I.

Introduction
Global warming and Climate change is a global phenomenon. The earth, the
3rd planet of our solar system, the planet brimming with life and beautiful
landscape, is on the verge of getting destroyed. The main reason is global
warming. Global warming is the slow and steady increase in the temperature
of earth and its atmosphere. Every living being on earth is bound to felt its
effects. Global warming and Climate change are reasons for one another.
The reasons of Global warming, its affects and influence on Bangladesh are
the main issues that will be discussed in this assignment. 1

II. Global warming and Climate Change

Global warming is the escalation in the average temperature of Earth's near-
surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected
continuation. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface
temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 20th
century.

Most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th
century has been caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases,
which result from human activity such as the burning of fossil fuel and
deforestation. Global dimming, a result of increasing concentrations of
atmospheric aerosols that block sunlight from reaching the surface, has
partially countered the effects of warming induced by greenhouse gases.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that
the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to
11.5 °F) during the 21st century. An increase in global temperature will
cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of
precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.

Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated

with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely
effects include changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields. Warming and
related changes will vary from region to region around the globe, though the
nature of these regional variations is uncertain. As a result of contemporary
increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, the oceans have become more
acidic, a result that is predicted to continue.

Proposed responses to climate change include mitigation to reduce

emissions, adaptation to the effects of global warming, and geoengineering
to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or block incoming
sunlight.

III. Causes
1
Global warming is a sensation that has been discussed widely nowadays and
global warming causes are one of the most studied subjects presently in the
world. Through out the world many governments, institutes and universities
are trying to find out what are the causes for global warming. As the effects
of global warming is becoming more and more evident, many of us have
started to realize that steps have to be taken to control Global warming at
the earliest and various countries and people have started working towards
it. The increase in the temperature of earth has caused many effects like the
melting of ice in Polar Regions, increase in disease occurrences, drastic
climatic changes including rainfall and dry periods.

Man made causes

In February 2007, the United Nations released a scientific report that
concludes that global warming is happening and will continue to happen for
centuries. The report also stated with 90% certainty that the activity of
humans has been the primary cause of increasing temperatures over the
past few decades.

Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing
from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The
concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148%
respectively since 1750. These levels are much higher than at any time
during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been
extracted from ice cores. Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2
values higher than this were last seen about 20 million years ago. Fossil fuel
burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from
human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use
change, particularly deforestation.
• The activities of man has lead to an increase in the so called
greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen
oxide etc. the gases have created an effect of green house on the
earths surface which prevents the reflection of the rays from sun and
thus causes the increase in temperature.

• Carbon dioxide concentration in the air has increased due to the

emissions from cars, airplanes, power plants, industries etc. 1

• Another reason for it is the deforestation. Forests have been cut down
paying way for agriculture, industries and cities. The trees were natural
regulators of carbon dioxide which used to control its level's in the
atmosphere.

• The CFC which is used in refrigerators, in fire extinguisher's which

destroys the natural ozone layer. The ozone layer was a natural barrier
which used to prevent the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. Without
this layer, the rays fall on the earth and cause the temperature to
increase. Researchers have found an ozone hole in our atmosphere,
which they say is the main reason for the melting of glacier's in the
Polar Regions.

• Earth which mainly consists of developing or underdeveloped

countries, which holds a major population needs electricity for the day
to day activities. The electricity supply is mainly satisfied by burning
fossil fuels. The fossil fuel on burning releases carbon dioxide which
causes global warming.

• Another major man-made cause of Global Warming is population. More

people mean more food, and more methods of transportation. That
means more methane because there will be more burning of fossil
fuels (if we’re into gas burning cars like our planet is), and more
agriculture. Another source of methane is manure. Because more food
is needed to feed the population we have to raise food. Animals like
cows are a source of food which means more manure and hence more
methane. Another problem with the increasing population is
transportation. More people mean more cars and more cars means
more pollution. Also, many people have more than one car.

Over the last three decades of the 20th century, GDP per capita and
population growth were the main drivers of increases in greenhouse 1
gas emissions. CO2 emissions are continuing to rise due to the burning
of fossil fuels and land-use change. Emissions scenarios, estimates of
changes in future emission levels of greenhouse gases, have been
projected that depend upon uncertain economic, sociological,
technological, and natural developments. In most scenarios, emissions
continue to rise over the century, while in a few, emissions are
reduced. These emission scenarios, combined with carbon cycle
modeling, have been used to produce estimates of how atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases will change in the future. Using
the six IPCC SRES "marker" scenarios, models suggest that by the year
2100, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 could range between 541
and 970 ppm. This is an increase of 90-250% above the concentration
in the year 1750. Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these
levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, oil sands or methane
catharses are extensively exploited.
External Forcings
External forcing refers to processes external to the climate system (though
not necessarily external to Earth) that influence climate. Climate responds to
several types of external forcing, such as radiative forcing due to changes in
atmospheric composition (mainly greenhouse gas concentrations), changes
in solar luminosity, volcanic eruptions, and variations in Earth's orbit around
the Sun. Attribution of recent climate change focuses on the first three types
of forcing. Orbital cycles vary slowly over tens of thousands of years and
thus are too gradual to have caused the temperature changes observed in 1
the past century.

• Greenhouse gases

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about

33 °C (59 °F). The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes
about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which
causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone
(O3), which causes 3–7 percent. Clouds also affect the radiation balance, but
they are composed of liquid water or ice and so have different effects on
radiation from water vapor.
 1

Figure 1Greenhouse effect schematic showing energy flows between space, the
atmosphere, and earth's surface. Energy exchanges are expressed in watts per square
meter (W/m2).

The destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbons is sometimes

mentioned in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of
linkage, the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of
stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence. Substantial ozone depletion did
not occur until the late 1970s. Ozone in the troposphere (the lowest part of
the Earth's atmosphere) does contribute to surface warming.

• Aerosols and soot

Global dimming, a gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance

at the Earth's surface, has partially counteracted global warming from 1960
to the present. The main cause of this dimming is aerosols produced by
volcanoes and pollutants. These aerosols exert a cooling effect by increasing
the reflection of incoming sunlight. The effects of the products of fossil fuel
combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have largely offset one another in recent
decades, so that net warming has been due to the increase in non-CO2
greenhouse gases such as methane. Radiative forcing due to aerosols is
temporally limited due to wet deposition which causes aerosols to have an
atmospheric lifetime of one week. Carbon dioxide has a lifetime of a century
or more, and as such, changes in aerosol concentrations will only delay
climate changes due to carbon dioxide.

In addition to their direct effect by scattering and absorbing solar radiation,

aerosols have indirect effects on the radiation budget. Sulfate aerosols act as
cloud condensation nuclei and thus lead to clouds that have more and
smaller cloud droplets. These clouds reflect solar radiation more efficiently
than clouds with fewer and larger droplets. This effect also causes droplets
to be of more uniform size, which reduces growth of raindrops and makes
the cloud more reflective to incoming sunlight. Indirect effects are most 1
noticeable in marine stratiform clouds, and have very little radiative effect on
convective clouds. Aerosols, particularly their indirect effects, represent the
largest uncertainty in radiative forcing.

Dust may cool or warm the surface, depending on whether it is airborne or

deposited. Atmospheric dust aerosols directly absorb solar radiation, which
heats the atmosphere and cools the surface. In isolated areas with high soot
production, such as rural India, as much as 50% of surface warming due to
greenhouse gases may be masked by atmospheric brown clouds.
Atmospheric soot always contributes additional warming to the climate
system. When deposited, especially on glaciers or on ice in arctic regions,
the lower surface albedo can also directly heat the surface. The influences of
aerosols, including black carbon, are most pronounced in the tropics and
sub-tropics, particularly in Asia, while the effects of greenhouse gases are
dominant in the extra tropics and southern hemisphere.

• Solar variation

Variations in solar output have been the cause of past climate changes. The
effect of changes in solar forcing in recent decades is uncertain, but small,
with some studies showing a slight cooling effect, while others studies
suggest a slight warming effect.

Greenhouse gases and solar forcing affect temperatures in different ways.

While both increased solar activity and increased greenhouse gases are
expected to warm the troposphere, an increase in solar activity should warm
the stratosphere while an increase in greenhouse gases should cool the
stratosphere. Observations show that temperatures in the stratosphere have
been cooling since 1979, when satellite measurements became available.
Radiosonde (weather balloon) data from the pre-satellite era show cooling
since 1958, though there is greater uncertainty in the early radiosonde
record.
A related hypothesis, proposed by Henrik Svensmark, is that magnetic
activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of
cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate. Other research has
found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays. The
influence of cosmic rays on cloud cover is about a factor of 100 lower than
needed to explain the observed changes in clouds or to be a significant
contributor to present-day climate change.

1
IV. Advantages And Disadvantages of Global
Warming and Climate change
In the following segments we will look at the many disadvantages of global
warming and then follow with the very small number of advantages of global
warming.

There are several disadvantages to Global Warming, which will affect all life
on this planet. As the Earth warms, the ocean levels will rise due to melting
ice in Greenland, and the Antarctic, with an additional rise due to thermal
expansion (warm water takes up more space than cold water). The rising
ocean levels will inundate roads, farmland, towns, and even cities. The
economic cost will be in the trillions. A warmer Earth equals more powerful
storms, with increasing frequency. Wildlife will suffer if their habitats change
more quickly than they can adapt. Global weather patterns will be altered as
temperature differentials change planet-wide. These are a few of the
disadvantages...and this is only "the tip of the iceberg", no pun intended.

• Disadvantages of Global Warming

1. Ocean circulation disrupted, disrupting and having unknown effects on

world climate.

2. Higher sea level leading to flooding of low-lying lands and deaths and
disease from flood and evacuation.
3. Deserts get drier leaving to increased desertification.

4. Changes to agricultural production that can lead to food shortages.

5. Water shortages in already water-scarce areas.

6. Starvation, malnutrition, and increased deaths due to food and crop

shortages.

7. More extreme weather and an increased frequency of severe and

1
catastrophic storms.

8. Increased disease in humans and animals.

9. Increased deaths from heat waves.

10. Extinction of additional species of animals and plants.

11. Loss of animal and plant habitats.

12. Increased emigration of those from poorer or low-lying countries

to wealthier or higher countries seeking better (or non-deadly)
conditions.

13. Additional use of energy resources for cooling needs.

14. Increased air pollution.

15. Increased allergy and asthma rates due to earlier blooming of

plants.

16. Melt of permafrost leads to destruction of structures, landslides,

and avalanches.

17. Permanent loss of glaciers and ice sheets.

18. Cultural or heritage sites destroyed faster due to increased

extremes.

19. Increased acidity of rainfall.

20. Earlier drying of forests leading to increased forest fires in size

and intensity.
21. Increased cost of insurance as insurers pay out more claims
resulting from increasingly large disasters.

• Advantages of Global Warming

1. Arctic, Antarctic, Siberia, and other frozen regions of earth may

experience more plant growth and milder climates.
2. The next ice age may be prevented from occurring.

3. Northwest Passage through Canada's formerly-icy north opens up to

sea transportation.

4. Less need for energy consumption to warm cold places.

5. Fewer deaths or injuries due to cold weather.

6. Longer growing seasons could mean increased agricultural

production in some local areas.

7. Mountains increase in height due to melting glaciers, becoming

higher as they rebound against the missing weight of the ice.

8. Boundary disputes between countries over low-lying islands will

disappear.
 V. Impact on Bangladesh
According to the Third Assessment Report of IPCC, Bangladesh ranks high in
the list of most vulnerable countries. High vulnerability of the country to 1
global warming is due to a number of hydro-geological and socio-economic
factors that include geographical location, flat deltaic topography with sea-
facing low elevation, extreme tropical climate variability, high population
density and poverty incidence, dependency of majority of population on crop
agriculture. However, two major impacts of global warming on Bangladesh
may be categorized as that of sea level change and climate change. They
are described in the next pages.

1. Sea level change

Global warming will cause a thermal expansion of the sea water. A rise in
atmospheric temperature will also melt the polar and Alpine ice sheets.
Besides, the sea floor is also being raised by the deposition of the sediments
brought down by the rivers. These three processes together are giving rise to
sea level. World Bank reported in 2001 that sea level was rising by about
3mm per year in the Bay of Bengal. The impacts are stated in the following
paragraphs.

A taskforce report predicts a one meter rise in the sea level will inundate a
greater portion of southern region which is about 15.8 per cent of the total
area of Bangladesh (Taskforce report, 1991). The predicted one meter sea
level rise will lead to the loss of about 22,889 square kilometers of agri-land
which will cause a 30 per cent decline of rice crop. It will also cause decline
in production of other crops. It will permanently inundate the Sundarbans, a
world heritage site, with the loss of Bengal tigers (World Bank Report, 2001).
Sea level rise will also increase the frequency of coastal flooding that will
threaten animals, plants and fresh water supplies in the coastal plain of
Bangladesh.

A rise in sea water level will enable saline water to intrude further inland
during high tides, coastal flooding and storm surge. As a result, extended
salinity will deteriorate soil quality and cause loss of sweet water fauna and
flora. It will also destruct sweet water sources including ponds and lakes etc. 1
Sea level rise will cause shoreline retreat, resulting in increase of basin area,
which contributes to increasing the cyclone path length that will allow the
cyclone to remain more time in the water, acquire and release more latent
heat, intensity and wide speed. The projected sea level rise along the coastal
areas of Bangladesh will be about 88cm by the year 2100.

2. Climate change
Climate change is likely to heavily hit Bangladesh because global warming is
causing increase in temperature affecting precipitation intensity, pattern and
distribution. Bangladesh will receive a heavier rainfall during the monsoon
because the rate of evaporation is expected to increase by up to 12 per cent.
Mean monthly rainfall may significantly change over current variability.
Monsoon rainfall may increase by 11 per cent by 2030 and 27per cent by
2070. Due to global warming, over the past 100 years temperature has
increased by 0.5?C but in the next 50 years that is, by 2050, the
temperature in Bangladesh is projected to rise by 1.5 to 2.00C.

A number of studies found that high temperature would reduce the yields of
HYVs of Aus, Aman and Boro rice during all the seasons throughout
Bangladesh. An important study reveals that a 60 per cent moisture stress
on top of other effects might cause as high as 32 per cent decline in Boro
yield. A quarter of the country's landmass is currently flood prone in a
normal hydrological year, which may increase to 39 per cent and prolonged
flooding can effectively reduce overall potential for HYV Aman production.
Global warning will make tropical cyclones and tornadoes in Bangladesh
bigger and more frequent. The super cyclone Sidr on 15 November, 2007 has
already drawn attention to the devastation that may yet be caused in future.
Water related impacts due to climate change and sea level rise are likely to
be some of the most critical issues for Bangladesh, not only in relation to
coastal and riverine flooding but also in relation to enhanced possibility of
winter drought in certain areas. In the dry season, river flow will be reduced.
Consequently, salinity will penetrate along the coastal rivers. It will cause
increase in vapor-transpiration that is detrimental to crop growth. It will also
result in more release of carbon from the topsoil. Increased water withdrawal
by India will also lead to further decrease in lean season flow in the rivers.

Rise in temperature will favor pest and pathogen activities and human health 1
will be at higher risk, i.e. increased risk of some infectious diseases like
malaria, diarrhea, dengue etc. Rising temperature may jeopardies the forest
succession processes. It may result in low productivity and poor vegetative
cover of the forest and affect its rich biodiversity. Quarter of a million
hectare land will become affected by salinity, on top of the 3.05 million
hectares already affected.

VI. Conclusion
The causes of the global warming have been in work for a long time and
slowly it has caused the increase in the temperature. The satisfactory fact is
that at least now the governments of various countries and its people have
started to understand that they are one of the causes for the global
warming. Therefore combined efforts by the different countries have started
to control the global warming and thereby prevent our habitat from
destruction. Awareness, alternative forms of energy, conservation of energy,
and reforestation can help and hopefully by taking measures we can bring
this grave situation under control. If people are educated about the global
warming causes, they can do what they can to control global warming in
their everyday life.