Floods, storms, hurricanes, typhoons and blizzards are becoming more frequent and intense around the world. Every few days, we hear of some catastrophe in some part of the globe.

Elders say that even the weather is not what it used to be a couple of decades back; it is becoming hotter, with either more rain or rain at unusual times of the year, while some regions are experiencing drought due to very little rain. In addition to this, winters are milder, and ice covers and glaciers are shrinking around the globe.

Scientists and climate experts tell us that it is because of climate change and global warming.

What is climate change and global warming?

Global warming can simply be described as a gradual increase in Earth’s average temperature, primarily caused by the increase of greenhouse gasses as a result of human activities like burning fossil fuel, deforestation etc. Climate change is a term used for long-term shift in weather patterns, such as rising sea levels, melting glaciers and changes in precipitation.

What causes climate change?

Experts tell us that climate change is mainly the result of human activities, such as burning of fossil fuels in vehicles and industries, electricity generation and cutting down forests. All these activities release gasses, such as carbon dioxide, methane, etc. known as greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere, which slowly warm the planet, leading to climate change.

The overall impact

While global temperatures had been rising gradually over the centuries, this increase has accelerated and become more noticeable in recent decades. In fact, the 21st century has seen the weather getting hotter than ever.

Rising global temperatures not only cause heat waves, changing rainfall patterns, change in frequency and timing of extreme events like floods, storms, sea level rise, wildfires, the intensity and duration of drought, threats to habitats and environment and ocean acidification (when extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans, making them acidic) affecting marine life, but also affects human health, food supply and ecosystems.

Climate change is a global issue, irrespective of the amount of carbon emission by a particular country. Unfortunately, though Pakistan may not be contributing as much to global emissions of greenhouse gasses as the developed countries, it is one of the top countries of the world that are most affected by climate change.

We have faced severe heat waves during the last few years, while the occurrence of floods and droughts has increased; fresh water resources such as rivers, lakes, groundwater and the water stored in glaciers are being affected, thus decreasing the availability of water for human........

© Dawn Young Magazine