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says 36 million people were displaced by natural disasters in 2009. In 1995, Bangladesh’s Bhola island was half-submerged by rising sea levels, leaving 5 lakh people homeless. The same is the threat with smaller island countries like Tuvalu.
The civil war in West Asia is said to have roots in climate change as the war is supposed to be initiated because of a drought that lasted for 5-6 years. This, thus, can also be then traced to the rising terror activities. Also amidst the global power tussle, climate change is considered by many to be a sham against all evidences. They consider it to be a hoax introduced by one country to curb the progress of another.
The social implications arise as some groups of people are more vulnerable than others to health risks from climate change depending on varying sensitivity, adaptive capacity and exposure. Communities of colour, low income, immigrants, children, pregnant women, older adults, people with disabilities categorize as population of concern when it comes to climate change. These become more prone to the vulnerabilities of climate change resulting in their social backwardness.
Climate change is such a huge issue that it requires strong, concerted and enduring action by governments. And thus various protocols and global conferences have come in place, the most recent being the Paris Agreement 2015 of UNCCC, the Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol. The damage that climate change is causing will worsen if we fail to act and amplify beyond the hundreds of thousands of lives, homes and businesses lost, ecosystems destroyed, species driven to extinction, infrastructure smashed and people inconvenienced.
A boost to renewable energy resulting in global demand like the International Solar Alliance, stronger and standard policy frameworks for adaptation and mitigation like the INDCs, aiming at fulfilling the SDGs can go a long way in curbing the hazards. However, most important is the change in consumer behaviour and the attitude of every individual which makes them respect and acknowledge their surroundings.
It is high time to realise that we are living on this planet as there is not another one to go on to.
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