Climate change is a phenomenon of changing climate in which the temperature of the earth has risen due to various reasons including deforestation, volcanic eruptions, pollution, etc. Here are some of its major impacts.
1. Environmental impacts
– Temperature Rise: Global temperatures are increasing, leading to heatwaves and transformation of the ecosystems.
Melting Ice & Rising Sea Levels:
– Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are melting.
– There is an increase in sea levels, leading to coastal erosion, flooding, and habitat loss.
Extreme Weather Events:
-There are increasing incidences of hurricanes, heat events and droughts, forest fires, and floods.
-Changing weather patterns disrupt agricultural cycles and ecosystems.
Ocean Changes:
-Ocean warming and acidification cause death of marine organisms, particularly practice deaths.
-Disruption of marine food chains impacts fishing communities.
2. Ecosystems and biodiversity impacts.
–Species Extinction: Habitat loss and extinction threaten many species from changing ecosystems or totally disappearing.
–Ecosystems Disruption: The movement patterns of animals and flowering times of plants are changing.
–Forest Degradation: Intense forest fires, pests, and droughts are endangering the world’s forests.
3. Social and economic impacts
Food Security:
-Reduced production due to drought, heat stress, and unpredictable rainfall.
-Disruption of global food supply chains.
-Water Scarcity: Changes in rainfall patterns reduce freshwater availability.
Health Risks:
-Increased cases of heat-related illnesses and deaths.
-Spread of diseases such as malaria, chickenpox, and others due to emergence of new environments for the vectors such as mosquitoes.
-Economic Costs: Cost to infrastructures, livelihoods, rescue and rehabilitation etc. for the recovery, becomes a huge burden on the economy.
-Displaced and Migrants: People abandon homes as a result of rising sea levels and extreme weather. Such refugees are called as climate refugees.
4. Regional inequality.
The countries that face the brunt will often be those that have contributed the least into the greenhouse gas emissions.
The countries that are least developed such as small islands remain very much susceptible to this phenomenon of climate change through the rise in sea level.
5. Long-term impacts:
–Feedback Loops: As soon as the permafrost thaws, methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas, is released into the atmosphere. This thus contributes massively into warming.
–Ir reversibility: The loss of biodiversity, ice sheets, and other features could be unalterable.
–Global Insecurity: A changing climate threatens to destabilize.