Global Warming Takes Its Toll as Earth Experiences 4th Hottest Year
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Climate change is a constant threat to our ecosystem and future. Global average temperatures have dropped significantly as time has passed, and the trend can only continue further. This effect was confirmed in findings that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record.
According to sources like NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), global temperatures have risen drastically in the past two decades. Both these organizations held a joint conference about global climate on Wednesday. This conference aimed to shed light on the growing world temperatures by highlighting that following 2001, 18 of the 19 years so far have been the hottest.
These findings were cross-referenced with temperature and climate recordings from the past and the results have proven the ongoing narrative about catastrophic effects to our ever-changing environment.
These effects are linked to the greenhouse gases and carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Anything from everyday household products to industrial production and resource generation has led to a widespread effect on the climate. CO2 and other gasses accumulate in the environment, which will trap solar radiation. This causes the surface temperature to rise more than it would have without these gases accumulating.
Global warming can cause a domino reaction throughout the world. Polar regions have seen catastrophic effects. Ice in the Antarctic and Artic regions has been melting at an alarming rate. At its current stage, the polar icecaps have reached their smallest size so far. Ever since polar observations were made by satellites in 1979, a dramatic decrease in ice volume can be seen, which correlates with the increase in industrial operations.
On average, the global temperature has risen about 1°C or 1.4°F since the 1880s. If this reaches 1.5°C, it will trigger the warning limit for the Paris Climate Agreement within the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). This is an alarming, yet inevitable outcome of the decades of climate negligence.
If temperatures continue to rise by this degree, it can cause a rise in the global sea levels as well. This can pose a threat to people living in low-lying coastal areas as well as island dwellers and eventually affect major coastline cities around the world.