World meteorological organisation of UNO, the other day informed through a press release that the period 2023 to 2027 is going to be the hottest period in the annals of history. The main reasons for this high temperature as per the report is green - house gases and El nino. effect in Pacific ocean. The other day a very senior citizen from a remote village remarked that the temperature is shooting up and is becoming unbearable. Discussions are going on various levels at the national international levels the seriousness of the problem and the steps to be taken to mitigate the sufferings.
Climate is
the long term weather pattern in a region over a period of thirty years. Weather
can change from hour to hour, day to day, month to month or even year to year.
Weather is the state of atmosphere at a
particular place, at a particular
time wit respect to heat, wind, rain,
sunshine etc.
Climate
change refers to long- shifts in temperature and weather pattern. The change may be natural ;
but since 1800 it has been observed that human activities have a very important
role in this aspect.
The causes
for climate change are:
Green hose
gases-
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Chlorofluorocarbon
Water vapor
The green
house gases are emitted due to human activities like burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil, gas; cutting of trees etc. Green house gases are transparent to incoming (short wave) radiation from the sun but
bloc infrared (long wave ) radiation from leaving the earth’s surface. The
green house gases act as a cover and traps radiation from the sun and heats the earth’s surface.
The main effects
of climate change are:
Rise in
temperature
Rise in sea
level
Severe storms
Increased
droughts
According to
a study conducted by scientists in Odissa (India) the sea level of Odissa coast
rose by 0.19 cm each year. The study also revealed that if sea level rose by 1 m in future , it could
submerge 29% of the district Kendrapara in Odissa. It has also found that the sea level
rises over the whole world due to global warming. The warming melts the ice and
the thermal expansion of ocean water increases the volume of water leading to
rise in sea level.
It is high
time that the society as a whole and also the governments at the national and
international levels have to take necessary steps to reduce the effects of
climate change.
Control
measures
To have a livable
climate, the average emissions per
person per year will have to drop to about 2 to 2.5 tons of CO2 by 2030.
The suggest
actions to tackle the climate crisis are:
Save energy at home
Switch to electric vehicle
Use
more public transport
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
Switch over to wind, solar energy
Inter- government panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a UN body to assess the science related to climate change. It provides information for various government agencies so that they can formulate the polices with respect to climate change.
***************************************
st
No comments:
Post a Comment