Friday, March 29, 2024
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10 Facts About Climate Change

1. Increasing global warming mainly caused by human activity since 1950

Though there are some natural causes behind climate change, human activity is the main reason behind the current climate crisis.
Significant causes of climate change through human activities are:
• Burning fossil fuels for energy.
• Deforestation.
• Increasingly intensive agriculture.

2. In the last 100 years global temperature has increased by 1° Celsius

Though we may not notice much difference it is causing a significant impact on the planet. Currently, countries working on the Paris Agreement, Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

3. China is the largest contributor to carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere

China is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide gas in the world, with 10.175 billion metric tons.

 

Source: Statista

The primary source of CO2 emissions in China is fossil fuels, notably coal burning. About 58% of the total energy derived in China came from coal alone in 2019, and since coal is rich in carbon, burning it in China’s power and industrial plants and boilers releases large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

4. Arctic sea ice and glaciers are melting

One of the most well-known effects of global warming is that sea ice and glaciers in the Arctic are melting. Arctic sea ice extent has declined significantly in all months since satellite measurements began in 1979, with September showing the largest declines.

The world’s glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate. The researchers found them to have lost almost 270 billion tones of ice a year over the opening two decades of the 21st Century. Experts say, “Over the last 20 years, glaciers have lost about 267 gigatons (Gt) per year.”

This figure shows Arctic sea ice extent for the months of September and March of each year from 1979 through 2020. September and March are when the minimum and maximum extent typically occur each year.

Source: EPA

5. Global Sea Level Rise

Sea level has risen 8–9 inches (21–24 centimeters) since 1880.

In 2020, the global sea level set a new record high—91.3 mm (3.6 inches) above 1993 levels. The rate of sea-level rise is accelerating: it has more than doubled from 0.06 inches (1.4 millimeters) per year throughout most of the twentieth century to 0.14 inches (3.6 millimeters) per year from 2006–2015.

climate change

Source: NOAA

6. Deforestation is a major cause of carbon dioxide release

Trees are known as carbon sinks, they absorb more carbon than they release. When humans cut down rainforests or they are destroyed by wildfires, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, which causes global warming.
According to World Resources Institute, averaged over 2015—2017, global loss of tropical forests contributed about 4.8 billion tones of carbon dioxide per year (or about 8-10% of annual human emissions of carbon dioxide).

Source: World Resources Institute 

7. Coral reefs are being destroyed

Coral reefs are known as rainforests of the sea. Over 4000 species of fish make their home in coral reefs. But in the last 30 years, half of the world’s coral reefs have died. Human activity, as well as increased temperatures, has contributed significantly to coral bleaching. This impacts fish and other species that make these corals their home.

Read More: Fact-Check: Is “man-made climate change” a hoax?

8. Two-thirds of extreme weather events in the last 20 years were influenced by humans

Carbon Brief, a UK-based website covering climate science, gathered data from 230 studies into “extreme event attribution” and found that 68 percent of all extreme weather events studied in the last 20 years were made more likely or more severe by human-caused climate change. Heatwaves account for 43 percent of such events, droughts make up 17 percent and heavy rainfall or floods account for 16 percent.

9. Climate change is creating a refugee crisis

As global temperatures increase, millions of people are fleeing their homes to avoid the impacts of droughts and extreme storms. And these numbers are set to rise. The World Bank’s updated Groundswell report finds that climate change, an increasingly potent driver of migration, could force 216 million people across six world regions to move within their countries by 2050. Hotspots of internal climate migration could emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050.

10. Air Pollution

Climate change can impact air quality and, conversely, air quality can impact climate change. Changes in climate can result in impacts on local air quality. Atmospheric warming associated with climate change has the potential to increase ground-level ozone in many regions, which may present challenges for compliance with the ozone standards in the future. The impact of climate change on other air pollutants, such as particulate matter, is less certain, but research is underway to address these uncertainties.

Emissions of pollutants into the air can result in changes to the climate.

Source

1. Carbonbrief: https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans#:~:text=Humans%20emissions%20and%20activities%20have,(IPCC)%20fifth%20assessment%20report.

2. European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/climate-change/causes-climate-change_en#:~:text=Humans%20are%20increasingly%20influencing%20the,greenhouse%20effect%20and%20global%20warming.

3. Nasa: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures

4. Unfccc: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement

5. Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/270499/co2-emissions-in-selected-countries/

5. China Power: https://chinapower.csis.org/energy-footprint/

6. Nasa: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/arctic-sea-ice/

7. EPA: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-arctic-sea-ice

8. Bbc: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56921164

9. EPA: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-glaciers

10. NOAA: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level

11. Climatecouncil: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/deforestation/#:~:text=When%20forests%20are%20cleared%20or,human%20emissions%20of%20carbon%20dioxide).

12. World Resources Institute: https://www.wri.org/insights/numbers-value-tropical-forests-climate-change-equation

13. Bbc: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54533971

14. EPA: https://www.epa.gov/coral-reefs/basic-information-about-coral-reefs#:~:text=An%20estimated%2025%20percent%20of,point%20in%20their%20life%20cycle.

15. Carbonbrief: https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world

16. Worldbank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050

17. DW: https://dw.com/en/climate-refugees-migration-displacement/a-57585752

18. EPA: https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-quality-and-climate-change-research

RS Team
RS Team
Rumor Scanner Fact-Check Team
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