The atmosphere is made up of 78 percent nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases that surround the Earth. The atmosphere spreads out high above the earth until it finally reaches space. The atmosphere is a crucial component of what makes the Earth habitable.�Let's understand the impacts of global warming.

 

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Impacts of Global Warming

 

1. Increase Health Risk:

 

Millions of people around the world will be at an increased risk of malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and other infectious diseases. For example, malaria or other mosquito-infected diseases may spread to those regions which are now too cold for the mosquitoes to breed and survive.

2. Increase in Evaporation rate:

 

The water in lakes and rivers would evaporate faster due to an increase in air temperature. It can also cause changes in the characteristics of ocean currents.

3. Increase in average temperatures and temperature extremes:

 

One of the most immediate and obvious impacts of global warming is the increase in temperatures around the world.

 

The average global temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past 100 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

 

For the contiguous United States and Alaska, 2016 was the second-warmest year on record and the 20th consecutive year that the annual average surface temperature exceeded the 122-year average since record-keeping began, according to NOAA.

 

4. Extreme weather events:

 

Extreme weather is among many other impacts of global warming. While experiencing some of the hottest summers on record, much of the United States has also been experiencing colder-than-normal winters.

 

Changes in climate can cause the polar jet stream � the boundary between the cold North Pole air and the warm equatorial air � to migrate south, bringing with it cold, Arctic air.

 

Some states can have a sudden cold snap or colder-than-normal winter, even during the long-term trend of global warming,

 

5. Melting of Ice:

One of the primary manifestations of climate change so far is melting. North America, Europe, and Asia have all seen a trend toward less snow cover between 1960 and 2015, according to 2016 research published in the journal Current Climate Change Reports.

 

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, there is now 10 percent less permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, in the Northern Hemisphere than there was in the early 1900s.

The thawing of permafrost can cause landslides and other sudden land collapses.
It can also release long-buried microbes, as in a 2016 case when a cache of buried reindeer carcasses thawed and caused an outbreak of anthrax.

 

6. Sea levels and ocean acidification:

 

In general, as the ice melts, sea levels rise. In 2014, the World Meteorological Organization reported that sea-level rise accelerated 0.12 inches (3 millimeters) per year on average worldwide. This is around double the average annual rise of 0.07 in. (1.6 mm) in the 20th century.
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Melting polar ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, coupled with melting ice sheets and glaciers across Greenland, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, are expected to raise sea levels significantly. And humans are mostly to blame.

 

The rise in the sea level will have negative impacts on human settlements, agriculture, wetlands, and tourism.

 

7. Plants and animals:

The impacts of global warming on the Earth's ecosystems are expected to be profound and widespread.

 

Many species of plants and animals are already moving their range northward or to higher altitudes as a result of warming temperatures, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences.

 

This becomes a problem when the rate of climate change velocity (how fast a region changes put into a spatial term) is faster than the rate that many organisms can migrate.

 

Because of this, many animals may not be able to compete in the new climate regime and may go extinct.

 

Steps to control global warming:

 

1. Plant a maximum number of trees as they release oxygen and absorb CO2 present in the atmosphere. In this way, a tree balances the temperature of air and reduces the amount of CO2 present in the air.

2. Vehicles release many harmful gases into the air. Hence try to drive those cars which run on gas or electricity. If possible minimize the use of personal vehicles and travel by public transport. This way we can also control the problem of pollution.

3. Use fans more than air conditioners to use less energy. Hot air released from the air conditioners is one of the major factors behind global warming.

4. Avoid using a water heater or use that at a temperature lesser than 120 F.

5. Instead of dryers take an advantage of sunlight to dry wet clothes.

6. Unplug all the electrical appliances if they are not in use.

7. For less amount of carbon emission we can also use renewable energy like wind power which generates a negligible amount of harmful gases.

8. Use recyclable materials instead of disposable materials. This is good to control waste.
These are a few ways through which we can try to reduce the increasing temperature of the air.

 

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