For specific information on the projected impacts of climate change in the United States, see the National Assessment Report by the U. Global Change Research Program. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
EO Explorer. Why is global warming a problem? Emerging Challenges: New Findings, in P. For example, one of the reasons Carlisle has a colder, wetter climate than London because it is further away from the equator. Another reason is that it is closer to mountains, and mountains often encourage rainfall. Climate is also affected by our atmosphere, a layer of gases that surrounds the earth. Some gases trap more heat than others. The gases that trap the most heat are called greenhouse gases because they allow heat to reach the earth, but do not let it escape — similar to how a greenhouse works.
Dr Joeri Rogelj is a climate scientist at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute who has contributed to and led several major climate change assessments. He explains, 'Climate change is how the characteristics of the weather we experience in a certain place change. All of that can be a result of climate change.
Global warming is a term used interchangeably with climate change, although the latter is preferred because the warming atmosphere and oceans are just some of the effects we see. Places are also becoming wetter or drier, and in some the seasons are moving. Most importantly, in a few regions and seasons, it may actually at times be cooler than we're used to. That's confusing if you just talk about global warming. This is Typhoon Utor, which affected the Philippines and China in It caused considerable damage and loss of life.
Climate change influences most weather events, including tropical storms and hurricanes. The main driver of current climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases, most importantly carbon dioxide and methane. These are primarily released when fossil fuels are burnt. Meat and dairy production, producing cement and some industrial processes, such as the production and use of fertilisers, also emit greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere. Since the mid-nineteenth century , the world has emitted over 2. Joeri explains, 'Energy from the Sun falls on our planet and normally gets reflected back as infrared radiation. But instead of escaping back out into space, this radiation gets absorbed by molecules of greenhouse gases, which then emit them in all directions. There are measuring stations all around the world that keep track of air and sea temperature.
From these measurements it's clear that temperatures are rising. For example, on a warming planet we would expect polar ice caps and glaciers to melt. It is clearly observed that those are melting,' explains Joeri. This is an ongoing airborne mission to monitor changes in polar ice. We know that greenhouse gases are causing change. Thanks to studies that look at how carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation, for example, there is a scientific understanding of how the planet would warm as a result of emissions.
This has allowed climate scientists to discount the theory that global warming is being caused by an increase in the Sun's intensity, for example. The amount of oxygen that is in the atmosphere is reducing at exactly the right amount for the increase in carbon dioxide to be caused by combusting fossil fuels,' explains Joeri. There is additional evidence in the ratios of different types of carbon. Fossil fuels are, essentially, ancient plants. Plants now and in the past preferentially take up carbon In normal conditions, the ratio between carbon and carbon is constant.
Climate change does not have the same effects everywhere. The planet is generally getting hotter, but some regions and seasons can at times be temporarily cooler. Some places will see drawn-out seasons, while others may experience concentrated bursts of extreme weather. Extreme weather events - such as hurricanes, heatwaves, drought, wildfires and floods - are predicted to become more intense and frequent.
As scientists we can estimate how much climate change has made a certain event more likely or more intense than it would have been without climate change,' explains Joeri. When the world warms, ice melts.
Now it is more important than ever that we use our action, our votes and our voices to tell political and business leaders that action on climate is absolutely essential. What can you do? You could start with taking our carbon footprint calculator, to look at how your lifestyle impacts the environment and where you can reduce your footprint. Fundraising Block. Adopt Please select an elephant a lion a panda a turtle an african rhino an orangutan a dolphin an amur leopard a gorilla a snow leopard a polar bear a penguin a jaguar.
Choose monthly donation Prefer a one-off donation? Choose one-off donation Prefer a monthly donation? Because snow leopards, turtles and polar bears are awesome. Because coral reefs are amazing. Because we all need clean water Did you know that 2 in every 3 people worldwide live in regions of severe water scarcity? Because we all hate the sight of politicians in wellies.
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