There are diverse ways in which climatic changes manifest themselves –deadly heat, raging storms, and record floods among others. Regardless of how climatic changes occur, the bottom line is that they cause adverse impacts to humans. Understanding the basics of climate change, its causes, and effects can lead to better mitigation and preparedness approaches. This article covers some of the most important things (definition, causes, and impacts of climate change) that you should know about climate change.
What is climate change?
Climate change describes changes in weather conditions that usually take several years. It is thought to be caused by global warming, though this is not the case. This is the state where weather conditions vary over a long period, for example from drier, wetter, and warmer conditions.
Measurement of climate change
Climatic change is measured based on daily changes in weather and climate. Ocean buoys, remote meteorological and earth-orbiting satellites are commonly used in the monitoring of daily weather and climatic conditions. The use of paleoclimatology data plays a significant role in comparing the long-term changes in climate. Such data is used in determining future trends in climate.
Causes of climatic change
The climatic system of the earth follows simple mechanics –it involves the reflection of the sun to the earth and back to outer space. However, the release of energy by the atmosphere leads to the cooling of the earth’s surface. Nevertheless, such mechanics are affected by several factors including natural and human activities. The excessive release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to the high use of fossil fuels contributes immensely to variations in conditions of weather and climate. Increased intensive agriculture and deforestation also play a role in climatic changes. The natural causes of climate change include solar output, volcanic eruptions and cyclic variability.
Impacts of climatic change
Adverse climatic changes have significant impacts on different aspects. Some of the common effects include;
- Extreme weather: heating up of the atmosphere leads to changes in weather patterns, which can make certain areas drier and others wetter. In case of worsened high temperatures, different climate-related disasters such as droughts, heat waves, floods, and storms are experienced.
- Air pollution: climatic changes cause air pollution. Rising temperatures makes air dirtier with soot, smog, and other air pollutants that have adverse health impacts.
- Health risks: changes in weather and climatic conditions increase the number of illnesses and fatalities which result from heat stroke, heat stress, and polluted air among other factors.
- Imperiled ecosystems: changes in the climatic conditions affect the adaptation of different animals and birds to such conditions. Such cases influence the ecosystems and the wildlife that depends on them.
The subject of climate change has gained much popularity over the past years due to the associated adverse impacts on human health and the environment. However, it is evident that different human activities act as the major causes of climatic changes. As such, to address the subject of climatic change and its adverse impacts, a lot of focus is needed on redefining some of the human activities that contribute to this such as deforestation, increased use of fossil fuels, and the practice of intensive agriculture.