Impacts
It should come as no shock that climate change is happening now. “Global average temperature has enhanced regarding 1.8 ° F from 1901 to 2016.” SOURCE Even the slight change of normal temperatures can cause harmful changes in weather patterns and dangerous shifts in the climate. To see the correlation, New Yorkers be reminded of what we experienced in 2021 as it relates to record rainfall, increase hurricanes, and intense heat waves. This also impacted the rest of the United States causing life threating droughts, wildfires, tornados, and much more.
Our glaciers and oceans are being impacted and they will present problems for our communities and our environment for future generations. For example, ice caps are melting causing increased water levels. Oceans temperatures are heating up and becoming more acidic. It’s likely this will become more pronounced in the years to come if we don’t make positive changes now because one thing is for sure, climate change it can’t be stopped but it can be slowed down.
If we don’t take action to slow down climate change, here are the things that we will continue to experience at a faster pace in the future:
– Warmer temperatures leading to more frequent and intense heat waves for longer periods of time. This can cause health risks for those with compromised immune systems, young children, and the elderly.
– Compromised air and water quality due to changes in our climate can create the spread of viruses and other diseases. Changes in the atmosphere and water can alter weather patterns causing them to be more erratic and extreme.
– Rising sea levels endanger coastal areas and their surrounding environments.
– Increases or, in some areas, decreases in rainfall can cause flooding or drought. This has a direct correlation with water supply, water quality and even the production of hydroelectricity.
– Changes in forests and oceans affect plant and animal life as well as the timing of their natural lifecycle events. For example, reproduction and migration.
– Extreme weather patterns causing increased intensity and frequency lead to warm front, droughts, and also floorings. These events are not only life threating, they are also damaging to property and society.
The future outlook
Elevated concentrations greenhouse gases will continue to be released for many years to come and therefore the global warming will continue for generations to come. When the earth gets warmer, the greater the threat is for dangerous changes to our climate and environment to occur. Although it’s hard to anticipate how climate change will impact us in the future. It is clear that we can’t rely on historical patterns climate change patterns to help us outline future expectations because it is simply unpredictable.