Climate change is the main global and environmental issue that the human race is currently facing. Among its many impacts, global warming harshens extreme climatic phenomena, aggravates processes of desertification and erosion, and will result in a widespread loss of biodiversity. Let’s talk about its main consequences.
Rising sea levels
When the surface temperature warms up, the ice from the glaciers, as well as the polar ice shelf, melts. When this happens, the amount of water that flows into the oceans around the world increases and leads to sea levels rising, endangering numerous cities that will be below sea level. Scientists have speculated that if the ice in Antarctica, Greenland and the Arctic continues to melt at this pace, ice could raise sea levels by more than 20 meters by 2100.
Heat waves
Severe heat waves have become increasingly common, and the cause is none other than greenhouse gases that are trapped inside the atmosphere. Studies indicate that these heat waves will continue to increase in the coming years, and in the future they will be 100 times worse. This will lead to an increase in heat-related illnesses and also trigger countless fires.
More intense storms
When the temperature of the ocean rises, storms are more intense. Global warming will cause storms to become extremely severe, as well as more frequent. The hot ocean water will feed the intensity of the storms and result in a greater number of extremely devastating hurricanes. We have already seen these effects during the last 30 years, when the number of cyclones, hurricanes and storms have almost doubled. All this leads to flooding, loss of life, as well as property damage. Rain patterns are also changing as a result of climate change.
Droughts
Droughts are at the opposite pole of this spectrum and we can see that they are already wreaking havoc in various parts of our planet. The planet is warming up and that, in turn, decreases fresh water, which leads to poor conditions in agriculture. There is a great shortage of water that is causing disruptions in world food production and hunger is becoming increasingly widespread.
Endangered species
Desertification, rising ocean temperatures as well as deforestation, is contributing to the disastrous and irreversible changes that are occurring and that threaten to endanger several species, which could soon become extinct. Polar bears are a clear example and we see that their numbers continuously fall as they struggle to acclimatize to the loss of ice in the Arctic regions. A crucial feature for human success is biodiversity, and the loss of flora and fauna due to mass extinction that threaten our planet, seriously endangers the continuity of the human race.
