Global Warming Effects

    By: Veronica S.     

 

 

Picture this:  you’re a thousand years in the future, but instead of the world looking prosperous, it’s nothing short of a wasteland. Droughts have become commonplace, and devastating wildfires start at the drop of a dime. A surplus of plants and animals you’ve grown to love have all gone extinct, and the world is in shambles. This could very well be our world if we don’t do something about global warming. Sounds familiar, right?   Sure, you hear about global warming and climate change all the time, but a vast majority of people don’t quite understand the scope of how many things will be affected. There are many disastrous consequences of global warming that have already started to occur!

            Natural disasters come in a copious amount of forms, but did you know that there is a direct link between climate change and the rate at which natural disasters occur and how destructive they are? In a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, they stated that the temperature of the U.S is likely to increase by 10 degrees fahrenheit by the end of the 20th century! In a separate article by Rebecca Lindsey and LuAnn Dahlman, they stated that the average rate of increase per decade since 1981 has been 0.18C/0.32C; that’s more than double the rate of increase since 1880! More droughts and wildfires have started to occur due to the drastic increases in temperature. However, that’s not all; thanks to ice melting all over the world, the water level has already started to increase.

Okay, so things will get hotter and wetter, but what does that have to do with natural disasters?  you might be wondering. Well, ponder no longer, because while this may seem like it has nothing to do with natural disasters, “Human Health” states, “Floods are the second deadliest of all weather-related hazards in the United States, accounting for approximately 98 deaths per year.” Also, the Union of Concerned Scientists states, “Warmer air and oceans are producing more extreme hurricanes, with record-breaking amounts of rain and wind.” Not only this, but that same article also states that due to climate change, major Hurricanes like Hurricane Harvey have gone from occurring every hundred years to every sixteen, and thanks to the rise in sea level they’re more destructive and are wreaking more havoc than ever before!

            Not only are people’s lives in jeopardy due to global warming, but so is the economy. The natural disasters triggered by global warming have already cost billions of dollars. A study conducted by Columbia University stated, “In 2017, Texas’s estimated losses from Hurricane Harvey were $125 billion;” this hasn’t even scratched the surface when it comes to covering the financial peril that numerous amounts of people will be in due to the food shortages that may potentially be triggered by climate change. An article by the Union Of Concerned Scientists states, “Hotter temperatures and droughts will make corn, wheat, and other staple crop supplies less stable, leading to price spikes and food shortages. The roughly 800 million people currently living in extreme poverty will be most affected.”

Climate change will also be a detriment to health on a worldwide scale. Due to global warming, there may be shifts in flowering time, which will lead to more pollen and a much more hazardous time for people with asthma. Climate change could also potentially affect waterborne and foodborne diseases by making them more potent. Mental health will be influenced by climate change as well. Scientists have found that people have higher levels of anxiety and might even get ptsd, which stands for post traumatic stress disorder, after experiencing natural disasters. A study by “Human Health” found that even suicide rates increase with the temperature! Climate change will even affect the health of other living beings, such as plants and animals. In an article by the Union of Concerned Scientists, they declared, “Only a small amount of warming will kill 70 to 90 percent of the world’s coral reefs; up to half of plant and animal species in the world’s most naturally rich areas could face extinction.”

Global warming is not something to be taken lightly, and it’s time for people to start opening their eyes and realizing that global warming isn’t just something that we can brush off and deal with later, and that if we don’t take immediate action it will only get more grave with time. Its effects on the world have already started to become painstakingly obvious. Everyone and everything will be affected from natural disasters, to the economy, to even people’s health, both physically and mentaly. Its effects on the world have already started to become painstakingly obvious, but it’s not too late to stop it.