Climate
Change
There are three key ways in which climate change is impacting Earth's inhabitants: rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, and increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters. These impacts can lead to health problems, food and water shortages, and economic disruptions, among other challenges. To address these impacts, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and develop new technologies and policies to adapt to a changing climate.
The WHO highlights the health impacts of climate change, including increased risk of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and heat-related illnesses. Vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and people living in low-income countries, are most at risk from these impacts. Actions must be taken to address these health impacts, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health infrastructure, and strengthening disaster preparedness.
Satellite technology has also allowed us to observe changes in weather patterns, particularly the frequency and intensity of typhoons, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Climate change has made it difficult to determine the future frequency and intensity of these events, but climate models can simulate some conditions that contribute to their formation. Studies have shown that climate change can increase precipitation in some areas, leading to river flooding, droughts, and warmer temperatures.
This can have severe impacts on human populations, with projections suggesting that by 2050, more than 75% of the world's population could be affected by drought and over 215 million people could be displaced due to climate change.
One of the most serious problems of climate change is rising sea levels due to melting glaciers. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if global warming continues at the current rate, global flood damage will be four times higher than if the Earth's surface temperature is limited to a 1.5-degree Celsius increase. If temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, it will be challenging for humans to adapt, resulting in reduced crop yields and negative impacts on animals and plants. Greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, can be observed in our daily lives.
An experiment can demonstrate the greenhouse effect on temperature using vinegar, baking soda, glass bottles, corks, and thermometers. When vinegar and baking soda react in one bottle, generating CO2, the bottle absorbs and retains more heat from a high-pressure lamp than the regular air in the other bottle. This experiment highlights how CO2, as a greenhouse gas, can contribute to the warming of the Earth.
