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KINNAIRD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN LAHORE

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

CLIMATOLOGY (GENERAL)
PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO:
Ms. AMBREENA MUBASHIR
SUBMITTED BY:
SAMEEN TARIQ
F18BAIR002
SEMESTER 4
SUBMITTED ON:
14th July,2020

TOPIC: GLOBAL CLIMATIC CHANGE AND MELTING OF GLACIERS

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CLIMATE VS WEATHER

First, it is important here to note the differences between weather and climate change refers to
significant, long-term changes in the global climate. The main difference between these two
terms is the duration, where the weather is the day-to-day or short term condition of the changes
in the atmosphere, and climate is the averaged weather condition of a particular place over a long
time, about 30 years. Weather refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere, climate describes
what the weather is like over a long period of time in a specific area. Different regions can have
different climates. Even though there’s only one atmosphere on Earth, the weather isn’t the same
all around the world. Weather is different in different parts of the world and changes over
minutes, hours, days, and weeks. Different regions can have different climates. To describe the
climate of a place, we might say what the temperatures are like during different seasons, how
windy it usually is, or how much rain or snow typically falls.

BASIS FOR WEATHER CLIMATE

COMPARISON

Meaning Weather is day-to-day Climate is statistical weather

information of the changes in
the atmospheric condition in
any area.
information that provides
information about the
average weather condition of
a particular place over a long
period.

Duration The short term atmospheric The long term average

condition of any place is the weather atmospheric
weather, which may vary by condition of a place or
time-to-time. country is the climate.

Affected By Weather is affected by The climate is the long term

temperature, pressure,
humidity, cloudiness, wind,
precipitation, rain, flooding,
ice storms, etc.
observations of the
atmospheric conditions at
any location like humidity,
temperature, the sunshine,
wind, etc.
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It affects the The weather may affect the Climate significantly affects
day-to-day occupation, and it agriculture, industries, the
may hamper transportation livelihood of the peoples.
services, agriculture, etc.

Changes The changes in the weather The changes in climate take a

observed condition can be observed longer time to change.
very frequently.

Studied by Weather forecasting is The Climate Prediction

observed by the
Meteorological Department
of any particular place, and
the study is known as
Meteorology.
Centre predicts climate and
its study is known as
Climatology.

THE GLOBAL CLIMATIC CHANGE

The global climatic change refers to change in climatic patterns Global climate change refers to
the average long-term changes over the entire Earth. These include warming temperatures and
changes in precipitation, as well as the effects of Earth’s warming, such as:

 Rising sea levels

 Shrinking mountain glaciers
 Ice melting at a faster rate than
usual in Greenland, Antarctica
and the Arctic
 Changes in flower and plant
blooming times.

NASA’s definition of climate change

says it is “a broad range of global
Figure 1
phenomena created predominantly by
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temperature trends described by global warming, but also encompass changes such as sea-level
rise; ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts
in flower/plant blooming; and extreme weather events. “Earth’s climate has constantly been
changing — even long before humans came into the picture. However, scientists have observed
unusual changes recently. For example, Earth’s average temperature has been increasing much
more quickly than they would expect over the past 150 years.

WHY EARTH’S CLIMATE IS CHANGING?

The dynamics of earth’s heating and cooling are very simple. Sun is the main source of earth’s
heating. when energy from sun falls and warms up the earth, it is heated up. The earth reflects
this energy back into the atmosphere or when the earth’s atmosphere releases energy it cools
down. Earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the
planet’s system. When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth system, Earth
warms. When the sun’s energy is reflected back into space, Earth avoids warming. When
absorbed energy is released back into space, Earth cools. When the earth absorbs the sun’s
energy, or when atmospheric gases prevent heat released by the earth from radiating into space
(the greenhouse effect), the planet warms. A variety of factors, both natural and human, can
influence the earth’s climate system.

We can broadly classify the natural and human causes for global climatic change. There are
some natural as well as some human made causes that are causing the climate to change.

NATURAL CAUSES

The earth’s climate is influenced and changed through natural causes like volcanic eruptions,
ocean currents, the Earth’s orbital changes, solar variations and internal variability. Because we
all know, in the past, the planet went through warm and cold periods, long before humans were
born. Forces that contribute to climate change include intensity of the sun, volcanic eruptions and
changes in the concentrations of natural greenhouse gases. Yet data show that the climate
warming of today — especially the warming since the mid-20th century — is happening much
faster than ever before and cannot be explained by natural causes alone. "These natural causes
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are still in effect today, but their impact is too limited or they occur too slowly to explain the
dramatic warming seen in recent decades," according to NASA.

HUMAN ACTIVITIES

Human activities that account for global climatic change are related
to the increase in greenhouse gases. The burning of fossil fuels like
coal, oil, and gas for electricity, heat, and transportation is the
primary source of human-generated emissions. A second major
source is deforestation, which releases sequestered carbon into the
air. It’s estimated that logging, clear-cutting, fires, and other forms
of forest degradation contribute up to 20 percent of global carbon
emissions. Other human activities that generate air pollution include
fertilizer use (a primary source of nitrous oxide emissions), Figure 2
livestock production (cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats are major
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methane emitters), and certain industrial processes that release sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Feducation-
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GREENHOUSE EFFECT

When sunlight reaches Earth’s surface, it can

either be reflected back into space or absorbed
by Earth. Once absorbed, the planet releases
some of the energy back into the atmosphere as
heat (also called infrared radiation).
Greenhouse gases like water vapor (H2O),
carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4)
absorb energy, slowing or preventing the loss of
Figure 3
heat to space. In this way, GHGs act like a
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blanket, making Earth warmer than it would otherwise be. This process is commonly known as
the “greenhouse effect.” Heat-trapping gases, sometimes called “greenhouse gases,” are the
cause of most of the climate warming and glacier retreat in the past 50 years. Human activities
are changing Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil puts more
carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.

NASA has observed increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases
in our atmosphere. Too much of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap
more and more heat. This causes Earth to warm up.

WHAT ARE GLACIERS?

Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice
masses. Glaciers form when snow remains in one location long enough to transform into ice.
Glaciers begin to form when snow remains in the same area year-round, where enough snow
accumulates to transform into ice. Each year, new layers of snow bury and compress the
previous layers. This compression forces the snow to re-crystallize, forming grains similar in size
and shape to grains of sugar. Gradually the grains grow larger and the air pockets between the
grains get smaller, causing the snow to slowly compact and increase in density. After about a
year, the snow turns into firn—an intermediate state between snow and glacier ice. At this point,
it is about two-thirds as dense as water. Over time, larger ice crystals become so compressed that
any air pockets between them are very tiny. In very old glacier ice, crystals can reach several
inches in length. For most glaciers, this process takes more than a hundred years.

Glaciers are divided into two groups, alpine glaciers and ice sheets. There are other types as well
like Tidewater glaciers, Piedmont glaciers, Hanging glaciers, Cirque glaciers but these two are
the most common ones.

ALPINE: Alpine glaciers form on mountainsides and move downward through valleys.
Sometimes, alpine glaciers create or deepen valleys by pushing dirt, soil, and other materials out
of their way. The Gorner Glacier in Switzerland and the Furtwangler Glacier in Tanzania are
both typical alpine glaciers. Alpine glaciers are also called valley glaciers or mountain glaciers.

ICE SHEETS: Ice sheets, unlike alpine glaciers, are not limited to mountainous areas. They
form broad domes and spread out from their centers in all directions. As ice sheets spread, they
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cover everything around them with a thick blanket of ice, including valleys, plains, and even
entire mountains. The largest ice sheets, called continental glaciers, spread over vast areas.
Today, continental glaciers cover most of Antarctica and the island of Greenland.

Figure 4

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%2Fchapter%2Fformation-and-movement-of-glaciers
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0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPCcpOGC0uoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

MELTING OF GLACIERS

Lots of glaciers around the world have been melting steadily since the early 1900s. This
phenomenon is at the root of human activities. Specifically, since the industrial revolution,
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures, even higher in the
poles, leading to the rapid melting of glaciers, calving off into the sea and receding on land.
Scientists project that if emissions continue to rise unchecked, the Arctic could be ice free in the
summer as soon as the year 2040 as ocean and air temperatures continue to rise rapidly.
The rising temperature of the Earth has, without doubt, been responsible for melting glaciers
throughout history. Today, the speed with which climate change is progressing might render
them extinct in record time. Let us take a detailed look at the causes behind glacial melting:

 CO2 emissions: the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse

gases (GHGs) produced by industry, transport, deforestation and burning fossil
fuels, amongst other human activities, warm the planet and cause glaciers to melt.
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 Ocean warming: oceans absorb 90% of the Earth's warmth, and this fact affects the
melting of marine glaciers, which are mostly located near the poles and on the coasts of
Alaska (United States).

The figure shows a before and after picture of the same place which shows that how
rapidly glaciers are melting.

Figure 5

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QAAAAAdAAAAABAZ
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EFFECTS OF GLACIER MELTING ON HUMAN LIFE AND ANIMALS

Whatsoever happens in these places has consequences across the entire globe. As sea ice and
glaciers melt and oceans warm, ocean currents will continue to disrupt weather patterns
worldwide. Industries that thrive on vibrant fisheries will be affected as warmer waters change
where and when fish spawn. Coastal communities will continue to face billion-dollar disaster
recovery bills as flooding becomes more frequent and storms become more intense. People are
not the only ones impacted. In the Arctic, as sea ice melts, wildlife like walrus are losing their
home and polar bears are spending more time on land, causing higher rates of conflict between
people and bears.

o Sea level rise

Glacial melting has contributed to raising sea levels

by 2.7 centimeters since 1961. Furthermore, the
world's glaciers contain enough ice — about
170,000 cubic kilometers — to raise sea levels by
nearly half a meter. Melting glaciers add to rising
sea levels, which in turn increases coastal erosion
and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean
temperatures create more frequent and intense
Figure 6
coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons.
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Specifically, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets
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four times faster than in 2003 and already AAABAJ
contributes 20% of current sea level rise. The
graph shows the Data of sea level rise over the time that how it has changed.

o More chances of floods

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There are areas of ice glaciers at higher altitudes, and they all defrost rapidly, the melting creates
a sudden increase in water flow to other bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and seas. The
excess water can lead to new lakes being created, which will continue to grow in size.

Such occurrences are very disturbing, since the bodies of water may be very large in volume.
The consequence is overflowing, which will be a major tragedy because it will kill everything
under way and make thousands of homeless people like the Bangladesh situation.

o Shortage of electricity

A lot of places all over the world depend exclusively on the constantly flowing water from
glaciers that are melting in producing electricity. Reducing or stopping the flowing of water will
mean stopping the production of electricity. The modern world cannot do without electricity, in
which case people will resort to other forms of producing electricity, some of which will end up
polluting the environment and further increase global warming.

o Impact on the climate

Glacial thawing at the poles is slowing the oceanic currents, a phenomenon related to altering the
global climate and a succession of increasingly extreme weather events throughout the globe.
The weather is mainly controlled by sea currents that traverse the vast oceans. There are cold and
warm currents, and each of them affects the adjacent lands. With global warming, however, all
the oceans are warming up, and this is reversing the movement of currents which in the process
increase storms and hurricanes in places that never used to experience such elements. Soon some
deserts will start receiving snow while tropical areas will start drying up for lack of rain. This
kind of phenomena will upset the balance of life on earth and lead to the extinction of sensitive
species of plants and animals.

o Disappearance of species
o Glacial melting will also cause the extinction of
numerous species, as glaciers are the natural
habitat of a number of animals, both terrestrial
and aquatic. Polar bear numbers have been
declining over the years due to the disappearance

Figure 7

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https
%3A%2F%2Fearthsky.org%2Fearth
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of ice in North and South Pole. Bears have adapted to the cold conditions of these
regions, but as the climate gets warmer and the ice sheets melt away, they are left
exposed to the unfamiliar environment. Evolution takes millions of years, and that is a
timeframe they cannot afford. This loss of habitat has also impacted their source of food,
and as a result, they are now an endangered species. Figure shows the polar bear figuring
out the melted ice changed to water.
o Less fresh water

The disappearance of glaciers also means less water for consumption by the population, a lower
hydroelectric energy generation capacity, and less water available for irrigation. 97% of earth's
water is seawater with only 3% being freshwater which is supposed to cater to more than 7
billion people on the planet. About 75% of the freshwater is trapped in glaciers with 90% of this
freshwater bearing glaciers being located in the Antarctic. With an accelerated melting rate that
outstrips the replacement of the ice, more of the freshwater is lost into oceans where they mix
with saline waters. The ice found on mountains and highlands which are inland sources of rivers
are also receding and soon enough there will be no freshwater left for a growing human
population.

o A Return of Lethal Diseases

Ice is a purifier, and for ages, the cold glaciers of the earth have been absorbing harmful
chemicals, banned pesticides that went airborne, as well as trapping ancient viruses and bacteria
which become inactive in cold conditions. As the ice continues to thaw some of these trapped
viruses, bacteria, and chemicals are at risk of being released back into circulation, if this were to
occur humanity could be faced with diseases that could wipe life off the earth.

o Coral Reefs Disappear

Coral reefs play a vital role in the environment; they provide habitat for almost of all the marine
species that live in the water, and also do oxygen and carbon dioxide management, as well as
shoreline protection. They typically emerge in the tropics where they synthesize sunlight in
shallow waters. Nevertheless, with increasing sea levels, coral reefs are dying all over the world
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because they no longer receive adequate sunlight and this affects fish population directly, which
in effect affects people who rely on the sea to live. Food shortage crisis is now looking ahead.

SOLUTIONS TO PREVENT THE MELTING

The only way to protect glaciers from melting is to stop climatic change. Human activities
specifically increase in greenhouse gases is one of the major reasons why glaciers are melting.
Reducing the effects of climate change means reducing our CO2 emissions. This means
everyone making the effort to turn off lights, recycle, walk to work, take public transport, and so
on. This will make the world a better place for all of us. Humankind has become dependent on
the burning of fossil fuels to support our way of life, but it increases global warming at an
unnatural rate. To restore the glaciers, we need to utilize alternative energy sources, increase our
energy efficiency and decrease our individual carbon footprints. Alternative enrgy solutions like
usage of solar panels, energy driven cars etc can also help in stop glaciers from melting.
Individual steps can lead to a big change.

CONCLUSION

When absorbed energy is released back into space, Earth cools. When the earth absorbs the sun’s
energy, or when atmospheric gases prevent heat released by the earth from radiating into space
(the greenhouse effect), the planet warms. A variety of factors, both natural and human, can
influence the earth’s climate system. Global climatic change is “a broad range of global
phenomena created predominantly by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to
Earth’s atmosphere. It is caused by increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These
increased greenhouse gases cause the earth’s temperature to rise which in return causes glaciers
to melt. The rapid melting of glaciers is very alarming as it can cause us problems like loss of
fresh water, electricity shortage, return of diseases etc. we cannot stop these glaciers from
melting but we can reduce the speed of their melting. So individual we need to take steps to
prevent rapid melting of the glaciers. Individual measures can be reducing usage of fossil fuels,
refrigerators etc. and shift to nature friendly things like battery operated cars, solar panels etc. it
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is important to note that this global change is mainly due to human activities and only humans
can reduce it by taking firm steps.

REFRENCES

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/apr/18/glacier-
loss-is-accelerating-because-of-global-warming

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting

https://www.encyclopedie-environnement.org/en/water/impact-of-climate-change-on-snow-
cover-and-alpine-glaciers-consequences-on-water-resources/

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know

https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/melting-glaciers-causes-effects-solutions

https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/climate.html

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-effects-of-melting-glaciers.html

https://cityofphiladelphia.github.io/climatechangeisreal/climate-change-science/causes-climate-
change/