From Warming to Boiling: The Rapid Effects of Climate Change and Global Warming
It has come as no surprise that this year's temperatures have been the hottest ever recorded in history. From the oceans to the weather, everything seems to be rapidly changing.
According to the United Nations, the oceans’ temperatures from 2015 to 2022 were the hottest ever recorded. As stated by Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, we are no longer in an age of global warming but in an “era of global boiling”. This expression is used to grab people's attention, but it’s sadly not too far from the truth. Although July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, we are not in the clear yet. From global catastrophes to natural disasters, it is important to understand that climate change and global warming are actively causing the natural disasters to worsen, creating the long term destruction.
In 1896, a paper by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius predicted that CO2 increase could be changing the atmosphere's surface temperatures. Then, in 1938, Guy Callender found that the more CO2 there was, the more the global temperature increased. But why are these studies important? Because Earth’s temperature has been increasing at a faster rate since the 1980s, with effects reaching globally. Some of these effects include natural disasters.
Recently, one can see these catastrophic effects taking place in Maui. Today, this tropical wetland is becoming drier and hotter. This caused Maui to be vulnerable to damage. The waters around Hawaii are getting hotter, harming the coral reefs and marine life. The clouds are becoming thinner and thinner, with Maui experiencing far less precipitation in recent years. These severe droughts affect extremely vegetated areas like rainforests, causing the trees to become stressed, dropping their leaves and further allowing the sun to dry up the land. Without all of these factors, the wildfires never would have been able to spread
More natural disasters have occurred, with catastrophic floods and storms destroying areas all around the world. Although it is impossible to clearly state that every natural disaster was directly caused by climate change or global warming, a study by Tom Knutson, a scientist at NOAA’s Geographical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, suggests that the flooding from hurricanes becomes worse with the rising sea levels. Further, as the air continues to warm, it can hold more water vapor. The more moisture in the air, the more rainfall will increase. The hot air then combines with the warm water, and makes the hurricane more intense. According to Libya’s National Meteorological Center, Storm Daniel reached its height in northeastern Libya, with 150 - 240 mm of rainfall. This heavy rain increased water in the two dams in Libya, causing them to burst. So far, these floods caused over 11,000 deaths and 10,000 missing.
These are just a few examples of the effects of global warming and climate change on a global scale. If we keep ignoring this issue then nothing will change. Although it may seem hopeless, the future is still up to us.
There are several ways to individually help lessen the climate crisis. Using public transport, walking, biking, or buying a fuel efficient car can all help reduce greenhouse gasses. Switching your stove and other appliances to electric instead of gas can make a big difference. Small changes like unplugging your device when you are not using it, eating less meat, using dairy alternatives, switching to energy saving light bulbs, recycling consistently, and washing your clothes in cold water reduces your personal greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Changing just small habits in a person's lifestyle can change the world, if we all help out.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/climate/tropical-storm-california-maui-fire-extreme-august.html
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1139162
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/climate/hawaii-fires-climate-change.html