19 Oct Uncertainty in climate

Climate Change

The topic is based on the Uncertainty of Climate Change. This article tells how Global Climate Change impacts India’s environment. 

Preliminary: common problems in Environmental ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change

Mains GS III  Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, resources, growth, development and employment.

Context

What is climate change?

• Climate Change is a cyclic change of the climate of Earth that comes out as a consequence of changes in the atmosphere along with influencing the atmosphere and many other geologic, chemical, biological, and geological factors in the earth system.
• Generally, climate change refers particularly to the rise in global temperatures from the mid-20th century to the present.
• The rate of change in the climate depends on the nature of very common factors. These changes may be gradual or rapid, partly or drastic, short-term or long-term, and on regional local, or global scales.

Pic: Climate Change

Climate change-causing factors?

There are many reasons that affect the Climate Change

Natural Factors:

There are many natural factors that are affecting climate, since the formation of the earth. They are as follows

Continental Drift:

• In the current situation, the continents are not the same as they used to be 200 million years ago.
• This movement of land masses had an impact on climate change because the change in land mass started to drift apart because of plate displacement. It has an impact on the change of climate as the physical features of the landmasses have changed, the position in water bodies has been changing, and the effect of oceanic currents and winds has changed.
• This continental drifting of the landmasses is still in process. The Himalayan range is rising by 1 mm (approximately)every year as the Indian landmass is moving towards the Asian landmass.

Variation of Orbit of Earth:

• The orbit of the earth put an impact on the seasonal disturbance done by sunlight which  is reaching the surface of the earth
• There are minor  changes occur to the annually averaged sunshine, but there can be a huge change in the geographical and seasonal distribution
• The three types of orbital rotation  – are variations in the Earth’s eccentricity, variations in the tilt angle of the Earth’s axis of rotation, and precession of the Earth’s axis.

Plate tectonics:

• The temperature change in the core of the earth leads to the mantle plumes and the convection current forcing the plates of the Earth to adjust leading to the rearrangement of the Earth’s Plate.
• This can easily affect the global and local patterns of climate and atmosphere.
• Volcanic Activity:
• During a volcanic eruption, it emits gasses and dust particles, resulting in a blockage in the Sunrays, this can result in a partial block of sun rays, and it can lead to cooling of the weather.
• However, volcanic activities remain only for a few days, and the gasses and ashes released by it can last for a long period, leading to affecting climate patterns.

Ocean Currents:

• It is one of the very important natural reasons for the climate system.
• It influenced the horizontal winds resulting in the movement of the water against the sea surface.
• The temperature differences of the water influence the climate of the region.
• Human causes :
• Studies have stated that climate change is caused by human activities.
• Global warming, which has raised the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system, is a major aspect of climate change.
•  It is the primarily human-caused increase in global surface temperature.
• The human factors causing climate change are as follows:

 Greenhouse Gasses:

• The greenhouse gases absorb the heat radiations from the sun, the industrial revolutions, and the emissions of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere have increased rapidly.
• Which resulted in an increase in Global Temperature.
• Change in the land use pattern:
• During the industrial era, half of the land use patterns have been changed
• Most of the forest areas were deforested for agricultural or grazing purposes.

Atmospheric aerosols:

Atmospheric aerosol can:

• The aerosol  in the atmosphere can
• scatter and absorb the solar and cosmic radiation
• it can alter the microphysical and chemical properties of the clouds
• When Solar radiation is scattered, it cools the planet, however, when the aerosols absorb solar radiation, consequently it can increase the temperature of the air instead of allowing the sunlight to be absorbed by the Earth’s surface.
• It has the capability to influence climate change by absorbing or reflecting solar radiation. They can also produce indirect effects by altering the cloud’s formation and properties.
• There are two types of aerosols – Natural aerosols and Anthropogenic aerosols.

The effect of Climate Change

•  The change in the climate in recent days like the rainfall pattern, increasing floods, drought, heatwaves, etc are the consequence of Global warming.  The oceans and glaciers have experienced significant changes. At present, the oceanic water is warming up and becoming more acidic. These major changes are expected to be more prominent in the coming decades,

A few of the  impacts of rapid climate change are :

 A rise in atmospheric temperature:

• Human activity is the main reason behind the temperature rise in the atmosphere due to an increase in greenhouse gasses.
• The temperature increase is a primary cause of the current increase in heat-related deaths and illnesses, the rise in sea levels, and increased risks of natural disasters.

Change in landscapes:

• Temperature increases and weather patterns and climatic changes across the globe are resulting in the shift of trees and plants towards Polar Regions and mountains.
• As vegetation tries to adjust to changes in climate by shifting to the colder regions, it becomes necessary for the animals that feed on them to follow them for survival.
•  The species like polar bears, who are indigenous to the cold terrains will not have any habitat due to the melting of ice, causing a risk to their lives

The danger to the ecosystem :

• The increasing temperature of the earth is resulting in changes in weather and vegetation patterns, also forcing the species to migrate to cooler areas for survival. Which puts a threat to the survival of many species.

Rising sea levels:

• The temperature increase across the globe results in the rising of sea level because of thermal expansion. The glacier melting adds to this issue.
• The living creatures living in under-lying areas, islands, and coasts are threatened by rising sea levels.

Ocean Acidification:

• The increasing concentration of CO2 in the oceanic atmosphere has made the ocean acidic
• The increasing amount of acids in the oceans can be harmful to many marine species like plankton, mollusks, etc. The corals are particularly at risk of it, as they find it difficult to create and maintain the skeletal structures needed for their survival.

Health issues:

• The abnormally high temperature on the earth can pose health risks and deaths.
• Climate change can increase the spreading of contagious diseases as the long-term warm weather allows disease-carrying insects, animals, and microbes to survive longer.

Economic impacts:

• Studies have stated that if action is not taken to address the emission of carbon, the climate  could cost up to 5 to 20 % of the annual global GDP
• On the contrary, the cost to lessen the most damaging effects of climate change is just 1% of the GDP.
• Coral reefs generate approximately $375 billion each year in goods and services, but their very survival is currently under threat.
• Agriculture productivity and food security:
• Crop cultivation is relying on solar radiation, favorable temperature, and precipitation.
• Therefore, agriculture relies on climate patterns.
• The present climate change has influenced agricultural productivity, food supply, and food security.

 How climate change is affecting India

• It was declared by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), March 2022 was the hottest month since record-keeping began 122 years ago.
• India encountered around 300 forest fires around the month of April 2022.
• It also indicated some expectations about future heat waves in the subcontinent.
• Extreme Weather and Its Impact:
• These weather events are those that were once expected to occur once in 100 years and are now 30 times more likely than before.
• In addition to this, March 2022 was recorded as one of the driest months, and the 2022 April’s rainfall was way less than normal in north India’s crop-growing regions.
• In some parts of Kerala, unseasonal rains forced cultivators to paddle through watery fields to harvest paddy consequently in low-quality crops.

Overseas Sales Ban:

• The extreme rainfall along with the extreme heat influenced  the growth of wheat in the grain basket of India, i.e. Punjab, Haryana and western Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh

What is winter disinflation?

• The price of vegetables falls in December to February period, popularly known as winter disinflation, which gives an implicit indication to the central bank not to get carried away by the price rise in the prices of vegetables in the summers.

Sources

Indian Express 

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