Climate Change and Its Impact On All of Us

Time passes by really quickly, doesn’t it?

We have already stepped into the 6th month of 2022,

There is something passing just as fast,

Our World!

The Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the 19th century,

2020 was defined by the hottest and extreme weather conditions, NASA analysis shows.

Greenland lost 15 Gigatons of Ice between Sep’19 and Aug’2020,

To put this number into perspective, 1 GIGATON can fill approx. 4,00,000 Olympic sized swimming pools,

Imagine what would happen if 152 times that amount of water is filled into our ocean,

The Ocean surface will rise and so did the temperature!

In 2020, at least 80% of the ocean areas have experienced at least one heat wave,

About half of Australia’s Great reefs are dead,

The Atlantic hurricane season witnessed at least 30 named storms between 1st Jun and 30th Nov, last year, that’s the highest number ever recorded!

Asia and Africa have experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, it’s a vicious cycle!

I am sure all of us are familiar with the following diagram, it represents how water from the earth’s surface evaporates then condenses into the cloud, and precipitates back to the earth in the form of rain and snow.

You may like the snow in Spain, it looks beautiful, isn’t it, except it’s scary, as It’s not supposed to snow in Madrid but it did this year!

When our Earth heats up Droughts are prolonged, Ice melts more rapidly, more water evaporates in the atmosphere and the earth receives more than usual rain, there are floods and extreme weather conditions.

Most of us think, the effect of climate change is limited to those living near the ocean or the polar bear in the arctic, or the Animal and Birds, not us!

What we don’t realize is that climate change affects all of us!

It makes us late for work,

It affects our coffee,

The food we eat,

Our health care,

Do you live in any of these cities, they are likely to be in the water by 2050!

More than 150 M people live in less than 3 ft above the sea level,

About 800 M people live less than 30 ft above sea level,

If Greenland’s entire ice sheet melts, it could add 20ft to the heights of global seas, 11 mega cities could be underwater!

-         Los Angeles

-         New York

-         Florida

-         Mumbai

-         Shanghai

-         Tokyo

-         Osaka

-         Manila

-         Jakarta etc

Do you like Coffee?

Climate change is making you pay more for coffee, the rising temperature has put your morning cup of coffee at risk! The price of coffee has increased by 20%!

Approx. 90 % of the coffee farmers are experiencing rising temperatures and prolonged drought which resulted in lower output and consequent price increases.

So, clearly, Climate Change is drinking up your coffee!

You may not be living in those threatened cities or you may not like coffee either,

But, do you like Fish?

It’s an essential source of protein for about 3.2 Billion people across the world. Fish provides about 17% of the world’s animal protein requirement,

The report suggests that rising temperature is impacting the population of fish, as well. Young fish die if water increases above a certain threshold, and floods have been flushing eggs of fish and destroying their nests. Fisheries have reported about a 50% decline in their annual catch.

Now,

Say, you neither live in these sub-merging cities nor do you consume coffee or Fish,

But, do you care about health?

The Wuhan virus made all of us very health-conscious, the wrist watches have been replaced by health bands, soft drinks with health drinks, and the gym is a new hangout,

but none of these going to help as long as our planet is suffering!

Climate change is the greatest threat to human health!

Rising temperature results in dehydration, hyperthermia, heat strokes, and in extreme cases even death!

Rising temperature sparks wildfire, the flames kill people and contribute to air pollution which results in Asthma, Bronchitis, etc.

Let’s say, that you do not care about any of the above-mentioned consequences of climate change,

But, do you work for a living and commute to work?

Climate change is making you spend more time on your daily office commute!

2020 was defined by the hottest and extreme weather conditions, a NASA analysis shows,

Australia, Siberia, and California saw record wildfires, and Jakarta receives the highest ever daily rainfall since 1866.

In May, the super cyclone The Ampahn hits India and Bangladesh, it was the costliest tropical cyclone ever, on record, more than 2 million people were evacuated and 129 were killed,

In July, Bangladesh has flooded again and 9.6 M people were affected,

In Aug China’s mega cities were put on the highest flooding alert since 1981,

In the same month, California saw a record fire, with more than 4 lac hectares of land gutted in 9 days!

Pakistan Saw its wettest Aug in history!

In Nov, the Philippines was caught off guard by Typhoon Goni, it was one of the strongest in history and at least one million people have to be evacuated.

In Dec, Bush fire began in Australia.

Say, you don’t live in any of these countries or in the mega cities under threat, you neither like coffee nor do you eat fish, you do not care about health either, you do not have to commute to work every day,

But, do you care about your money?

Climate change is taking a toll on your wallet.

Heat waves and droughts are connected to rising prices!

Climate change is also connected to your electricity bill, the hotter the temperature outside the ore you tend to use fan and ACs, the colder it gets the more you use heaters!

You will have to pay more for the water, the moment there is a shortage in supply,

Bolivia’s 2nd largest lake has almost dried, and Iran’s largest lake has almost disappeared!

Climate change is threatening even your beer,

Damaging your home, making home insurance more expensive,

Disrupting outdoor exercises and travel,

Leaving us with no coral reefs, climate change is affecting even the menstrual cycles, it is making you break out!

Do you still believe that climate change does not affect you personally?

Well!  All I can say is read this write-up again and repeat until you get the point!