You may have heard the term global warming, or the more current term climate change. But how can this affect our help? And what is it, exactly?
The Earth’s climate fluctuates, as can be seen in the history of our ice ages. However, right now we are experiencing a period of global temperature rise, which has led to many other changes in our climate. Most scientists believe that at least some part of the global warming effect has been due to human-made changes like the burning of fossil fuel, land use, and industry.
Greenhouse house gases are those that trap heat in the atmosphere and include carbon dioxide and methane – read more here https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.
Read more about the changes we can expect in different regions of the United States https://grist.org/article/we-broke-down-what-climate-change-will-do-region-by-region/. Some changes include less rainfall leading to droughts and less food production, more wildfires, more common and severe storms and weather events, changes in animal habitats, and others. There may also be an increase in certain types of diseases, especially food and water-borne, and vector-borne (insects). Finally, there will be higher temperatures and changes in precipitation and sea level rise – drowning some regions and drying out others.
All of these factors will also lead to increased migration all over the world, as crop yield decreases, temperatures increase, coasts flood, and wild fires and other environmental disasters push people out. This may lead to concentration of people in urban areas, with attendant issues like poverty, violence, gang activity, and others. Read more here – https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/23/magazine/climate-migration.html
Climate change is a great threat to human health all over the world – https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/health-and-climate-change.
