Climate Change

Introduction
You hear about it. You read about it. You talk about it. Maybe even saw movies about it. That
“it” is global warming. “Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system
observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities,
primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s
atmosphere. The term is frequently used interchangeably with the term climate change, though
the latter refers to both human- and naturally produced warming and the effects it has on our
planet. It is most commonly measured as the average increase in Earth’s global surface
temperature. Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased
Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number
that is currently increasing by 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. It is
unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land ---according to
NASA Global Climate Change.

Problem Statement
Is the sun causing the global warming? No. The Sun can influence Earth’s climate, but the
warming we’ve seen in recent decades is too rapid to be linked to changes in Earth’s orbit and
too large to be caused by solar activity.
The major cause of global warming is the greenhouse gases. They include carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxides and in some cases chlorine and bromine containing compounds. The
build-up of these gases in the atmosphere changes the radiative equilibrium in the atmosphere.
Their overall effect is to warm the Earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere because greenhouse
gases absorb some of the outgoing radiation of Earth and re-radiate it back towards the surface.
The second major cause of global warming is ozone depletion. This is caused primarily by the
presence of chlorine-containing source gases. When exposed to ultraviolet light, these gases
dissociate, releasing chlorine atoms that catalyze ozone destruction. Aerosols in the atmosphere
are also contributing to global warming by altering the climate in two ways. They scatter and
absorb solar and infrared radiation, and they may change the microphysical and chemical
properties of clouds, potentially affecting their lifetime and extent. Solar radiation scattering acts
to cool the planet, whereas solar radiation absorption by aerosols directly warms the air rather
than allowing sunlight to be absorbed by the Earth's surface. Humans contribute to the amount of
aerosols in the atmosphere in a variety of ways.

Purpose of the Study

Predicting the effects of global warming is one of the most difficult tasks that climate scientists
face. This is due to the fact that natural processes that cause rain, snowfall, hailstorms, and sea-
level rise are dependent on a wide range of variables. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the
size of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years because this is largely determined by
technological advancements and political decisions. Global warming has a wide range of
negative consequences, some of which are discussed here. For starters, extra water vapour in the
atmosphere falls back as rain, causing floods in various parts of the world. When the weather
warms, the evaporation process from both land and sea accelerates. This leads to drought in the
locations where enhanced evaporation process is not compensated by higher precipitation. Crop
failure and starvation are likely in several parts of the world, particularly where temperatures are
already high. The excess water vapour concentration in the atmosphere will fall as rain again,
resulting in flooding. Drought and lack of water supply may affect towns and villages that rely
on melting snow from snowy mountains. It is due to the fact that glaciers all around the world
are receding at an alarming rate, and ice melt appears to be occurring quicker than previously
predicted. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), around one-
sixth of the world's population lives in places that will be affected by a drop of melting water.
The warmer temperature will most certainly result in more heat waves, more severe rains, and an
increase in the severity of hailstorms and thunderstorms. The most lethal effect of global
warming is rising sea levels; rising temperatures cause ice and glaciers to melt quickly. This will
cause rising water levels in oceans, rivers, and lakes, which would cause destruction in the form
of floods.

Global warming projections by

Various Science and Engineering
Research Agencies