Global Warming

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

6/23/20242 min read

Imagine a world with frequent wildfires, long periods of droughts, sea levels rising, glaciers melting, severe weather, and many more catastrophes due to the heat of the planet increasing. Unfortunately, the reality of Earth and human existence is slowly but surely approaching this horrible fate and without a change of action, it will come true in due time.

Global warming is the increase of the Earth’s temperature gradually as a result of human activates like burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, emitting greenhouse gases etc. Global warming will have many negative effects on the world.

  1. One negative effect of global warming is a rise of the sea levels. One reason for this is because on Earth there is a lot of unmelted glaciers that store a lot of frozen water in them. However, because the Earth is heating up, that would result in the glaciers melting and all that water frozen within them would pour into bodies of water. The water in glaciers isn’t a small amount either (about 68.7% of the world’s freshwater is within glaciers) so it is important to preserve them in their current state. Additionally, as bodies of water around Earth warm up, the volume of the ocean also expands as a result.

  2. Another negative effect of global warming is more droughts due to the temperature of the Earth increasing. Warmer temperatures would result in enhanced evaporation which would decrease the amount of surface water and dry out crops.

  3. Finally, the last major negative effect that will be addressed connects to the second one, which is heavy and violent precipitation as well as increased storms. Due to increased evaporation, the frequency and force of rain and snow will be higher. The water evaporated serves as the fuel for these storms.

Overall, global warming is a major issue in society and efforts should be put out before it becomes to big out a issue to stop.

Sources:

  1. “Glacier Quick Facts.” National Snow and Ice Data Center. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://nsidc.org/learn/parts-cryosphere/glaciers/glacier-quick-facts#:~:text=world’s%20largest%20glaciers-,How%20much%20water%20does%20glacial%20ice%20hold%3F,to%20the%20US%20Geological%20Survey.

  2. “Drought and Climate Change.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, July 14, 2023. https://www.c2es.org/content/drought-and-climate-change/#:~:text=Warmer%20temperatures%20enhance%20evaporation%2C%20which,would%20be%20in%20cooler%20conditions.

  3. How can climate change affect natural disasters? | U.S. geological survey. Accessed June 26, 2024. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-can-climate-change-affect-natural-disasters.