ecosystem which is an essential component for biodiversity, is going to be seriously affected by global

warming. The species at maximum threats are: The mountain gorilla in Africa, amphibious Bengal
tiger, polar bears and penguins, etc. The reason for threat to these species is that they are unable to
migrate in response to climate change due to human activity and urbanisation. Another example of an
ecosystem under threat is coastal protection. There are evidences that the coral reefs are diminishing
due to temperature increase; which will disturb basic food chain in marine life.
After pollution the most important factor contributed by humans is deforestation, whereby people cut trees but do not
plant the replacements in the same ratio. Trees absorb a large amount of CO2 present in the air, so that the air gets
purified for living things (man and animals) to breathe in. The decreased number of trees increases the action of CO2
in the atmosphere, which heats it up and hence caused global warming.
The secondary factors include Green house effect and Natural Disaster. Green house effect causes some gases to
stay in the atmospheres which heat it up. Natural Disasters are in fact the next episode of air pollution, whereby the
change in the climate comes to happen. the influx of infra-rd and ultra-violet rays cause the polar ice to melt. Hence
the level of water in the oceans and seas increases. The increased water in the oceans and seas brings flooding,
cyclones and tornadoes etc. Not only this, but the increased temperature of the inside of the Earth (when infrared and
ultra violet rays penetrate into the surface of the Earth) causes magma to heat up and result as volcanic eruption,
earthquakes( heat expands the tectonic plates so the either collide or overlap) and seaquakes (quakes in the sea-
bed, which brings Tsunamis).
The effects of Global Warming are hazardous. These effects are economic, social political and environmental in
nature. The Economic effects are the basic ones. The economy of a particular area depends upon its natural, human
and financial resources. The natural disasters and changing climates ruin the economic infrastructure of the area by
destroying all these resources. Unfavourable climate for crops creates scarcity of food and clothing. The ultimate
consequences are hunger, diseases, homelessness etc. All these consequences paralyze the economy. The major
examples in this regard are (1) the tsunami which hit Indonesia and some parts of India and (2) the Earthquake in
northern Areas of Pakistan. The helplessness of people, the massive deaths and destruction of domestic as well as
industrial concerns cant be forgotten.

Other major examples of the effects of global warming are Katrina, Rita and Velma hurricanes which hit USA. The
formation of these hurricanes is actually a consequence of global warming. USA is the biggest industrial estate of the
world, generating most of the industrial gaseous waste, containing CFCs. These CFCs has depleted the ozone layer
on the North Pole. The hole in the ozone layer is about 25 km in diameter. The depleted ozone layer allowed the
infra-red and ultra-violet rays to enter into the troposphere (part of atmosphere close to earths surface). The most of
the area of North Pole is a layer of ice about a mile deep. The infra-red and ultra-violet rays melted this layer and the
increased level of water in the Arctic, which traveled towards the land in form of these hurricanes. The economic
effects of these disasters were also massive but USA being a prosperous country bore the shock. The effect of global
warming doesnt stop here. According to careful approximations Seven States of USA will be under water by the next
decade.
The social effects of the global warming may also be known as long term problems, which are basically derived from
the primary economic effects. The social effects include poverty, changing attitudes (as a consequence of shock), low
standard of living, deprival of social needs etc. These social effects respond as social evils in the societies, i.e.
robberies, murders etc.
The most important effect is the political effect which takes a long time to get developed. The changing topographies
as a result of disasters may also effect the international boundaries, which in long run creates disputes among the
nations. The changing formation of the Earth may also be seen as an appearance of a new piece of land or a
disappearance of an existing piece of land. In this context Id like to quote example of an island appeared in
Mediterranean sea and the dispute between the all nearest countries for the possession of the same.
The environmental effects are misbalancing ecosystems, diseases (skin cancer etc), changed topography, destroyed
habitats etc. These environmental effects of global warming had enjoyed a good favour, as they had been discussed
more than any other effect till yet. But unluckily, in spite of all favours, these Effects of global warming are increasing
day by day.
Man has always been in combat with the problems, so to ensure the maximum reduction in the negative
consequences of the global warming; he made a lot of efforts. In the early 1970s American senate passed a bill to
save the environment. In this connection, every year on 22nd March, Earth Day is celebrated through out the world.
In Pakistan the day gained popularity in last couple of years. This is a good step to create awareness among the
common men, but only urban areas of a country benefit from it. Rural areas of most of the countries do not play role
in this regard.
Kyoto Protocol is also a major step in formulating remedies for the adversities of the global warming. According to
this statement, all the countries should decrease their industrial waste up to 10% per annum. The biggest industrial
estate USA which produces about 70% of the total industrial waste of the world has abandoned the statement.
Careful approximations reveal that decreasing industrial production up to 10% will cost USA a loss of about $
3,000,000,000,000 (3 trillion dollars) per year, which USA doesnt want to bear.
Sustainable economic growth is another strategy presented by experts. According to this strategy the economic
resources should be utilized in such a way that they do not create any adversity for the natural environment. This
strategy demands a sustainable growth which means the production concerns should produce the commodities
according to careful statistics, so that the probability of wastage should be minimum. Secondly the sustainable
economic growth helps to maintain resources for a long period of time. For instance the major fuel which is being
used in the whole world today is fossil fuel. Burning of fossil fuel plays apart in global warming on one hand and
scarcity of fuel on other hand. Scientists are of the strong opinion that the amount of fossil fuel which is consumed in
a year, take almost one million year to be produced by natural decomposition of materials.

Pollution by industrialization and other means ( traffic, wars, Fire incidents, explosions etc) is one of the
main reasons for this global warming, since industrialization ( 1750 ) our all earths environment has come
more polluted , thanks to rapid growth of industry. This growth has given a gift of many poisonous gases to
our atmosphere, the air in which we breath in is no more pure or safe, it is contaminated, gases like Carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, sulphur, ammonia etc have become a general ingredient of once fresh
and pure air, most of these gases are naturally found in the air but this rapid industrialization has added
more quantity of these gases into the atmosphere than what is actually required, they out of proportion
presence leads to various climatic complications. These gases disturbs natural cycle of green house effect
leading to
some serious consequences. This modern age has given other gift to this already polluted environment and
that is nerve hurting tariff pollution. Vehicles using fossil fuel releases harmonious substances into the air
and polluting seriously and making it fatally dangerous for human health as well as earths atmosphere.
There is always a war on this earth. Everyday somewhere on this earth , guns are being fired, bombs are
being exploded, various atomic bomb explosion, massive fire incidents ( oil well being put on fire ), this all is
hurting earths eco system negatively by building up huge quantities of pollution, which ultimately leads to
global warming.

Fossil fuels are one of the largest contributors to global warming worldwide, as several tones of it are burnt
every day.
Fossil fuels have very important place in todays modern world, they are the main source of energy, they
pour life into the most of the machine and enable them to perform wonders, but the ugly side of the story is
that these fossil fuel release many hazardous gases on burning and most important of them is carbon
dioxide.80 % of carbon dioxide that is added to the atmosphere every day is through the courtesy of these
fossil fuels. These fuel includes petrol, diesel, natural gas, coal etc. these fuel are used every where from
cars to air planes , from industry to power generation houses, ever since industrialization ( 1750 ) these
fossil fuel are being more frequently used and statistical data shows since that time fluctuations in the
worldwide climate have become more frequent, though this change has not happened over night, it took its
time but now we can see that damage done by these fossil fuel has reached to the level where it is making
its presence felt. If quantity of carbon dioxide has doubled and other dangerous gases have also reached to
the perilous level, its the result of burning these fossil fuel for at least two centuries, now things has
aggravated and if we continue doing the same what we have been doing, results would be disastrous.

effects of global warming

The net impact of global warming so far has been modest, but near-future effects are likely to become
significantly negative, with large-scale extreme impacts possible by the end of the century.
The predicted effects of global warming on the environment and for human life are numerous and varied. It
is generally difficult to attribute specific natural phenomena to long-term causes, but / effects of recent
climate change may already be occurring. Rising sea levels, glacier retreat, and altered patterns of
agriculture are cited as direct consequences, but predictions for secondary and regional effects include
extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, and drastic economic impact. Concerns have led
to political activism advocating proposals to mitigate, eliminate, or adapt to it.
Effects on weather


Global warming is responsible in part for some trends in natural disasters such as extreme weather. Extreme
weather condition stands for excessive rains, snows storms, storm and hurricanes, droughts , very hot or
cold dry conditions etc.
Strong Storm can be a situation that would happen more frequently as if extreme weather conditions
prevail. Hurricane power dissipation is highly correlated with temperature, reflecting global warming.
Hurricane modeling has produced similar results, finding that hurricanes, simulated under warmer, high-CO2
conditions, are more intense; there is less confidence in projections of a global decrease in numbers of
hurricanes. Worldwide, the proportion of hurricanes with wind speeds above 56 meters per second has
risen from 20% in the 1970s to 35% in the 1990s. Precipitation hitting the world from hurricanes increased
by 7% over the twentieth century. Increasing extreme weather events to global warming, the increasing
number of strong hurricanes is directly linked to increasing temperatures. warming induced by greenhouse
gas may lead to increasing occurrence of highly destructive hurricanes, Catastrophes resulting from extreme
weather are worsened by increasing population densities.
A substantially higher risk of extreme weather does not necessarily mean a noticeably greater risk of
slightly-above-average weather. However, the evidence is clear that severe weather and moderate rainfall
are also increasing.
Over the course of the 20th century, evaporation rates have increased worldwide evaporation has increase
due to warmer oceans. Because the world is a closed system this will cause heavier rainfall and more
erosion. This erosion, in turn, can in vulnerable tropical areas (especially in Africa)
Glacier retreat and disappearance
In historic times, glaciers grew during a cool period from about 1550 to 1850 known as the Little Ice Age.
Subsequently, until about 1940, glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed. Glacier retreat
declined and reversed in many cases from 1950 to 1980 as a slight global cooling occurred. Since 1980,
glacier retreat has become increasingly rapid and ubiquitous that it has threatened the existence of many of
the glaciers of the world. This process has increased markedly since 1995.
Excluding the ice caps and ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctic, the total surface area of glaciers worldwide
has decreased by 50% since the end of the 19th century. Currently glacier retreat rates and mass balance
losses have been increasing in the Alps, Himalayas, Rocky Mountains.
The loss of glaciers not only directly causes landslides, flash floods and glacial lake overflow, but also
increases annual variation in water flows in rivers. Glacier runoff declines in the summer as glaciers
decrease in size, this decline is already observable in several regions. Glaciers retain water on mountains in
high precipitation years, since the snow cover accumulating on glaciers protects the ice from melting. In
warmer and drier years, glaciers offset the lower precipitation amounts with a higher melt water input .
Of particular importance are the Hindu Kush and Himalayan glacial melts that comprise the principal dry-
season water source of many of the major rivers of the South, East and Southeast Asian mainland.
Increased melting would cause greater flow for several decades, after which "some areas of the most
populated regions on Earth are likely to 'run out of water'" as source glaciers are depleted.
The sea absorbs heat from the sun, while the ice largely reflects the sun rays back to space. Thus, retreating
sea ice will allow the sun to warm the now exposed sea water, contributing to further warming. The
mechanism is the same as when a black car heats up faster in sunlight than a white car. This change is also
the main reason for this prediction that temperatures to rise up to twice as much as those of the rest of the
world. Such a change would bring a substantial change in the sea level leading to other consequential
issues.

Oceans
With increasing average global temperature, the water in the oceans expands in volume, and additional
water enters them which had previously been locked up on land in glaciers, for example, the Greenland and
the Antarctic ice sheets. An increase of 1.5 to 4.5 C is estimated to lead to an increase of 15 to 95 cm.
Increase in the sea level would led to invasion of dry land which could lead to some serious problems for the
ever increasing human population, countries like Bangladesh and Holland can face some serious threats.
The temperature of the oceans world wide by 0.8 C (0.31 F) between the 1950s and the 1980s on
average. This increase leaves some very serious questions for effects on ecosystem by melting sea ice,
affecting algae that grow on its underside, warming could reduce the ocean's ability to absorb CO2. this
increase in temperature leads to increased evaporation , causing more rain fall leading to other imbalances
in the ecosystem.
Acidification of oceans is also a problem caused by global warming. The worlds oceans soak up much of the
carbon dioxide produced by living organisms, either as dissolved gas, or in the skeletons of tiny marine
creatures that fall to the bottom to become chalk or limestone. Oceans currently absorb about one tone of
CO2 per person per year. It is estimated that the oceans have absorbed around half of all CO2 generated by
human activities since 1800 .But in water, carbon dioxide becomes a weak carbonic acid, and the increase in
the greenhouse gas since the industrial revolution has already lowered the average pH of seawater by 0.1
units, to 8.2. Predicted emissions could lower it by a further 0.5 by 2100, to a level not seen for millions of
years.
There are concerns that increasing acidification could have a particularly detrimental effect on corals, 16%
of the world's coral reefs have died from bleaching caused by warm water in 1998, which coincidentally was
the warmest year ever recorded, and other marine organisms with calcium carbonate shells. Increased
acidity may also directly affect the growth and reproduction of fish as well as the plankton on which they
rely for food.

Ecosystems
Earths ecosystem is a complete community of living organisms and the nonliving materials of their
surroundings. Thus, its components include plants, animals, and microorganisms; soil, rocks, and minerals;
as well as surrounding water sources and the local atmosphere, all these things are interlinked with each
other and they are directly or indirectly dependent on each other, any change in one can incur positive or
negative results of others ,lessened snow cover, rising sea levels, weather changes provides examples of
consequences of global warming that may influence not only human activities but also the ecosystems.
Increasing global temperature means that ecosystems will change; some species are being forced out of
their habitats (possibly to extinction) because of changing conditions, while others are flourishing.
Species that rely on cold weather conditions such as gyrfalcons, and snowy owls that prey on lemmings that
use the cold winter to their advantage will be hit hard. Marine invertebrates enjoy peak growth at the
temperatures they have adapted to, regardless of how cold these may be, and cold-blooded animals found
at greater latitudes and altitudes generally grow faster to compensate for the short growing season.Warmer-
than-ideal conditions result in higher metabolism and consequent reductions in body size despite increased
foraging, which in turn elevates the risk of predation. Indeed, even a slight increase in temperature during
development impairs growth efficiency and survival rate in rainbow trout..
A scientific study on effects of global warming on the behavior of plant and animal species revealed that
over the period of time a new trend among various species is emerging, this change indicates towards the
fact that these species ( both animal and plants ) are shifting their ranges towards the poles or higher
altitudes, creating "refugee species". Frogs were breeding, flowers blossoming and birds migrating an
average 2.3 days earlier each decade; butterflies, birds and plants moving towards the poles by 6.1 km per
decade and main reasons for this shift are global warming and human behavior.
Forests
Forests are one of the most important member of the ecosystem, any factor or change effecting the
ecosystem would naturally hurt earths forests most, extreme weathers like heavy rainfalls, floods, excessive
snow falls, hurricanes, sudden or prolonged drop or rise in temperatures etc. have been hampering world
forests very badly, this devastation is leading to other consequential changes in the eco system. Pine forests
in British Columbia have been devastated by a pine beetle infestation, which has expanded unhindered since
1998 at least in part due to the lack of severe winters since that time; a few days of extreme cold kill most
mountain pine beetles and have kept outbreaks in the past naturally contained. The infestation, which will
have killed 50% of the lodge pole pines by 2008 has passed to Alberta and will spread further East and
eventually into America given continued milder winters. Besides the immediate ecological and economic
impact, the huge dead forests provide a fire risk as well.
This global warming has increased risks of forest fires in some parts of the world. Frequency of these fries
have increased over the years and seriously effected areas are Indonesia, Australia, America etc.
Many herbs and shrubs have also been eliminated , mainly main because of these forests fires or
deforestation or harsh weather conditions, extinction of these herbs and shrubs is a grave tragedy, they
have a very vital role to play in the eco system, they play a very important role in the natural food chain
cycle. They have a importance for medical research etc.
Economic
This issue of global warming has its economical implications as well. A report issues by world bank states
clearly about the potential threats posed by this global warming. Report says that climate change could
affect growth which could be cut by one-fifth unless drastic action is taken. One percent of global GDP is
required to be invested in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, and that failure to do so could risk
a recession worth up to twenty percent of global GDP. Climate change threatens to be the greatest and
widest-ranging market failure ever seen. The report has had significant political effects: Australia reported
two days after the report was released that they would allocate AU$60 million to projects to help cut
greenhouse gas emissions.. Economists are putting in efforts to ascertain the all the possible effect that
world economy can receive from this global warming. Some on these studies have suggested that impacts of
global warming depend heavily upon initial temperatures (latitude). Countries in the polar region are likely
to receive large benefits from warming, countries in the mid-latitudes will at first benefit and only begin to
be harmed if temperatures rise above 2.5 C . Only countries in the tropical and subtropical regions are likely
to be harmed immediately by warming and be subject to the magnitudes of impacts first thought likely.
Summing these regional impacts across the globe implies that warming benefits and damages will likely
offset each other until warming passes 2.5C and even then it will be far smaller on net than originally
thought.

Effects on agriculture
For some time it was hoped that a positive effect of global warming would be increased agricultural yields,
because of the role of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, especially in preventing photorespiration, which is
responsible for significant destruction of several crops. In Iceland, rising temperatures have made possible
the widespread sowing of barley, which was untenable twenty years ago. Some of the warming is due to a
local (possibly temporary) effect via ocean currents from the Caribbean, which has also affected fish stocks.
While local benefits may be felt in some regions (such as Siberia), recent evidence is that global yields will
be negatively affected. "Rising atmospheric temperatures, longer droughts and side-effects of both, such as
higher levels of ground-level ozone gas, are likely to bring about a substantial reduction in crop yields in the
coming decades, large-scale experiments have shown".
Moreover, the region likely to be worst affected is Africa, both because its geography makes it particularly
vulnerable, and because seventy per cent of the population rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods.
Tanzania's official report on climate change suggests that the areas that usually get two rainfalls in the year
will probably get more, and those that get only one rainy season will get far less. The net result is expected
to be that 33% less maize.
Climate change may be one of the causes of the Darfur conflict. The combination of decades of drought,
desertification and overpopulation are among the causes of the conflict, because the Arab Baggara nomads
searching for water have to take their livestock further south, to land mainly occupied by farming peoples.
The UNEP report states "The scale of historical climate change, as recorded in Northern Darfur, is almost
unprecedented: the reduction in rainfall has turned millions of hectares of already marginal semi-desert
grazing land into desert. The impact of climate change is considered to be directly related to the conflict in
the region, as desertification has added significantly to the stress on the livelihoods of pastoralist societies,
forcing them to move south to find pasture,".
Insurance
An industry very directly affected by the risks is the insurance industry; the number of major natural
disasters has tripled since the 1960s, and insured losses increased fifteen fold in real terms (adjusted for
inflation). According to one study, 3540% of the worst catastrophes have been climate change related.
Over the past three decades, the proportion of the global population affected by weather-related disasters
has doubled in linear trend, rising from roughly 2% in 1975 to 4% in 2001.
According to a 2005 report from the Association of British Insurers, limiting carbon emissions could avoid
80% of the projected additional annual cost of tropical cyclones by the 2080s. A June 2004 report by the
Association of British Insurers declared "Climate change is not a remote issue for future generations to deal
with. It is, in various forms, here already, impacting on insurers' businesses now." It noted that weather
risks for households and property were already increasing by 2-4 % per year due to changing weather, and
that claims for storm and flood damages in the UK had doubled to over 6 billion over the period 1998
2003, compared to the previous five years. The results are rising insurance premiums, and the risk that in
some areas flood insurance will become unaffordable for some.
In the United States, insurance losses have also greatly increased. each 1% increase in annual precipitation
could enlarge catastrophe loss by as much as 2.8%.Gross increases are mostly attributed to increased
population and property values in vulnerable coastal areas, though there was also an increase in frequency
of weather-related events like heavy rainfalls since the 1950s.
Transport
Roads, airport runways, railway lines and pipelines, (including oil pipelines, sewers, water mains etc) may
require increased maintenance and renewal as they become subject to greater temperature variation.
Regions already adversely affected include areas of permafrost, which are subject to high levels of
subsidence, resulting in buckling roads, sunken foundations, and severely cracked runways.
Flood defense
For historical reasons to do with trade, many of the world's largest and most prosperous cities are on the
coast, and the cost of building better coastal defenses (due to the rising sea level) is likely to be
considerable. Some countries will be more affected than others low-lying countries such as Bangladesh
and the Netherlands would be worst hit by any sea level rise, in terms of floods or the cost of preventing
them.
In developing countries, the poorest often live on flood plains, because it is the only available space, or
fertile agricultural land. These settlements often lack infrastructure such as dykes and early warning
systems. Poorer communities also tend to lack the insurance, savings or access to credit needed to recover
from disasters.