Climate Change

Introduction: Climate Change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather

patterns across the globe.1 These shifts can occur naturally due to variations in the solar cycle.
But since the industrial revolution, human activities have been the main driver of climate
change.
Causes and Effects: We started breaking Carbon dioxide emission records in the 1950s by
burning fossil fuels to power our homes, factories, and automobiles and have not stopped yet,
thereby, increasing the atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentration by 48% now.2 Unchecked
agricultural and industrial activities, lead to the release of greenhouse gases like Nitrous
oxide, Carbon dioxide, and methane. Scientists attribute the global warming trend to the
human expansion of the "greenhouse effect", which is when these greenhouse gases trap heat
radiating out from Earth towards space, making it warmer .1 Deforestation and Ozone layer
depletion add to it. The consequences are global temperature rise resulting in changes in
weather patterns and significant rise in sea level, specifically about 8 inches in the last
century. Data from NASA's Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279
billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion
tons.3 These adverse climatic phenomena, in turn, increase the frequency of natural disasters
like cyclones, droughts, forest fires, etc., leading to huge casualties and billions in economic
losses along with depletion of different natural ecosystems.
Way Forward: People around the world have already started taking steps in the right
direction to repair the damage made to our climate. In a 2018 UN report, scientists and
government reviewers agreed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C to maintain a liveable
climate.1 We also have global agreements, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris
Agreement which encourages the use of renewable sources of energy like solar or wind to
reduce carbon emissions.
Conclusion: In conclusion, each one of us needs to contribute to controlling the adverse
effects of climate change. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out, “the
climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win”.4

References-
1. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
2. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
3. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/
4. https://www.un.org/en/un75/climate-crisis-race-we-can-win