Tag: #climate

How the climate adversities hit India in 2022.

The year 2022 saw several extreme weather events all over the world due to climate emergency. These events are expected to increase if the effects of climate change are not mitigated.

Vulnerable countries also geared up this year for a renewed battle over compensation for the growing hazards of global warming from richer countries, also known as loss and damage, at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

There is more evidence of the worsening impact of global warming on the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) that straddles eastern Pakistan, northern India, southern Nepal and the whole of Bangladesh. 

A loss and damage fund was created at the COP27, focusing on particularly vulnerable countries. But questions remain about who is eligible to receive money and who has to pay it.

Every state and Union territory (UT) reported dengue cases till November 2022. The increasing burden of dengue has often been linked with climate change, among other factors. India recorded 63,280 dengue cases as of September 30, 2022. 

The average global surface temperature January-December 2021 was the sixth highest since global records began in 1880.

The climate is changing , why aren’t we ?

Our climate is changing around us faster than predicted. From more frequent and extreme storms to unprecedented heatwaves, from landslides to earthquake , we’re feeling the impacts of human-caused global warming. Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as “forcing” climate change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as “feedbacks.”

SOME OF THE GASSES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE ARE :

  • Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth’s atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by 48% since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived “forcing” of climate change.
  • Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
  • Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
  • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse gases.

The consequences of changing the natural atmospheric greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some effects seem likely:

  • Earth becomes warmer .
  • Stronger green house effect will warm the earth , melt the glaciers , increasing sea levels
  • Outside of a greenhouse, higher atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can have both positive and negative effects on crop yields. Some laboratory experiments suggest that elevated CO2 levels can increase plant growth. However, other factors, such as changing temperatures, ozone, and water and nutrient constraints, may more than counteract any potential increase in yield. 

GLOBAL WARMING

“Global warming is a term that refers to a steady rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, a phenomenon that is thought to be irreversibly altering the Earth’s climate.”
The increase in the average global temperature of the Earth is used to measure global warming. Some sections of the Earth may become colder as our average global temperature rises, while others may become warmer—hence the concept of average global temperature. Atmospheric heating and agitation induced by greenhouse gases increase the unpredictability of weather and climate, as well as the severity, scale, and frequency of storms, droughts, wildfires, and severe temperatures. The gases in the atmosphere that absorb and release heat radiation include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Increasing or lowering the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes the sun’s heat to be trapped or released more.

Causes of global warming:

Fossil fuel combustion: CO2 pollution is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels such as coal and gas are burned to generate energy or power our cars. Burning coal, oil, and gas produces carbon dioxide, the most major greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as well as nitrous oxide, which is certainly the initial source of global warming.

Deforestation: Forest exploitation is a significant contributor to global warming. By absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, trees aid in climate regulation. When trees are cut down, the carbon contained in them is released into the atmosphere, negating the positive effect. Forests and wilderness serve as carbon sinks, helping to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Humans, on the other hand, clear enormous swaths of land for farming, urban and infrastructural development, and the sale of tree products like lumber and palm oil all over the world. When vegetation is cut down or burned, the stored carbon is released as CO2, contributing to global warming.

Farming & Agriculture: Methane is a greenhouse gas produced by livestock, such as sheep and cattle. The amount of methane created by livestock grazing on a vast scale, such as in Australia, contributes significantly to global warming. Intensive farming, which includes not just ever-increasing livestock but also plant protection products and fertilizers, is another contributor to global warming. When cattle and sheep digest their food, they produce enormous volumes of methane, whereas fertilizers emit nitrous oxide.

Mining: The mining and metallurgical industries are vital to modern living. Metals and minerals are the raw materials that are used to create, transport, and manufacture items. This market accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions from extraction to distribution. Decarbonization initiatives across industries may result in significant shifts in commodity demand for the mining industry. Governments, investors, and society will put pressure on the mining sector, which is responsible for 4 to 7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to reduce emissions.

Eruption of a Volcano: When volcanoes erupt, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide. Volcanoes have a minor impact on global warming, and eruptions result in short-term global cooling because ash in the air reflects more solar energy. Volcanic eruptions release gases and dust particles into the atmosphere, which have an impact on the climate. The majority of the particles ejected by volcanoes cool the earth by shielding it from the sun’s rays. Depending on the features of the eruption, the cooling impact can continue anywhere from months to years.

Tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones are intense circular storms that originate over the warm tropical oceans with more than 119 kilometres per hour speed and heavy rains. Mainly, the greatest damage to life and property caused not from the wind but from other secondary events including storm surges, flooding, landslides and tornadoes. Tropical cyclones are among the foremost destructive weather phenomena and also known as typhoons or hurricanes. They include a number of different hazards that can individually cause significant impacts on life and property, such as storm surge, flooding, extreme winds, tornadoes and lighting.

Tropical cyclones are known by various names in different parts of the world. In the North Atlantic ocean and the eastern North Pacific they are called hurricanes, and in the western North Pacific around the Japan, and China the storms are referred to as typhoons. In the western South Pacific and Indian ocean they are variously referred to as severe tropical cyclones, tropical cyclones, or simply cyclones. All these different names refer to the same type of storm. The tropical cyclone is formed when a transfer of water vapour and heat from the warm ocean to the overlying air occurred primarily by evaporation from the surface of the sea. As we know that warm, moist air rises, it expands and cools, quickly and become saturated and released latent heat due to the condensation of water vapour. By this process, the column of air in the core of the developing disturbance is warmed and moistened.  The temperature difference is formed between the warm, rising air and the cooler environment that causes air to become buoyant and enhance its upward movement. If the surface of the sea is too cool then there will not be enough heat available and the rate of evaporation will be low to provide fuel to the tropical cyclone. Even the supply of energy will also be cut off due to warm surface water layer is not enough deep. It happens because the tropical system modifies the underlying ocean. The sea surface becomes cool due to the falling of the rain from the deep convective clouds and the strong winds in the centre if the storm will further create turbulence. If this resulting mixing brings cool water from the below the surface layer to the surface, the fuel supply for the tropical system will be removed.

A tropical cyclone that remains over the ocean and moves into higher latitudes will change its structure and become extra tropical as it encounters cooler water. Each year the impacts of tropical cyclones and other weather, climate and water extremes around the Earth give rise to multiple casualties and significant damage to property and infrastructure, with adverse economic consequences for communities that can persist for many years.