With every day advancing in the field of technology, the innovations have triggered great impacts on our lives. Besides awarding us countless benefits, these innovations have also induced certain harmful effects on our environment, one of which is global warming, a key source of climate change. This climate change is an emerging problem that has some serious deep-rooted effects on the lives of humans as well as the animals.
Melting Of Glaciers:-
First of all, the melting glaciers due to an increased temperature have caused a rise in sea levels. Not all the people are impacted by this but the ones living closer to the sea are effected the most, as coastal areas are facing the loss of land due to overflowing water levels and land sinking. According to a study, “by 2100, 11 sinking countries could disappear.”(Lakritz). This could cause the islands to get completely submerged under water. As a result, the people living there will have to move onto other places causing an overall cost of billions of dollar. Moreover, the habitats of animals living on the beach such as sand crabs, shorebirds etc. will be lost. Some endangered species such as sea turtles, that can’t afford to lose any offspring, may become extinct . The climate change is affecting their habitat by flooding and “sex of hatchling is also affected by altering sand temperatures” (WWF).
Alteration in weather conditions:-
Another impact of climate change is the alteration of weather conditions, causing an increase in hurricanes and cyclones. In the recent years, storms have caused much damage to life and property costing millions of dollars. The most recent is hurricane Katrina that hit US in 2005, resulting in deaths of 1,577 people and a total damage of $108 Billions (Fox13news). According to a study, climate change “causes approximately 150,000 deaths annually.”(WHO)
Rainfall patterns:-
Furthermore, the climate change is also affecting the rainfall patterns. As the temperature of earth gets warmer and warmer, there’s an increase in evaporation of ocean water leading to intensified precipitations in some areas. On the other hand, climate change also contributes to the worsening of droughts in some areas. According to the scientists, the wet places will get wetter and the drier places will get drier (c2se).A perfect example is the drought of Texas in 2011 that marked an average of just 14.8 inches of rain (CBSNews). Droughts have affected agriculture and livestock badly all over the world. In the recent years, wildfires have also increased in dry areas due to drought conditions.
Conclusion:-
In conclusion, the climate change has affected our lives in a countless ways. For instance, the rising sea levels, worsening weather conditions, droughts etc. have already cost us millions of lives and yet the world is still not taking any serious actions against it. The world should be aware of the devastating consequences of climatic change and it should take some crucial steps against it to avoid any further damages including the loss of life and property