Global warming is an increase in the average temperature around the world that has been going on since at least 1880 when temperature records were kept. In the following, we review some statistics provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):

• Between 1880 and 1980, the global temperature increased by 0.07 degrees Celsius per decade.
• Since 1981, the rate of global warming has increased to 0.18 degrees Celsius.
• The upward trend of temperature led to an increase in the current temperature of the earth by 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.
• So far, 2023 has been recorded as the hottest year on earth. The summer of that year was the hottest summer in the last two thousand years.
• The average global temperature on land and ocean in 2020 was 0.98 degrees Celsius warmer than the average temperature of the 20th century (13.19 degrees Celsius).

The main culprit of modern global warming is man; Because burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat and lead to an increase in surface and air temperatures. Currently, global warming is considered synonymous with climate change, and scientists prefer this term more.

The main cause of global warming today is the combustion of fossil fuels. These hydrocarbons heat our planet through the greenhouse effect caused by the interaction between the Earth’s atmosphere and the radiation received from the sun.

The greenhouse effect, in simple terms, means that solar radiation hits the earth’s surface and then returns to the atmosphere as heat. After the heat returns to the atmosphere, the gases in the atmosphere trap this heat and prevent it from escaping into the vacuum environment. In a paper presented in 1985, Arrhenius concluded that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide can trap heat near the Earth’s surface and that small changes in the amount of these gases can make a big difference in the amount of heat trapped.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, mankind has been rapidly changing the balance of gases in the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil releases water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ozone, and nitrogen oxide (N2O), which are primary greenhouse gases. Among these gases, carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas.

From almost 800,000 years ago until the beginning of the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere was about 280 parts per million; This means that there were about 280 CO2 molecules in every one million air molecules. The global average of carbon in the atmosphere reached a record-breaking 421.08 parts per million in 2023, according to the latest Statista website.

The announced numbers may not seem like a lot; But according to the Scripps Research Institute, the amount of carbon dioxide gas has not been this high since the Pliocene (that is, about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago). According to a study published in 2013 in the journal Science, until then the Arctic was free of ice at least for some time of the year and was significantly warmer than today.

According to a 2016 analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency, about 81.6% of all US greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide. “We now know with high-precision instrumental measurements that there is an unprecedented increase in CO2 in the atmosphere,” said Keith Peterman, professor of chemistry at York College of Pennsylvania, and his research partner Gregory Foy, associate professor of chemistry at York College. “We know that CO2 absorbs infrared radiation (heat) and therefore the average global temperature is increasing.”

Carbon enters the atmosphere in different ways. Burning fossil fuels releases CO2, and the United States is by far the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. According to a 2018 EPA report, fossil fuel combustion in the United States, such as electricity generation, released more than 5.8 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2016. Other processes such as the use of fuels for non-energy purposes, iron and steel production, cement production, and waste incineration add 7 billion tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.

According to the United Nations Global Assessment in 2020, from 1994 to that time, about 1,040 hectares of existing forests have been lost due to deforestation; But the good news is that since 2015, the rate of forest loss has been decreasing. Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas globally and is more efficient at trapping heat. According to the EPA, methane is 25 times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. According to the organization’s 2016 report, methane accounted for about 10 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted by the United States.

Methane is obtained from many natural sources; But humans emit a large part of the existing methane gas through mining, using natural gas, raising livestock, and using landfills. According to the EPA, approximately 26 percent of existing methane gas is produced by animals, and cattle are the largest source of methane production in the United States.

The effects of global warming can be seen and felt all over the planet. Global warming means the gradual warming of the earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere, which results from human activities, including burning fossil fuels and introducing carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“We can see global warming in many places,” says Joseph Verne, a professor of geology and environmental science at the University of Pittsburgh. The ice is melting both in the poles and in the mountain glaciers. Lakes around the world, including Lake Superior, are warming as fast, and in some cases faster, than their surroundings. Animals are changing their migration patterns and plants are changing their activity history; For example, we can point to trees whose leaves grow early in the spring season, and in the fall season, the trees lose these leaves early.”

One of the immediate and obvious consequences of global warming is the increase in temperature around the world. According to the report of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), during the last 100 years, the average temperature of the earth has increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Data from NOAA and NASA show that 2023 will be the hottest year on record worldwide since temperature records began in 1895. In the following, we will review the most important consequences of global warming.

As the average global temperature is warming, weather patterns are changing and extreme weather is one of the immediate consequences of global warming. Abnormal weather comes in many forms, and one paradoxical effect is colder-than-normal winters in some regions.

Climate change may cause the polar jet stream or currents (the boundary between cold arctic air and warm tropical air) to shift southward, bringing cold arctic air to these regions. That’s why some regions may experience cold snaps or colder than usual even during long-term global warming trends, Verne said.

Global warming changes the intensity of hurricanes. According to the findings of NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, hurricanes are becoming more intense in the warming world. Most computer models show that the frequency of storms will stay roughly the same; But the storms that form, due to having warmer air, hold more moisture and have more rain capacity.

On the other hand, future storms will hit the coasts that are currently prone to flooding due to the rising sea level. This means that any future storms will likely cause more damage than if there was no global warming.

One of the first consequences of climate change is the melting of ice. According to a study published in 2016, North America, Europe, and Asia saw a decrease in snow cover between 1960 and 2015. On the other hand, according to the National Ice and Power Data Center, currently the amount of frozen soil in the Northern Hemisphere is about 10% less than in the early 1900s.

Thawing of frozen soil may cause landslides and other sudden falls. On the other hand, this issue can also release buried microbes; As in the case that happened in 2016, anthrax disease spread as a result of the melting of a tank of carcasses belonging to mountain deer.

One of the most significant effects of global warming is the reduction of Arctic sea ice. The ice of this sea reached a record low in the fall and winter of 2015 and 2016; It means that its amount was lower than expected when it should have been at its peak. Melting means that there is less thick sea ice that will remain for only a few years.

Melting ice means that less heat will be reflected back into the atmosphere by the shiny surface of the ice, and more of that heat will be absorbed by the relatively dark ocean, ultimately creating a feedback loop that leads to more melting. The retreat of glaciers is another effect of global warming. According to statistics provided by the United States, only 25 glaciers larger than 25 hectares are currently found in Montana Glacier National Park; Where there were once about 150 natural glaciers.

In a study published in 2016, it is stated that there is a 99% probability of the retreat of natural glaciers due to climate changes caused by human activities. The study’s researchers found that some glaciers have retreated up to 15 times more than they would have if the planet hadn’t warmed.

In general, the sea level rises as the ice melts. According to the World Meteorological Organization’s report in 2021, the rate of sea level rise has doubled from 2.1 mm in the years between 1993 and 2003 to 4.4 mm in the years between 2013 and 2021. Melting polar ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, along with melting ice and glaciers across Greenland, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, is expected to significantly raise sea levels.

According to the EPA, global sea levels have risen by about 20.32 cm since 1870 and are expected to rise even faster in the coming years. If the current trend continues, many coastal areas, where almost half of the world’s population lives, will unfortunately be submerged.

Researchers predict that by 2100, average sea levels will be 0.7 meters higher in New York City, 0.88 meters higher in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and 1.06 meters higher in Galveston, Texas. According to the IPCC report, if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, the sea level will rise by 0.9 meters by 2100. This estimate is an increase between 0.3 and 0.8 meters that the IPCC predicted in the 2007 report.

Sea level rise is not the only thing happening to the oceans due to global warming. As the level of carbon dioxide increases, the oceans absorb some of that gas, and this increases the acidity of seawater. Explaining this situation, Verne says: “By dissolving carbon dioxide in water, carbonic acid is obtained. This is exactly what happens in soda cans.”

According to the EPA, since the industrial revolution began in the early 1700s, ocean acidity has increased by about 25 percent. “This is largely a big problem for the oceans,” Warne says. Many marine organisms such as corals and oysters make a shell from calcium carbonate and this shell dissolves in an acidic solution. Considering this, the more carbon dioxide is added to the oceans, the more acidic their water becomes, and the more animal shells dissolve in the ocean’s acidic waters; This is not good for their health.”

If current ocean acidification trends continue, coral reefs are expected to become increasingly rare in areas such as US waters where they are currently abundant, according to the EPA. In 2016 and 2017, parts of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia were bleached. This is actually a phenomenon in which corals expel their symbiotic algae. Whitening is a sign of stress from too hot water, unbalanced pH, or pollution. Corals can recover after bleaching, But consecutive courses reduce the chance of recovery.

The effects of global warming on ecosystems are expected to be significant and widespread. According to the report of the National Academy of Sciences, many plant and animal species move to higher altitudes as a result of warming temperatures.

According to Warne, plants and animals do not only move north, they also move from the equator to the poles. They are looking for a comfortable temperature range that is moving poleward as global average temperatures warm. If the speed of climate change is higher than the speed of migration of many living organisms, such a problem will appear; Therefore, some animals may not have the power to compete in the new climate and become extinct.

According to the EPA, birds, and insects are now arriving at their summer feeding and nesting sites several days earlier than at the same time in the 20th century. On the other hand, higher temperatures expand the range of many pathogenic agents that were once limited to tropical and subtropical regions and destroy some plant and animal species that were previously immune to these diseases.

In the current situation, the animals living in polar regions are also facing serious threats. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has noted that declining sea ice and changes in Arctic ice melt are seriously threatening ice-dependent species such as right-horned whales, polar bears, and porpoises.

Animals in Antarctica are currently facing serious challenges. In October 2022, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service declared emperor penguins endangered due to the threat of climate change. A study conducted in 2020 showed that one out of every three plant and animal species is at risk of extinction by 2070 due to climate change.

Just as the effects of climate change on the natural world are expected to be dramatic, the projected changes in human society may be even more devastating. Agricultural systems will probably suffer a crippling blow from these changes. Despite the expansion of growing seasons in some areas, the combined effects of drought, extreme and unusual weather, lack of recharged runoff, more number and diversity of pests, and loss of arable land can lead to severe crop failures and livestock shortages worldwide.

North Carolina State University emphasizes that carbon dioxide affects plant growth. CO2 can increase plant growth, But sometimes the plants may be less nutritious than before. According to analyses from sources as diverse as the US Department of Defense, the Center for American Progress, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Experts, the loss of food security in turn could wreak havoc on international food markets, sparking famine, food riots, political instability and civil unrest around the world. to bring along

Global warming is expected to affect human health in addition to nutrients. According to the American Medical Association, mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and chronic diseases such as asthma have increased, most likely as a direct result of global warming.

The 2016 outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease, highlighted the dangers of climate change. According to experts, infection of pregnant women with this virus causes very devastating birth defects in the fetus. Climate change could make areas at higher latitudes more habitable for the mosquitoes that carry the disease.

As you can see, global warming has a much greater impact on the lives of us humans and other creatures living on the planet than you can imagine. Considering the irreparable effects of this phenomenon and endangering life on the planet, researchers are trying to save the lives of various species living on the planet from certain destruction by knowing the ways to control this phenomenon and even reduce it.