What is Global Warming?
Global warming is the rise in temperature of the Earth's atmosphere or, we can say: Global warming is the term used to show a slow increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate forever.
Causes of Global Warming
Carbon dioxide and different gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it makes our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels like coal, gas, oil and clearing forests we have dramatically raised the percentage of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. This carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat — hence the name ‘global warming’.
The reason we exist on this planet is because the earth naturally traps enough heat in the atmosphere to keep the temperature within a very narrow range - this makes the conditions that give us breathable air, clean water & the weather we depend on to survive. We've overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gasses from factories and power plants. If we don't move towards fixing this problem now, we are making devastating changes to our environment.
Effects Of Global Warming
The predicted effects of global warming on the environment and for human life are many and different. While many view the effects of global warming to be more substantial and more frequently occurring than others do, the scientific consensus on climatic changes related to global warming is that the average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years.
There are two main effects of global warming:
Increase of temperature on the earth by about 3° to 5° C (34° to 41° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.
Rise of sea levels by at least 25 meters (82 feet) by the year 2100.
Increasing global temperatures have a broad range of changes. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land ice. Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing frequently. Changes in temperature & precipitation model increase the frequency, duration and intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes. Other effects of global warmingadd higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.
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