Climate Change Today

Climate change is what we also call Global Warming. It refers to the rise of the average temperature on the surface of the earth. Feel that yet? Yes, anywhere.

Earth's climate changes more drastically than ever before. According to NASA, the planet's average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. Earth's temperature varies yearly. It rises up and down. But over the past century, it has continued to rise breaking the record year after year and it has gone up a lot. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record taking place since 2010. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September, except for June — were the warmest on record for those respective months

Enough evidence from the scientific community concluded that these changes are brought by human activities. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb heat radiation. Human activity has increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, leading to more heat retention and an increase in surface temperatures. Over the last century, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

This has caused several changes damaging all parts of the earth.

Arctic Sea is shrinking and glaciers are receding all over the world. Worldwide, the number of climate-related disasters has increased since 1980. It is making some extreme weather events worse. Global warming can contribute to the intensity of heatwaves by increasing the chances of very hot days and nights. A warmer and moister atmosphere over the oceans makes it likely that the strongest hurricanes will be more intense, produce more rainfall, and possibly be larger.

There are many uncertainties about Climate Change but it's no doubt that it is increasing and will probably be rising for the next couple of decades. But we can have the chance to do something; First, by educating ourselves.