Effects of Climate Change

Robert O. Ouko

University of Nairobi

Effect of Climate Change

The human population has been on a rising trend in resent years. To support this rising population, humans have come up with new technology and ideas to ensure that there is enough produce despite the limited recourses. Modern and post-modern industries have been created to enhance rapid, quality and quantity produce. These inventions have gone along way into solving several problems. However, they have also come in with several adverse effects on the normal climatic trends. Industrial wastes and fumes have several negative effects on the environment and end up causing alterations in normal climatic systems thus leading to climate change.

Several signs of climate change are already evident. Such include “Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.” (NASA 2014). According to IPCC (2007), there has been a recoded a reduction in the snowpack on the mountains in the western parts of North America. In east Amazonia in Latin America, the report says that savannah is slowly taking over from the original tropical forests. The same report also records that in certain parts of Europe, there has been an increased risk f inland flash floods, frequent coastal flooding, and loss of glacier from mountains and reduced durations of winter.

Reduction in plant population due to human activities has led to an interruption in the carbon balance. This has led to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. High carbon levels can lead to increased warming up the planet and increased acidity of the ocean waters (earth’s observatory p5).

Chlorofluorocarbons produced by industries also have several adverse effects. Methyl chloroform ( a solvent), carbon tetrachloride (an industrial chemical), halon (a fire extinguisher) and methyl bromide are compounds which break down to release chlorine and bromide. There breakdown leads to the depletion of the ozone layer. (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). The ozone layer is very important in the atmosphere. According to the USA environmental protection agency (2010), the ozone layer absorbs certain radiations from the sun; such radiations are known as UVB which is linked to several harmful effects. The destruction of the ozone layer has opened a passage for these harmful rays. There rays have caused effects such as cancer of the skin, cataracts and harm to crops and marine life.

In conclusion, the climate change has done more harm than good. The changes in patterns of weather and the occurrence of season at unpredictable times have caused mass confusion to human daily life. Surprisingly enough, all this has been caused by human activities. If goes unchecked, the some time in the future, the earth may become unbearable for human survival.

REFERENCES

NATIONAL Aeronautics & Space Administration {NASA}. Earths Observatory: Carbon Cycle [online]. Retrieved on July 21st 2014 from HYPERLINK “http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/page5.php” http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/page5.php

NATIONAL Aeronautics & Space Administration {NASA}. Global Climate change: Vital Signs of the planet [online]. Retrieved on 21st 2014 from HYPERLINK “http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/” http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

United States Environmental Protection Agency, (August 2010). Ozone Science: The Facts behind the Phase-out [online]. Retrieved on July 21st 2014 from HYPERLINK “http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html” http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html