Why is global climate change happening? On the problems and consequences of global climate change on Earth. Effective ways to solve these problems. Influence of plants on climate and water regime

Climate change has become a reality. The average annual temperature on the planet has increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius, and the level of the world's seas has risen by one meter. The catastrophic consequences of global warming are already visible today. The first extinct animal species, the waters of the island, the increase in floods and droughts around the world - the Climate of Russia portal presents: 10 real consequences of climate change.

Fact number 1. Death of rare animals

A couple of years ago, scientists were only hypothesizing about which representatives of flora and fauna would disappear from the face of the Earth as a result of climate change. Today, temperature fluctuations reshape the composition of flora and fauna.

The first victim of global warming was the reef mosaic-tailed rat. The animal lived in Australia, in the Torres Strait, on the Bramble Cay coral reef measuring 340 by 150 meters. Scientists agreed that the reason for the extinction of this animal is the rise in the level of the ocean.

The mosaic-tailed rat is the first animal species to become extinct due to climate change. Photo: bbc.com

Two years ago, zoologists set traps, but never caught a single mosaic-tailed rat. Due to the fact that the reef was repeatedly flooded, the animals lost up to 94 percent of their range, and the area of ​​the island's vegetation decreased from 2.2 to 0.065 hectares. “This case is the first documented extinction of mammals due to anthropogenic climate shifts,” scientists say.

Fact number 2. Extinction of more than a third of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef

Pictured on the left are healthy corals from the Great Barrier Reef. After death, corals lose their color and turn white, as in the photo on the right. Photo: www.uq.edu.au

As a result of global warming, the water temperature in the Coral Sea has risen. This destroyed 35 percent of the corals in the northern and central parts of the Great Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The water warmed up, which led to a "bleaching" and death of sensitive organisms, experts from James Cook University concluded. This is the name given to the process by which corals weaken and lose the colored algae that covers them, a source of oxygen and nutrients.

Scientists have calculated that it will take at least ten years for the algae layer to recover. It will take even longer for new corals to grow on the Great Barrier Reef to replace dead relatives.

Fact number 3. Temperature anomalies in the Arctic

An exhausted polar bear in the Arctic. Melting ice threatens the lives of northern animals: seals, polar bears, walruses and others. A photo: Kerstin Langenberger Photography

This year, temperature records on the planet have been set repeatedly. So, according to the Hydrometeorological Center, April 2016 was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations in the Northern Hemisphere. Exactly one year, since May 2015, the absolute maximums of the average monthly air temperature are recorded here. The most serious anomalies were recorded in the Arctic: in the Kara and Barents Seas, on Novaya Zemlya and Yamal - up to +8ºС and above. In the west of Greenland and Alaska - up to + 6ºС.

In the period from 1980 to 2012, the area of ​​Arctic ice decreased by more than 2 times. Photo: climatechangenews.com

Fact number 4. Nine trillion tons of melted ice in Greenland

Today, glaciers are literally disappearing before our eyes. You can see this thanks to the project of the American photographer James Balogh Extreme Ice Survey. In 2007, he installed cameras next to the glaciers and, together with assistants, began to observe them. In December last year, the project participants published the result of an eight-year investigation: an edited video in a few seconds demonstrates the catastrophic rate of melting of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska. For eight years, the glacier retreated more than half a kilometer.

Massive shrinkage of the Greenland ice sheet from 1979 to 2007. Photo: occupy.com

Scientists are sounding the alarm: glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate. For example, over the past 100 years, Greenland has lost over nine trillion tons of ice. NASA estimates that each year the island's ice sheet is "thinning" by about 287 billion tons. Between August 13 and 19, 2015, a piece of 12.5 square kilometers broke away from the Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland. According to experts, this volume is enough to cover the entire Manhattan with a layer of ice almost 300 meters thick.

The area of ​​glaciers is decreasing all over the world. Pictured is the melted Uppsala Glacier in Argentina. Melting glaciers are the main cause of rising sea levels. Photo: bartholomewmaps.com

Fact number 5. Part of the Solomon Islands went under water

Hundreds of thousands of people are forced to leave their homes - many islands of the Pacific Ocean have gone under water due to rising sea levels. Photo: abc.net.au

Five small patches of land that make up the Solomon Islands have disappeared due to rising sea levels and erosion, Australian researchers have concluded. This is the first scientific evidence that climate change is affecting coasts in the Pacific Ocean.

a) Changes in the coastline of Sogomou Island (Solomon Islands) between 1947 and 2014
b) View of the eastern part of Sogomou Island (2013)
c) Changes in the coastline of Calais between 1947 and 2014. In 2014, the island was completely submerged.
Photo: iopscience.iop.org

The Solomon Islands are several hundred pieces of land. Their population is almost 640 thousand people. For two decades, the ocean level in this archipelago has risen to 10 millimeters per year. The islands that disappeared, covering an area of ​​​​one to five hectares, were not inhabited - unlike six other reefs, which were partially hidden under water. On these islands there were villages that were abandoned by people. So, Nuatambu served as a home for 25 families. Since 2011, they have lost half the area of ​​the island.

Fact number 6. Four-year drought in California

Dry Lake Oroville, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images

Dry Lake Oroville, California. Photo: Forbes.com

Global warming is not to blame for California's record drought, researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Dougherty Earth Observatory say. But - temperature fluctuations increased the intensity of the dangerous weather phenomenon by 15-20%. If the temperature on Earth continues to rise, drought will create a critical situation in the region. The lack of rain provokes forest fires that destroy all life in their path. In recent years, California forests have lost millions of trees due to drought and the invasion of bark beetles caused by climate warming. In four years, about 58 million trees in California have lost almost a third of the water they need from the forest canopy.

Fact number 7. Natural disasters

The worst flood in Paris, 2016. The level of the Seine River rose 6.5 meters above normal. Thousands of people were evacuated, dozens were injured, major attractions of the city are closed. Photo: bloomberg.com

At the end of May, heavy rains covered Western Europe and caused floods, which became a real disaster for Germany and France. In Paris, the water level in the Seine reached its highest level in 30 years. After four days of continuous rain, the water level in the river within the borders of Paris rose 4.15 meters above normal. Navigation on the Seine was stopped, many stations of the Paris metro stopped their work. Due to the risk of flooding, the world-famous Louvre and Orsay museums have been closed. In total, more than five thousand people were evacuated in France. Heavy downpours in Paris, unusual for June, are a reminder of the need to take urgent action to curb climate change. Francois Hollande.

Global warming has played a huge role in these natural disasters in France, climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) project confirm. The main thesis of their work is that over the past 50 years, climate change has almost doubled the likelihood of multi-day showers in the homeland of Flaubert and Joan of Arc.

More and more boreal forests are disappearing in the flames of wildfires in the northern hemisphere. Photo: BLM Alaska Fire Service

In 2015, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, 232 natural fires occurred in Russia in 31 reserves and 19 national parks. In total, more than 50,000 hectares of forest burned down. The most damage was done to the Siberian Federal District, where 129 fires were registered in four national parks and eleven state reserves.

The number of natural disasters in the world is increasing every year. Schedule according to the international insurance company Munich RE. Photo: Munich RE

Fact number 8. Climate change is one of the reasons for the war in Syria

Since 1990, the average annual temperature in Syria has risen by 1-1.2ºС. In this regard, the rainy season, vital for crops, has decreased by 10 percent. Local farmers are in a difficult position. The harvest fell, the lack of water in the territory of the Fertile Crescent killed the animals. As a result, unemployment worsened, grain prices rose by almost a third, and famine set in.

Al-Zaatari temporary accommodation camp for 80,000 Syrian refugees. Photo: sputniknews.com

The severe drought that lasted in Syria from 2006 to 2010 was one of the reasons that provoked the civil war in the country. This conclusion was made by American climatologists. The study was published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Map of precipitation and vegetation in the southern countries. Prolonged drought and water shortages are forcing people to protest and join illegal armed groups. Photo: independent.co.uk

These factors, the researchers concluded, added to the already difficult situation in the country caused by government corruption, social protests and population growth. As a result, one and a half million villagers rushed to the overcrowded cities, which provoked a civil conflict.

Fact number 9. Over 19 million climate refugees

Climate refugees try to get the rest of the water from a dry well.

Temperature fluctuations provoke devastating floods, fires and droughts, forcing people to leave their native lands. In 2014, more than 19 million people from 100 countries were forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters caused by climate change. In the future, these numbers will grow rapidly. Scientists estimate that by the middle of the century the number of so-called environmental refugees will rise to 200 million.

Climate change is forcing people to leave their native lands in search of a prosperous life. Photo: eartjournalism.net

However, the 1951 Geneva Convention “On the Status of Refugees” still lacks the concept of “climate” or “environmental refugee”, which makes it difficult to maintain statistics on this type of migrant. In May of this year, the inhabitants of the island of De Jean-Charles in Louisiana (USA) became the first officially recognized "climate refugees". The land, where the representatives of the Indian tribe lived for hundreds of years, today turns into a salt marsh and gradually sinks into the sea due to floods. Under a state government program, a community of about 60 people left the island due to climate change.

Fact number 10. epidemic outbreaks

This year, humanity is faced with another threat - the Zika virus. To date, the disease has been found in 23 countries and is rapidly spreading throughout the planet.

Women infected with the Zika virus with their children. Photo: images.latinpost.com

The Zika virus is an infectious disease transmitted primarily by mosquitoes. Sexual transmission of the virus has also been reported. The virus is most dangerous for pregnant women, as it causes microcephaly in the fetus with potential severe brain damage.

Scientists call global warming one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the disease. Climate change has created favorable living conditions and larger breeding areas for mosquitoes that carry the virus.

Earth's climate is changing rapidly. Scientists are trying to figure out what causes climate change by gathering evidence to rule out the wrong causes and find out who is responsible.

Based on over a hundred scientific studies, it is clear that humans are responsible for most of the climate change over the past 150 years.

People influence climate change

Humans are not the only cause of climate change. Weather has changed throughout Earth's history, long before humans evolved. The sun is the main climate factor. Roughly speaking, the global temperature will rise when more energy from the Sun enters the atmosphere than returns to space through the atmosphere. The Earth cools at any time if more energy returns to space than comes from the Sun, while humans can influence this balance. There are other factors as well, from continental drift and changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit to changes in solar activity and phenomena like the El Niño process, all of which can affect climate. Given the rate of climate change today, scientists can exclude from the majority some causes that occur too slowly to explain current climate change, while others have small cycles rather than long-term trends in climate change in part of the planet. Scientists are aware of these factors and can take them into account when assessing human-induced weather changes.

Human impact on climate change was first described over a hundred years ago, based on research in the 1850s by the English physicist John Tyndall.

Light from the Sun heats the Earth's surface, which then emits energy in the form of infrared radiation, which is felt on a sunny day. Greenhouse gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2) absorb this radiated energy, warming the atmosphere and surface. This process leads to a warmer temperature of the Earth than if it were heated only by direct sunlight.

For over 100 years, scientists have considered humans as the main cause of current climate change. At the turn of the 20th century, the Swedish physical chemist Svante Arrhenius suggested that humans, as a result of burning coal, increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and increased the natural warming effect, causing the atmosphere to warm more than if it all went through strictly natural processes.

When people burn gasoline, coal, natural gas, and other fuels to generate electricity or drive cars, they release significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When a liter of gasoline is burned, the amount of CO2 released will be 2 kg. Greenhouse gases are emitted from power plants and cars, from landfills, farms and cleared forests, and through other subtle processes.

Since the 1950s, scientists have begun to methodically measure the global increase in carbon dioxide. They have since confirmed that the increase is primarily from the burning of fossil fuels (and through other human activities such as land clearing). This increase as well as the change in CO2 is added to the atmosphere and provides a "smoking gun" which indicates that humans are responsible for elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

One of the worst droughts in the Middle East. Photo: NASA

97% of the world's climatologists admit that the main cause of global warming observed since the middle of the 20th century is man. "Climate of Russia" has collected the ten hottest facts about climate change, which literally become stuffy.

1. Global warming and climate change are not the same

These are two different but related concepts. Global warming is a manifestation of climate change, so the first is a symptom and the second is a diagnosis.

When we talk about warming, we mean a constant increase in the average temperature on Earth. Scientifically, this is called "anthropogenic warming." It is caused by human activity, as a result of which gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons, etc.) accumulate in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect.

Climate change is a change in weather conditions over a long period of time of tens and hundreds of years. It manifests itself as a temperature deviation from the seasonal or monthly norm and is accompanied by dangerous natural phenomena, including floods, droughts, hurricanes, heavy snowfalls, heavy rains. At the same time, the number of anomalous phenomena, many of which turn into terrible disasters, is growing every year. However, even small climate changes have a negative impact on flora and fauna, the possibilities of agriculture and animal husbandry, and the usual way of life.

1. 2016 promises to be the hottest year yet

So far, the absolute record belongs to 2015. But scientists have no doubt that 2016 will be able to beat him. It is not difficult to predict this, because, according to NASA, the temperature has been growing for 35 years: every year of the last 15 years turned out to be the hottest in the history of meteorological observations.

Abnormal heat and droughts have already become a serious problem for residents of different parts of the world. So, in 2013, one of the most destructive typhoons in the history of mankind, Yolanda, hit the Philippines. California experienced its worst drought in 500 years last year. And in the future, the number of natural disasters may increase significantly.

1. Permafrost is no longer eternal

60% of the territory of Russia is covered with permafrost. The rapid melting of the ice layer under the soil becomes not only an environmental, but also an economic and social problem. The fact is that the entire infrastructure in the north of Russia is built on icy soil (permafrost). Only in Western Siberia, due to the deformation of the earth's surface, several thousand accidents occur per year.

And some territories, for example, in the region of Yakutia, are simply periodically flooded. Since 2010, floods have been happening here every year.

Another threat is associated with the melting of permafrost. Huge volumes of methane are concentrated in permafrost. Methane traps heat in the atmosphere even more than CO 2 and is now being released rapidly.

An atoll in the Pacific Ocean that could repeat the fate of Atlantis. Photo: un.org

1. Sea level could rise by almost a meter

With the melting of permafrost and glaciers, more and more water is being formed in the oceans. In addition, it becomes warmer and gains more volume - the so-called thermal expansion occurs. During the 20th century, the water level rose by 17 centimeters. If everything continues at the same pace as now, then by the end of the 21st century, we can expect an increase of up to 1.3 meters, writes Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a journal of the US National Academy of Sciences.

What does it mean? According to the UN Environment Programme, half of the world's population lives within 60 kilometers of the coast, including three-quarters of the largest cities. These settlements will be hit by the elements - typhoons, storm surges, erosion. At worst, they are in danger of flooding. Scientists predict such a fate for many cities, such as San Francisco, Venice, Bangkok, and some island states - such as the Maldives, Vanuatu, Tuvalu - may even disappear under the water in this century.

Typhoon: view from space. Photo: NASA

1. Climate refugees are a harsh reality

There are climate refugees today. But calculations by the UN refugee agency suggest that by 2050 their number will increase dramatically. 200 million people will be forced to look for a new place of residence due to the effects of climate change (eg sea level rise). Unfortunately, the most vulnerable countries to climate threats are also the poorest in the world. Most of them are the states of Asia and Africa, among them - Afghanistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Kenya, Ethiopia, etc. An increase in the number of refugees by 20 times compared to today will exacerbate many far from environmental issues.

1. The oceans are acidifying

"Extra" greenhouse gases are not only in the atmosphere. From there, carbon dioxide enters the ocean. There is already so much carbon dioxide in the ocean that scientists are talking about "acidifying" it. The last time this happened 300 million years ago - in those distant times it killed up to 96% of all species of marine flora and fauna.

How could this happen? Acidification is not maintained by organisms whose shells are formed from calcium carbonate. This, for example, is the majority of mollusks - from snails to chitons. The problem is that many of them are the basis of food chains in the oceans. The consequences of their disappearance are not difficult to predict. Carbon dioxide also disrupts the development of the skeletons of coral reefs, which are home to almost a quarter of all the inhabitants of the seas.

1. About 1 million species could become extinct

Changing temperatures, habitats, ecosystems and food chains leaves no chance for more than one sixth of the flora and fauna to survive. Unfortunately, poaching only increases these numbers. According to scientists, by 2050, more than a million species of animals and plants may disappear.

The devastating effects of Typhoon Guyana in the Philippines, 2009. Photo: Claudio Accheri

1. Global warming can't be stopped, it can only be slowed down

Even if tomorrow we completely stop carbon dioxide emissions, it will not change much. Climatologists agree that the mechanism of climate change is running hundreds of years ahead. In the event of a sharp decrease in emissions, the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere will persist for a long time. This means that the ocean will continue to absorb carbon dioxide (see fact 6), and the temperature on the planet will continue to rise (see fact 2).

1. You can die from climate change

The World Health Organization predicts an increase in deaths by 250,000 between 2030 and 2050. The main reasons are the consequences of climate change. So, not all older people will endure increased heat waves, and children from poor regions will suffer from malnutrition and diarrhea. A common problem for all will be malaria, outbreaks of which will occur due to the expansion of the habitat of mosquito vectors.

However, WHO takes into account only a number of possible health effects. Therefore, the actual death toll could be much higher.

Infrared map of the world by 2100. Graphics: NASA

1. 97% of climate scientists confirm the anthropogenic nature of global warming

In 2013, out of nearly 11,000 scientific papers, only two denied human influence on the increase in the average global temperature. Today, 97% of climatologists recognize the anthropogenic contribution to global warming. At the same time, about half of the population of Russia and the United States do not believe that the climate is changing, and man is the cause. Which affects not only their daily habits, but also the politics of entire countries.

In the modern world, more and more humanity is concerned about the issue of global climate change on Earth. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, a sharp warming began to be observed. The number of winters with very low temperatures has significantly decreased, and the average surface air temperature has increased by 0.7 °C. The climate has changed naturally over millions of years. Now these processes are happening much faster. It should be borne in mind that global climate change can lead to dangerous consequences for all mankind. We will talk further about what factors provoke climate change and what the consequences may be.

Earth's climate

The climate on Earth was not constant. It has changed over the years. Changing dynamic processes on the Earth, the influence of external influences, solar radiation on the planet has led to climate change.

We know from school that the climate on our planet is divided into several types. Namely, there are four climatic zones:

• Equatorial.
• Tropical.
• Moderate.
• Polar.

Each type has specific value parameters:

• Temperatures.
• The amount of precipitation in winter and summer.

It is also known that the climate significantly affects the vital activity of plants and animals, as well as the soil and water regime. It depends on what kind of climate prevails in a given region, which crops can be grown in the fields and in subsidiary farms. The resettlement of people, the development of agriculture, the health and life of the population, as well as the development of industry and energy are inextricably linked.

Any climate change significantly affects our lives. Consider how the climate can change.

Manifestations of a changing climate

Global climate change manifests itself in deviations of weather indicators from long-term values ​​over a long period of time. This includes not only changes in temperatures, but also the frequency of weather events that are outside the normal range, but are considered extreme.

There are processes on Earth that directly provoke all kinds of changes in climatic conditions, and also indicate to us that global climate changes are taking place.

It is worth noting that climate change on the planet is currently happening very quickly. Thus, the planetary temperature has risen by half a degree in only some half a century.

What factors influence the climate

Based on the processes listed above, which indicate climate change, several factors can be identified that affect these processes:

• Change of orbit and change in the inclination of the Earth.
• A decrease or increase in the amount of heat in the depths of the ocean.
• Change in the intensity of solar radiation.
• Changes in the relief and location of continents and oceans, as well as changes in their size.
• Changing the composition of the atmosphere, a significant increase in the amount of greenhouse gases.
• Change in the albedo of the earth's surface.

All these factors influence the climate of the planet. Climate change also occurs for a number of reasons, which can be natural and anthropogenic in nature.

Causes that provoke a change in climatic conditions

Consider what causes of climate change are considered by scientists around the world.

1. Radiation coming from the Sun. Scientists believe that the changing activity of the hottest star may be one of the main causes of climate change. The sun develops and from the young cold it slowly passes into the aging stage. Solar activity was one of the causes of the onset of the ice age, as well as periods of warming.
2. Greenhouse gases. They provoke a rise in temperature in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are:

3. Changing the Earth's Orbit leads to a change, redistribution of solar radiation on the surface. Our planet is affected by the attraction of the moon and other planets.

4. The impact of volcanoes. It is as follows:

• Environmental impact of volcanic products.
• The impact of gases, ash on the atmosphere, as a consequence on the climate.
• The influence of ash and gases on snow, ice on the peaks, which leads to mudflows, avalanches, floods.

Passively degassing volcanoes have a global impact on the atmosphere, as does an active eruption. It can cause a global decrease in temperatures, and as a result - crop failure or drought.

Human activity is one of the causes of global climate change

Scientists have long found the main cause of global warming. This is an increase in greenhouse gases that are emitted and accumulate in the atmosphere. As a result, the ability of terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide as it grows in the atmosphere decreases.

Human activities affecting global climate change:

Scientists, based on their research, concluded that if natural causes influenced the climate, the temperature on earth would be lower. It is human influence that contributes to the increase in temperature, which leads to global climate change.

Having considered the causes of climate change, let's move on to the consequences of such processes.

Are there positive aspects of global warming.

Seeking benefits in a changing climate

Considering how much progress has been made, increasing temperatures can be used to increase crop yields. At the same time creating favorable conditions for them. But this will be possible only in zones with a temperate climate.

The advantages of the greenhouse effect include an increase in the productivity of natural forest biogeocenoses.

Global impacts of climate change

What will be the consequences on a global scale? Scientists believe that:

Earth's climate change will have a significant impact on human health. The number of cardiovascular and other diseases may increase.

• A decrease in food production can lead to starvation, especially for the poor.
• The problem of global climate change, of course, will also affect the political issue. Possible intensification of conflicts over the right to own sources of fresh water.

At present, we can already observe some of the effects of climate change. How will the climate on our planet continue to change?

Predictions for the development of global climate change

Experts believe that there may be several scenarios for the development of global changes.

1. Global changes, namely the rise in temperature, will not be abrupt. There is a mobile atmosphere on Earth, thermal energy is distributed throughout the planet due to the movement of air masses. The oceans store more heat than the atmosphere. On such a large planet with its complex system, change cannot happen too quickly. It will take millennia for significant change.
2. Rapid global warming. This scenario is much more common. The temperature has increased over the last century by half a degree, the amount of carbon dioxide has increased by 20%, and methane by 100%. The melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice will continue. The water level in the oceans and seas will rise significantly. The number of cataclysms on the planet will increase. The amount of precipitation on Earth will be unevenly distributed, which will increase the areas affected by drought.
3. In some parts of the Earth, warming will be replaced by a short-term cooling. Scientists have calculated such a scenario, based on the fact that the warm Gulf Stream has become 30% slower and can completely stop if the temperature rises by a couple of degrees. This may be reflected in severe cooling in Northern Europe, as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia and in the northern regions of the European part of Russia. But this is possible only for a short period of time, and then warming will return to Europe. And everything will develop according to 2 scenarios.
4. Global warming will be replaced by global cooling. This is possible when not only the Gulf Stream stops, but also other ocean currents. This is fraught with the onset of a new ice age.
5. The worst scenario is a greenhouse disaster. An increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will contribute to an increase in temperature. This will lead to the fact that carbon dioxide from the world's oceans will begin to pass into the atmosphere. The carbonate sedimentary rocks will decompose with even more carbon dioxide, which will lead to an even greater increase in temperature and the decomposition of carbonate rocks in deeper layers. Glaciers will melt rapidly, while reducing the Earth's albedo. The amount of methane will increase, and the temperature will rise, which will lead to disaster. An increase in temperature on earth by 50 degrees will lead to the death of human civilization, and by 150 degrees it will cause the death of all living organisms.

Global climate change of the Earth, as we see, can be a danger to all mankind. Therefore, it is necessary to pay great attention to this issue. It is necessary to study how we can reduce human influence on these global processes.

Climate change in Russia

Global climate change in Russia cannot fail to affect all regions of the country. It will reflect both positively and negatively. The residential zone will move closer to the north. Heating costs will be significantly reduced, and the transportation of goods along the Arctic coast on large rivers will be simplified. In the northern regions, the melting of snow in areas where there was permafrost can lead to serious damage to communications and buildings. Migration will begin. Already in recent years, the number of such phenomena as drought, storm winds, heat, floods, severe cold has increased significantly. It is not possible to say specifically how warming will affect different industries. The essence of climate change must be studied comprehensively. It is important to reduce the impact of human activities on our planet. More on this later.

How to avoid disaster?

As we saw earlier, the consequences of global climate change can be simply catastrophic. Humanity should already understand that we are able to stop the approaching catastrophe. What needs to be done to save our planet:

Global climate change cannot be allowed to get out of control.

The large world community at the UN conference on climate change adopted the UN Framework Convention (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1999). What a pity that some countries put their well-being above solving the issues of global climate change.

The international scientific community has a huge responsibility to determine the trends of climate change in the future and to develop the main directions of the consequences of this change will save humanity from catastrophic consequences. And the adoption of costly measures without scientific justification will lead to huge economic losses. The problems of climate change concern all mankind, and they must be addressed together.

06/22/2017 article

TEXT ECOCOSM

What is climate change on our planet?

To put it simply, it is the imbalance of all natural systems, which leads to changes in the precipitation pattern and an increase in the number of extreme events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts; these are abrupt changes in the weather that are caused by fluctuations in solar radiation (solar radiation) and, more recently, by human activities.

Climate and weather

Weather is the state of the lower layers of the atmosphere at a given time in a given place. Climate is the average state of the weather and is predictable. Climate includes things like average temperature, rainfall, number of sunny days, and other variables that can be measured.

Climate change - fluctuations in the climate of the Earth as a whole or its individual regions over time, expressed in statistically significant deviations of weather parameters from long-term values ​​over a period of time from decades to millions of years. Moreover, changes in both the average values ​​of weather parameters and changes in the frequency of extreme weather events are taken into account. The study of climate change is the science of paleoclimatology.

Dynamic processes in the electric machine of the planet are the source of energy for typhoons, cyclones, anticyclones and other global phenomena Bushuev, Kopylov Space and Earth. Electromechanical Interactions»

Climate change is caused by dynamic processes (balance, balance of natural phenomena) on the Earth, external influences such as fluctuations in the intensity of solar radiation, and, one might add, human activities.

glaciation

Glaciations are recognized by scientists as one of the most marker indicators of climate change: they greatly increase in size during climate cooling (the so-called “little ice ages”) and decrease during climate warming. Glaciers grow and melt due to natural changes and under the influence of external influences. The most significant climatic processes over the past few million years are the change of glacial and interglacial epochs of the current ice age, due to changes in the orbit and axis of the Earth. Changes in the state of continental ice and fluctuations in sea level within 130 meters are in most regions the key consequences of climate change.

World Ocean

The ocean has the ability to accumulate (accumulate for the purpose of its subsequent use) thermal energy and move this energy to different parts of the ocean. Large-scale oceanic circulation created by a density gradient (a scalar physical quantity defined as the ratio of the mass of a body to the volume occupied by that body) of water resulting from the inhomogeneity of temperature and salinity distribution in the ocean, that is, it is caused by density gradients as a result of the action of flows of fresh water and heat. These two factors (temperature and salinity) together determine the density of seawater. Windy surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) move water from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean towards the north.

Transit Time - 1600 Years Primeau, 2005

These waters cool down on the way and, as a result, due to the increase in the resulting density, sink to the bottom. Dense waters at depths move in the direction opposite to the direction of wind currents. Most of the dense waters rise back to the surface in the area of ​​the Southern Ocean, and the “oldest” of them (according to a transit time of 1600 years (Primeau, 2005) rise in the North Pacific Ocean, this is also due to sea currents - constant or periodic flows in the thickness of the world's oceans and seas.There are constant, periodic and irregular currents, surface and underwater, warm and cold currents.

The most significant for our planet are the North and South Equatorial currents, the course of the West Winds and density (determined by differences in the density of water, an example of which can be the Gulf Stream and the North Pacific Current) currents.

Thus, there is constant mixing between the ocean basins within the "oceanic" dimension of time, which reduces the difference between them and unites the oceans into a global system. During movement, water masses constantly move both energy (in the form of heat) and matter (particles, solutes and gases), so large-scale ocean circulation significantly affects the climate of our planet, this circulation is often called the ocean conveyor. It plays a key role in the redistribution of heat and can significantly influence the climate.

Volcanic eruptions, continental drift, glaciation and the shift of the Earth's poles are powerful natural processes that affect the Earth's climate Ecocosm

In the aspect of observation, the present state of the climate is not only a consequence of the influence of certain factors, but also the entire history of its state. For example, during ten years of drought, lakes partially dry up, plants die, and the area of ​​deserts increases. These conditions in turn cause less abundant rainfall in the years following the drought. Thus, climate change is a self-regulating process, since the environment reacts in a certain way to external influences, and, changing, is itself able to influence the climate.

Volcanic eruptions, continental drift, glaciation and the shift of the Earth's poles are powerful natural processes that affect the Earth's climate. On a millennium scale, the climate-determining process will be the slow movement from one ice age to the next.

Climate change is caused by changes in the earth's atmosphere, by processes occurring in other parts of the earth such as oceans, glaciers, and in our time by the effects of human activities.

To complete the coverage of the issue, it should be noted that the processes that form the climate, collect it - these are external processes - these are changes in solar radiation and the earth's orbit.

Causes of climate change:

• Change in size, relief, relative position of continents and oceans.
• Change in luminosity (the amount of energy released per unit time) of the Sun.
• Changes in the parameters of the Earth's orbit and axis.
• Changes in the transparency and composition of the atmosphere, including changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases (CO 2 and CH 4).
• Change in the reflectivity of the Earth's surface.
• Change in the amount of heat available in the depths of the ocean.
• Tectonics (the structure of the earth's crust in connection with the geological changes occurring in it) of lithospheric plates.
• Cyclic nature of solar activity.
• Changes in the direction and angle of the Earth's axis, the degree of deviation from the circumference of its orbit.

The result of the second reason in this list is the periodic increase and decrease in the area of ​​the Sahara desert.

• Volcanism.
• Human activities that change the environment and affect the climate.

The main problems of the latter factor are: the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere growing due to fuel combustion, aerosols that affect its cooling, industrial animal husbandry and the cement industry.

Other factors such as animal husbandry, land use, depletion of the ozone layer and deforestation are also believed to influence the climate. This influence is expressed by a single value - radiative heating of the atmosphere.

Global warming

Changes in the current climate (in the direction of warming) are called global warming. It can be said that global warming is one of the local puzzles, and negatively colored, of the global phenomenon of “modern global climate change”. Global warming is one of a rich set of instances of "climate change on the planet", which is an increase in the average annual temperature of the Earth's climate system. It causes a whole series of troubles for humanity: this is the melting of glaciers, and the rise in the level of the World Ocean, and in general temperature anomalies.

Global warming is one of the local puzzles, and negatively colored, of the global phenomenon of "modern global climate change" Ecocosm

Since the 1970s, at least 90% of the warming energy has been stored in the ocean. Despite the dominant role of the ocean in heat storage, the term "global warming" is often used to refer to an increase in the average air temperature near the surface of the land and ocean. Humans can influence global warming by not allowing the average temperature to exceed 2 degrees Celsius, which is determined to be critical for an environment suitable for humans. With an increase in temperature by this value, the Earth's biosphere is threatened with irreversible consequences, which, according to the international scientific community, can be stopped by reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

By 2100, according to scientists, some countries will turn into uninhabitable territories, these are countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries of the Middle East.

Climate change and Russia

For Russia, the annual damage from the impact of hydrometeorological phenomena is 30-60 million rubles. The average air temperature at the Earth's surface has increased since the pre-industrial era (from about 1750) by 0.7 ° C. There are not spontaneous climate changes - this is an alternation of cool-wet and warm-dry periods in the range of 35 - 45 years (put forward by scientists E. A. Brickner) and spontaneous climate change caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases due to economic activity, that is, the heating effect of carbon dioxide. Moreover, many scientists have come to the consensus that greenhouse gases have played a significant role in most climate changes, and human carbon dioxide emissions have already triggered significant global warming.

The scientific understanding of the causes of global warming is becoming more and more definite over time. The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (2007) stated that there is a 90% chance that most of the temperature change is due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases due to human activities. In 2010, this conclusion was confirmed by the academies of sciences of the main industrial countries. It should be added that the results of rising global temperatures are sea level rise, changes in the amount and nature of precipitation, and an increase in deserts.

Arctic

It's no secret that warming is strongest in the Arctic, leading to the retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. The temperature of the permafrost layer in the Arctic for 50 years has risen from -10 to -5 degrees.

Depending on the time of year, the area of ​​the Arctic ice cover also changes. Its maximum value falls on the end of February - beginning of April, and the minimum - in September. During these periods, “benchmarks” are recorded.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began satellite surveillance of the Arctic in 1979. Before 2006, the ice cover was decreasing by an average of 3.7% per decade. But in September 2008, there was a record jump: the area decreased by 57,000 square meters. kilometers in one year, which in a ten-year perspective gave a 7.5% decrease.

As a result, in every part of the Arctic and in every season, the extent of ice is now significantly lower than it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

Other consequences

Other impacts of warming include: an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts and rainstorms; ocean acidification; extinction of biological species due to changes in temperature. Impacts of importance to humanity include the threat to food security due to negative impacts on crop yields (especially in Asia and Africa) and the loss of human habitats due to rising sea levels. The increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will acidify the ocean.

Opposition policy

The policy of combating global warming includes the idea of ​​mitigating it by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as adapting to its impact. In the future, geological engineering will become possible. It is believed that in order to prevent irreversible climate change, the annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions until 2100 should be at least 6.3%.