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Sunday, 17 August 2008 -{'23:24
Where is global warming happening?Global warming is happenning
every where around the world. The issue doesnt mainly exsist in just one certain area in the planet. It is being caused in foregin coutries but the risks are still caused by everyone.
One example is this: When the earth heats up, the polar ice caps melt. Then they become darker in colour, and absorb more sunlight, which makes them even warmer. So, although global warming happens everywhere, it happens more at the poles.
There are other complicated effects, because weather systems are complicated. For instance, many people believe that western Europe will actually get colder, because the Gulf Stream (a current in the north Atlantic Ocean), which carries warm water from the Caribbean Sea, will get weaker.
It's not just a rise in temperature, habitats are either being permanently altered for the worse or they're deteriorating completely.
What is the causes for global warming?Causes of global warming:The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has doubled over the last 2 centuries due to the increasing number of industrial and other humans activities worldwide.This greenhouse gases do not break down easily,and hence accumulate in the atmosphere.This causes more heat from the sun to be trapped in the lower atmosphere.This phenonenon is referred to as the enhanced greenhouse effect.The result is an increase in air temperatures throughout the world,known as global warming.What is the consequences of global warming?Although places around the world had experience different degree of temperatures increase,the consequences or effects of global warming affect the whole world.
Lets us look at some of the effect:
Changes in weather conditionsScienctists predicts that by the year 2100, the increase in greenhouse gases will lead to a further 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius increase in the Earth's average temperature.This will result in faster evaporation of water from the water bodies.In dry regions,excessive evaporation would cause the dry climate to become drier.This could cause severe droughts,leading to water shortage for plants, animals and humans.Heat wave,which are periods of abnormally hot weather, could become more frequent. On the other hand, in wetter regions,with more water vapour in the atmosphere,more rainfalls could be expected. Too much rainfall could cause floods. In areas already suffering from floods,the problems of flooding could worsen.
Impact of plantsDifferent types of vegetation requires different climatic conditions to grow.Hence,where rainfalls and temperatures patterns change due to global warming,vegetation growth around the world would be affected.For example,in countries South of the Sahara Desert in Africa, such as Mali and Niger, a decrease in rainfalls would adversely affect the growth of important crops, such as wheat,rice and corn.This would cause the production of food crops to decrease leading to food shortage. On the other hand, in colder region, such as Alaska, a warmer climate may allow people to grow new crops.
Impacts on animalsThe rise in global temperatures also affects natural habitats.Animals suchs as Yaks and llamas, which survive only in low temperatures,may have to migrate to mountainous or cooler areas when temperatures rise. If they fail to do so, they may become extinct.
Impact on peopleClimatic changes could have negative effects on humans health as well. For example, with increased temperatures in the Tropics, mosquitoes would multiply more rapidly as they thrive under higher tempuratures. This lead to the spread of diseases, such as dengue fever, malaria and yellow fever.
In addition,global warming will increase the number of hot days in a year.Sciencticts predict that by year 2030, the number of days with tempuratures above 32 degrees celsius may double in cities in the United States of America. Long exposure to the hot sun or heat waves can causes people to suffer from dehydration and heat stroke.
Rising sea levelsWhen the Earth's average temperature increases, the sea levels are likely to rise too. This is because the higher tempurature would cause the sea water to expand. The rising heat would also cause the ice caps at the North and South Poles to melt. As the ice caps contain more than 70 percent of the world's fresh water, the sea levels could increase by 20 to 50 centimetres by the year 2050.