Our natural world is wonderfully created, in that the Greenhouse effect is also one of them.
We are all taught in schools that the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon and beneficial to us. isn’t it Certain gases in the atmosphere retain part of the thermal radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface after being heated by the Sun, which maintains the temperature of the planet at a level suitable for the development of life. A greenhouse is a house made of glass that can be used to grow plants. The sun’s radiation warms the plants and the air inside the greenhouse. The heat inside cannot escape. The same is true of Earth’s atmosphere. Human action – through activities such as industry, intensive agriculture, cattle breeding, or transport – has, however, increased the presence of these gases in the atmosphere – mainly, carbon dioxide and methane as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas -, which leads to retain more heat and increase the temperature of the planet.
During the day, the Sun heats the Earth’s atmosphere. At night, heat is dissipated back into the atmosphere as the Earth cools. In this process, heat is absorbed from the greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. It warms the earth’s surface, which makes the survival of life on Earth possible.
This is what we call global warming. Greenhouse gases act like glass in a greenhouse: they absorb the sun’s heat radiating from the Earth’s surface, trapping it in the atmosphere and preventing it from escaping into space. The greenhouse effect keeps Earth’s temperature warmer than it would otherwise be, supporting life on Earth. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, but human activity contributes to their accumulation. As a result, the greenhouse effect increases in the atmosphere and this changes our planet’s climate, leading to changes in snow and precipitation patterns, a rise in average temperatures, and ironically more extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods.
Greenhouse Effect- problems are Rising. what are those?
1. Hotter temperatures
As greenhouse gas concentrations increase, global surface temperatures increase. The last decade, 2011-2020, was the hottest on record. Since 1980, we have all experienced that each decade has been warmer than the previous one. Almost all landmasses are seeing more hot days and heat waves. Higher temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and make working outdoors more difficult. Wildfires start more easily and spread more quickly when conditions are hot. Temperatures in the Arctic are warming at least twice as fast as the global average.
2.More intense storms
Destructive storms are becoming more intense and more frequent in many areas. As temperatures rise, more moisture evaporates, which exacerbates extreme rainfall and flooding, causing more destructive storms. The frequency and extent of tropical cyclones are influenced by a warm ocean. Hurricanes, hurricanes, and typhoons feed on warm water at the surface of the ocean. Such storms often destroy homes and communities, causing deaths and large economic losses.
3.Increased drought
Climate change is changing the availability of water, which is scarce in most areas. Global warming will exacerbate water scarcity in already water-stressed regions and increase the risk of agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems. Droughts can also stir up devastating sand and dust storms that can move billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are expanding, reducing land available for growing food. In recent times there has been a situation of water shortage in many areas.
4. A warming, rising ocean
The ocean absorbs most of the heat from global warming. The rate of ocean warming has increased strongly over the past two decades at all ocean depths. As the ocean warms, its volume increases because water expands as it warms. Melting ice caps cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal and island communities. In addition, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, keeping it from the atmosphere. But more carbon dioxide makes the ocean more acidic, which threatens marine life and coral reefs.
5. Loss of species
Climate change threatens the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks increase as temperatures rise. Exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any time in recorded human history. A million species are at risk of extinction in the next few decades. Many of the threats associated with climate change include forest fires, extreme weather, and invasive insects and diseases.
6. Acidification of Water Bodies
Increase in the total amount of greenhouse gases in the air has turned most of the world’s water bodies acidic. The greenhouse gases mix with the rainwater and fall as acid rain. This leads to the acidification of water bodies. Also, the rainwater carries the contaminants along with it and falls into the river, streams and lakes thereby causing their acidification.
7. Smog and Air Pollution
Smog is formed by the combination of smoke and fog. It can be caused both by natural means and man-made activities. In general, smog is generally formed by the accumulation of more greenhouse gases including nitrogen and sulfur oxides. The major contributors to the formation of smog are automobile and industrial emissions, agricultural fires, natural forest fires and the reaction of these chemicals among themselves.
8. Depletion of Ozone Layer
The ozone layer protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. It is found in the upper atmosphere. Depletion of the ozone layer leads to the entry of harmful UV rays to the Earth’s surface, which can cause skin cancer and drastically change the climate. The main cause of this phenomenon is the accumulation of natural greenhouse gases including chlorofluorocarbons, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.
