Severe drouhts and heat waves

Extreme weather induced by global warming has terrible consequences in public health, heat waves already threatening the vulnerable side of the society. Even if some areas of Europe will become wetter due to climate change, other areas will be hit by droughts and heat waves.


Water is already an extremely rare commodity in underprivileged countries such as Africa, therefore it is the most vulnerable and will receive the worst of it. If we take a look at this we might consider it ironic, thinking at the fact that such regions contributed the least to global warming.

Researchers say that climate change and global warming will aggravate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.

Incresed chances of asthma and allergies

More unnoticeable is the gradual climatic change that can damage our health. In the last two decades the predominance of asthma in the United States has quadrupled, in part because of climate-related factors. For islanders, respiratory irritants come in dust clouds that originate from Africa's expanding deserts.
Another reason for this aggravation is because of the increased levels of plant pollen. With double the ambient level of carbon dioxide, plants can produce up to 60% more pollen.

Warmer waters and more hurricanes

Ocean heat content and water vapor have both increased over the past several decades. This is because of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the clearing of forests, which have significantly elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere.
CO2 and other heat-trapping gases act like an insulating blanket that warms the land and ocean and increases evaporation. As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes.Warmer surface waters generate more powerful and destructive storms.

In a tropical cyclone, air rotates inward to the center (or eye), then rises to higher altitudes. As warm, moist air rises, the air cools and condenses to rain, releasing heat. This cycle of evaporation and condensation powers the storm. Adapted from a figure of courtesy of NOAA.                                  
 

 

Spread of vector-borne diseases

Extreme temperature spread out vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis and tick-borne diseases. These climate-sensitive diseases are among the largest global killers. We are talking about infections transmitted by the bite of an infected arthropod species, such as mosquitoes, ticks, bugs or sandflies.

These mosquitoes are very sensitive to climate change. If their environments gets warmer, it boosts up their rate of regeneration and the number of blood meals they take, emphasizing the number of diseases they transmit.

Polar ice caps melting

The ice caps melting is probably the last thing we want to happen and this because of four reasons.
At first, the sea level will increase. Ice caps and glaciers contain 5,773,000 cubic miles of water. According to the researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if  all glaciers melted at once the seas would rise approximately 230 feet. Fortunately this thing is not going to happen all at one, but it is a fact that sea levels will rise. 

The second effect of melting ice caps will be the one of unbalancing the entire global ecosystem. The ice caps are made out of fresh water and when they melt, they will make the ocean less salty. This desalinization process will disturb the ocean current, which regulate temperatures. The stream irregularity would cool down the area around Northeast America and Western Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area! 

Another consequence will be the temperature rise. Changing landscapes in the Arctic Circle will endanger many species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Ultimately, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white and reflect sunlight, much of it being reflected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, contributing to the global warming.

Welcome!

As we all know, global warming is a major threat to our planet's future. When we talk about this subject, we are not talking about how hot were the temperatures this summer compared to the last year. We are talking about climate change, effects that are or will be visible in our health, environment and weather over time. 
Besides some of the effects of the global warming, this blog will include statistics and latest news regarding our behavior with our planet.
You are invited to share your opinion and beliefs.