The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001

The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005

Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa

Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier

Global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century

Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades

The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent.11,12 This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the oceans

Consequences of Climate Change

Global climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond. The magnitude of climate change beyond the next few decades depends primarily on the amount of heat-trapping gases emitted globally, and how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to those emissions.

Because human-induced warming is superimposed on a naturally varying climate, the temperature rise has not been, and will not be, uniform or smooth across the country or over time.

Average precipitation has increased since 1900, but some areas have had increases greater than the national average, and some areas have had decreases. More winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern areas, and less for the southern, over this century.

Droughts and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) everywhere are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense everywhere.

The intensity, frequency and duration of hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s. 

Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since reliable record keeping began in 1880. It is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

Responding to Climate Change

 This involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these gases (such as the oceans, forests and soil). The goal of mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with the climate system, and “stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change.

 Adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change (like sea-level encroachment, more intense extreme weather events or food insecurity). It also encompasses making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate change (for example, longer growing seasons or increased yields in some regions).

·         Fossil fuels are natural resources containing hydrocarbons. The three main fossil fuels are coal, petroleum and natural gas.

·         These fuels were formed in the earth over millions of years from buried plants and animals. These are burnt to produce energy and their byproduct on burning is Carbon Dioxide which is a greenhouse gas.

USAGE OF FOSSIL FUELS IN INDIA

·         India is extremely dependent on fossil fuel. 65% of the electricity in India is generated from thermal power plants which generate power from fossil fuels, mostly coal.

·         In addition, as the power supply in most places in India is erratic, industries and people depend on backup power generators which are diesel based and more polluting.

·         Petrol and diesel are also used in vehicles. Most commercial vehicles are diesel based as the price of diesel is subsidized in India.

·         Even electric cars use energy from fossil fuels as the electricity they run on is ultimately generated from them.


SOME IDEAS TO LOCALLY REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

·         Switch off lights, fans, AC’s whenever you leave a room.

·         Use less electricity especially during a power cut when the DG backup is working.

·         Ask your parents to car pool. Use a bicycle for local trips or simply walk wherever possible.

(We can think of more ideas which are sustainable and can be done by individuals with only a little inconvenience)

The further we went, the sicker it’d get.

As jets took off, it trembled a bit,

With every fast car, it paled a bit more.

We did not care, we ignored the signs.

Forgotten, it raged its seas; abandoned, it burned

Till at last, we felt the heat – 

Heard its sighs, the end was nigh.

So we declared our fears, we shed our tears

But alas! The disease went nowhere.

As furnaces smoked and refuse choked

Trees chopped and missiles dropped –

No, this was not a time to cry for more

This was the time the earth lay dying.

So to work! Humanity set off,

Bidding adieu to the days of the old,

The days of slaughter, and murder, and matricide…

Slowly, slowly, the knots unraveled

The fever subsided, the temperatures leveled.

The sickness withdrew; the earth bloomed, it grew,

The seas grew quiet and the skies ceased to thunder

So, children of the future, shall you ever stop to wonder

How this came about, simply look around.

We handed over the reins of the show to somebody else to run,

This time, it fell upon the wind, the water, the sun.

Powering, propelling, pushing us forth.

Still a lesson for you to take home –

Waste little, and walk double

Always remember, plastic spells trouble.

More of roots, less of foundations

Less of illusion, more of invention.

The cries of the earth must never go unheeded

Banish pollution, and all luxuries unneeded.

The seas are meant for whales, not your trash,

The skies are meant for eagles, not ash.

Don’t look to the past, there’s only danger in fossil hunts

They may be quick energy, but who will bear the brunt?

We’ll end this now, keep it brief,

Oh, and part of this poem is mere dream – 

Can you make it real? Can you right the wrongs?

For the future’s only here if there’s a home to build it on.

·         Two thermometers
·         A notebook

·         Pencil or pen

·         A clear container, such as a jar

·         Watch or clock

·         A sunny area, either outside or inside

What We Do:

1.      Lay the thermometers in direct sunlight. Let them sit in the sun for three minutes.

2.      Open up a page of the notebook and draw two columns, one labeled "Thermometer A" and one labeled "Thermometer B."

3.      After the three minutes have passed, read and record the time and thermometer temperatures in the notebook.

4.      Place one of the thermometers in the jar or container and seal. Make sure the lid doesn't cast a shadow on either thermometer!

5.      Record the temperature of the thermometers every minute for ten minutes.

6.      Observe how the container affected the temperature of thermometers. How did the temperature inside the container change compared to outside the container?

What's Going On?  The thermometer outside of the container is constantly being exposed to air that is constantly changing temperature, as the warm air mixes with passing cooler air. The air inside the container is trapped and can't mix with the cooler surrounding air–it just gets warmer as the sunlight heats it up. A greenhouse works in a similar way; solar energy in the form of light creates thermal energy, or heat, that can't escape through the glass.

This activity mirrors how a greenhouse works, but it's not exactly the same as the greenhouse effect that is taking place in the Earth's atmosphere. A complex interaction between light, heat, and chemicals make up the greenhouse effect and the chemicals known as "greenhouse gases" in the environment. They cause the temperature of the Earth to be warmer than it would be without them, much like the glass in a greenhouse, or the jar in this activity.

Some greenhouse gases are actually helpful and natural–they keep the Earth's surface from getting too cold. In fact, without some greenhouse gases, the humans would regularly experience temperatures as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit, or -18 degrees Celsius. The problem comes when pollution caused by human industrialization creates additional greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase the overall temperature of the earth and disrupt the natural balance of the Earth.

 

Tanmay Goyal