What exactly is global warming?

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Causes and impacts of global warming: the facts

The rise in global average temperatures that have been documented at least since 1880 is known as global warming.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data lay out the figures as they are: Between 1880 and 1980, worldwide yearly temperatures rose by an average of 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit (0.07 degrees Celsius) every decade. Climate change has increased at a pace of 0.32 F (0.18 C) every decade since 1981. As a result, the average world temperature has risen by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) since the beginning of the industrial era. It's been a scorching year, but 2016 hasn't yet broken the record for most days above 100 degrees Fahrenheit set in 1908. The years 2019 and 2020 came dangerously close to unseating 2016 as the most successful year ever. In 2020, the average land-and-ocean temperature was 1.76 degrees Fahrenheit (0.98 degrees Celsius), higher than the 20th century's 57.0 degrees Fahrenheit average (13.9 C).

Human activity is to blame for the current wave of global warming. GHGs emitted into the atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels are causing surface and air temperatures to rise. Although "climate change" has become the favored word among scientists, "global warming" is a synonym for the latter.

What's causing climate change?

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of today's global warming. The greenhouse effect, created by the interaction of Earth's atmosphere with solar radiation, results from these hydrocarbons.

Josef Werne, professor of geology and environmental Science at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science that the fundamental physics of the greenhouse effect were discovered more than a century ago by a smart guy using only pencil and paper.

Swedish physicist Svante Arrhenius was the "clever guy" in question. He went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Solar radiation reaches the Earth's surface and then returns to the atmosphere as heat, which warms the atmosphere. Atmospheric gases enclose and restrict the escape of this heat into the vastness of space (good news for life on the planet). Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases like methane can trap heat near the Earth's surface, and Arrhenius discovered that even slight changes in the amount of these gases could have a huge impact on how much heat is trapped.

How the emission of greenhouse gases causes global warming

Humans have been dramatically altering the composition of gases in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the principal greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned. The most prevalent kind of greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 was approximately 280 parts per million from roughly 800,000 years ago and the commencement of the Industrial Revolution (ppm, meaning there were about 280 molecules of CO2 in the air per every million air molecules). As of 2020, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported that the average CO2 concentration in the atmosphere was 412.5 ppm.

From roughly 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago, CO2 levels were at their highest in the Pliocene epoch, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. According to a study published in the journal Science in 2013, the Arctic was ice-free for at least part of the year and substantially warmer than it is today.

According to EPA data, CO2 accounted for 81.6% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. (EPA).

"CO2 levels in the atmosphere are rising at an unprecedented rate thanks to high-accuracy instrumentation. CO2 absorbs infrared radiation, and the average world temperature is rising, as we know. "An email from York College of Pennsylvania chemistry professor Keith Peterman and his study collaborator, associate professor Gregory Foy, was sent to the editors of Live Science.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) enters the atmosphere in a variety of ways. The primary source of CO2 emissions in the United States comes from the country's use of fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels and electricity generation in the United States in 2016 emitted over 5.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, according to an EPA estimate from 2018. A further 7 billion tons of CO2 are released annually in the United States due to non-energy operations like iron and steel manufacture, cement production, and waste incineration (6.5 billion metric tons).

In addition, deforestation is a major source of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, deforestation is the second-largest anthropogenic (human-made) source of carbon dioxide. Carbon is released from trees when they die because of the photosynthesis they perform. Fewer trees are left to absorb carbon from the atmosphere as forest area is converted to ranching, residential, or agricultural use. The good news is that the rate of forest loss has slowed since 2015, according to the UN's 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment. Since 1990, around 1,040 acres (420 hectares) of forest have been lost to deforestation.

Even though methane is the world's second most abundant greenhouse gas, it is also the best at retaining heat once it has been trapped. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is 25 times more efficient than carbon dioxide at storing heat. According to the EPA, the gas accounted for approximately 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2016.

In addition to mining, using natural gas, livestock farming, and landfills that contribute to methane emissions, humans are also responsible for a significant amount of methane emissions. According to the EPA, cattle are the largest single source of methane emissions in the United States, accounting for almost 26% of total methane emissions.

What are the ramifications of man-made climate change?

"Climate change" has been the preferred word among researchers and policymakers because "global warming" doesn't merely mean warming. While the world's average temperature is rising, this rise can have counterintuitive impacts, such as more frequent and severe snowstorms. Melting glaciers, drying out already-arid places, generating weather extremes, and disturbing the delicate balance of seas are just a few ways climate change can and will influence the world.

Ice is thawing.

The melting of glaciers and sea ice is one of the most evident effects of global warming thus far. Since the end of the last ice age, roughly 11,700 years ago, the ice sheets have been retreating, but the recent century's warming has accelerated their decline. Recent glacial retreat is almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, according to a study published in 2016. These ice rivers retreated 10 to 15 times as far as they would have in a stable climate. In the late 1800s, Montana's Glacier National Park featured 150 glaciers. There were 26 in 2015, the most recent year for which complete data could be gathered. When glacier dams holding back glacial lakes break or avalanches caused by unstable ice bury villages, human life might be lost.

Sea ice in the North Pole is thinning due to rapid warming, occurring at a rate two times greater than in the middle latitudes. In 2015 and 2016, the Arctic's fall and winter ice extent fell to record lows, resulting in a smaller area covered by ice than ever reported. For the second time in history, the National Snow and Ice Data Center predict that summer sea ice will be at its lowest extent ever recorded (NSIDC). For the last 13 years, NASA has seen the 13 smallest Arctic sea ice extent measurements. Also, in the spring, the ice builds more slowly and melts more quickly. January sea ice extent has decreased 3.15 percent each decade over the last 40 years, according to the NSIDC. According to some researchers, Summers in the Arctic Ocean may be free of ice within the next 20 or 30 years.

The consequences of climate change in the Antarctic have been more erratic. According to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, the Western Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than any other section of the continent save for the Arctic. On the peninsula, the Larsen C ice shelf was recently breached, releasing an iceberg the size of Delaware for the first time. According to scientists, one-quarter of the West Antarctic ice sheet is at risk of melting, and the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers are moving five times as rapidly as they were in 1992. Even though the Thwaites glacier is located in a relatively thin portion of Earth's crust, geothermal heat can weaken it from below, according to research published in 2021.

East Antarctica has long been more resistant to the effects of global warming than the rest of Antarctica. Data from the last frigid bastion on South America's southern continent reveals that even it may feel the effects of climate change. There has been an increase in the movement of glaciers in East Antarctica, as reported by Yale Environment360, because more land-based ice is moving toward the ocean, which is a significant factor in rising sea levels.

Increasing in Temperature

Even at the poles, the effects of global warming will be felt. As the climate heats, many already-dry locations are predicted to become considerably drier. These "megadroughts" are projected to last decades in the southwest and central plains of the United States, the worst in human history.

As a climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, Benjamin Cook has predicted that the future of drought in western North America will be worse than anyone has experienced in American history, according to a Live Science interview. It's "nearly impossible to think about" droughts like these since they're "so much outside our current experience."

According to the study, droughts lasting at least 35 years were expected in the region for at least 85 percent of the time by 2100. Evaporation of water from hotter and hotter soil is the primary cause, according to the experts. Much rain that falls in these arid locations will be washed away due to the lack of vegetation.

Meanwhile, a 2014 study found that many locations will likely get less rainfall as the climate warms. Subtropical regions like Central America, the Amazon and Indonesia would be severely hit, although South Africa, Mexico, Western Australia and California will also be affected, according to the report.

A prolonged period of dry weather can be the precursor of disastrous wildfires. The number of acres burned annually, and various factors influence the amount of damage caused by fires. Still, data from the National Interagency Fire Center show that wildfires have grown steadily since the 1980s. Since 2005, the ten years with the most burned acreage have all occurred.

Climate change

Extreme weather is another effect of global warming. As the Earth warms, hurricanes and typhoons can become more intense. Storms are powered by the evaporation of moisture from the oceans, which is why the oceans get hotter. However, even if the world shifts to a less fossil-fuel-intensive economy (known as the A1B scenario) and diversifies its energy sources, tropical cyclones are expected to be up to 11 percent more intense on average. This means coastal areas will be more vulnerable to wind and flood damage.

Climate change, paradoxically, may lead to more frequent and severe snowstorms. Extreme snowstorms are now twice as common in the eastern United States as in the early 1900s, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. Because ocean temperatures are warming, more moisture is evaporating into the atmosphere. This moisture fuels storms that impact the continental United States.

Disruption of the ocean

Underneath the waves, the most direct effects of global warming can be seen. Oceans are carbon sinks, meaning they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This isn't harmful to the atmosphere, but it's not good for the marine ecosystems. [page needed] Ocean acidification occurs when carbon dioxide combines with seawater, decreasing the water's pH (i.e., it becomes more acidic). Many marine animals' calcium carbonate shells and skeletons deteriorate due to the rising acidity. According to NOAA, these animals include shellfish, pteropods, and corals.

When it comes to the effects of climate change on the oceans, corals, in particular, serve as a canary in a coal mine. Coral bleaching, an event in which coral expel symbiotic algae that provide the coral with nutrients and give them their vibrant colors, has reached alarming levels, according to marine scientists. Corals are more susceptible to bleaching, which high temperatures can cause when they are under stress. Back-to-back bleaching outbreaks occurred on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia in 2016 and 2017. Coral can recover from bleaching, but with each subsequent bleaching episode, the chances of a successful recovery decrease.

Fast facts about global warming

This is what NASA says:

* Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are expected to reach 417 ppm in 2021, the highest level in 650,000 years, according to the United Nations.

* Global average temperature has risen by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit (3.4 degrees Celsius) since 1880.

* Since satellite surveys began in 1979, the minimum extent of Arctic summer sea ice has decreased by 13 percent every decade.

* Since 2002, the amount of land ice at the poles has decreased by 428 gigatons yearly.

* In the last century, the global sea level has risen by 178 micrometers (7 inches).

Information on global warming is available here.

Check out Climate.gov, a repository of information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The National Centers for Environmental Information publishes a monthly "state of the climate" report that tracks global and domestic developments. Visit NASA's Global Climate Change page for answers to frequently asked questions regarding global warming.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment report is a must-read for anybody interested in the Science, modeling, and projections of global warming (opens in new tab). Fact sheets and other materials for the general public are available on the IPCC website.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/37003-global-warming.html

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