Hi, welcome to this hall on causes of Climatic change, meaning, effects, remedies.
Table Of Contents
- Meaning of Climatic change
- Causes of Climatic change
- Consequences or effects of climate change.
- Remedies to the problems of climate change
- Revision Questions.
Meaning Of Climatic Change
Climatic change is defined as a change in the statistical properties of the Climate System when considered over long period of time. Is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather pattern over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.
Climate change is a long-term shift and weather conditions identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds and other indicators. Climatic change can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in viability, including other extremes events. Any factors that causes a sustained change to the amount of incoming energy or the amount of outgoing energy can lead to climate change.
As these factors are external to the Climatic System, they are referred to as climate forcers invoking the idea that they force or push the climate towards a new long-term state – either warner or cooler depending on the cause of the change.
Causes Of Climate Change
The number of factors have identified to be responsible for the causes of climatic change. These factors are:
1. Greenhouse effects: The build-up of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has led to an enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect. It is this human induced enhancement of the greenhouse effect that is of great concern because ongoing emission of greenhouse gases have the potential to warm the planet to levels that have never been experienced in the history of human civilization.
2. Ozone layer depletion: The ozone layer refer to a tiny layer in the atmosphere that prevent or reduces the amount of sunshine or radiation from getting to the surface of the earth. As a result of the negative activities of human beings this ozone layer is being depleted gradually and this now lead to direct release of radiant light directly to the earth surface resulting in global warming or increase on the intensity of heat on the earth’s surface.
3. Chloro floro carbon (CDC) gases: The CFC refers to other forms of gases that are released to the atmosphere. These gases include methane and tropospheric gas resulting from the burning of fossil fuels into the atmosphere and this eventually lead to climatic change in the environment.
4. Volcanic activities: Volcanic activities also can cause climatic change. Volcanic eruption do release various substances and gases into the atmosphere thereby leading to changes in the climate of that area.
5. Carbon emission: The activities of man and other natural occurrence do lead to the release of carbon into the atmosphere.
6. Increase in population: The continuous increase in population has also increase the level of emission of various substances into the atmosphere.
7. Deforestation: Deforestation refers to the deliberate felling of trees in an environment. Deforestation leads to depletion of oxygen from the environment.
8. Gas flaring: The continuous flaring of gas especially from petroleum products do generate enormous gas such as carbon dioxide and other dangerous gases into the atmosphere. These gases are large enough to cause climatic change in the environment.
Consequences Or Effect Of Climatic Change
The consequences of climatic changes pose a serious threat to human lives, to economic development and to the natural world on which much of our properties depends.
Some of the consequences or effects of Climatic change are:
- Melting of ice cap: As a result of global warming, the polar ice sheets have started to melt and glaciers around the world are shrinking. The combination of this changes increases the sea levels which in time will threaten low-lying areas and Islands.
- Increasing temperature: As a result of the depletion of the ozone layers, the earth is now receiving direct rays of the sun and this has resulted in the continuous increase in the temperature of the environment.
- High rainfall: The changes in the temperature and other weather condition of the environment has resulted in a heavy rain which is now causing serious flooding in the most part of the world.
- Submergence of coastal cities: The ever increasing rainfall, the melting of ice and glaciers etc has resulted in the increase in the level of the water in the ocean. This increase in the level of the water in the ocean has led to the rise in the sea level which eventually is now leading to the submergence of the coastal cities.
- Desertification: Extreme weather conditions resulting from low rainfall and high winds are now causing desertification in regions that are close to the desert. These therefore are leading to desert encroachment of those regions.
- Occurrence of wildfire: Changes in the climate of some regions particularly of low rainfall and extreme high temperature and now subjected to high risk of wildfire which can spread easily causing changes to human settlement and their properties.
- Cancer and eye cataract: Extreme weather conditions due to climatic changes have affected the health of the people. Such extreme weather conditions have resulted in a cancer and eye cataract in human beings.
- Emergence of new diseases: Extreme cases of these harsh weather conditions in our environment is fast resulting in the emergence of new diseases in the environment.
- Decrease in economic activities: The economic activities of the people are seriously affected. Sectors that rely strongly on certain temperatures and rainfall levels, such as agriculture, forestry energy and tourism, will be particularly affected by climatic change.
- Extinction of some plants and animals: Climatic changes is happening so fast that many plants and animals species will struggle to cope. Warming of 1.5°C – 2.5°C beyond today’s level would put as many as 20 – 30% of plant and animal species at increased risk of extinction.
Remedies Or Solutions To The Problems Of Climatic Change
Measures that the government of Nigeria can take to prevent or remedy the problems of climatic change includes:
1. Reforestation: Reforestation is the deliberate effort by the government in planting trees around the habitation of human beings. The availability of trees around human habitations do increase the availability of oxygen which is not only useful for respiration but also useful in the purification of the air and provision of shade in the environment.
2. Zero carbon emission: Deliberate effort should be made by the government to make sure that very little carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. The reduction in the quantity of carbon emission will reduce the climatic change.
3. Education: Climatic change should be taught in various level of our academic activities so that awareness will be made known to people as well as educating people on the danger of climatic change and how to control them.
4. Population reduction: Deliberate efforts have to be made to ensure reduction in the population. And as explain earlier the fewer the population, the lesser the release of gases and other substances into the atmosphere by the activities of human beings.
5. Introduction of gas driven cars: Vehicles that can use gas have to be introduced by the government. The use of fuel by cars is well known to cause or release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and such gases are responsible for climatic change.
6. Stop the use of aerosols: The use of aerosols by companies and other commercial activities should be stopped. This gas when releasing to the atmosphere can cause climatic change.
7. Legislation: Certain laws have to be put in place baning the activities of human beings that are capable of causing climatic change. For example, gas flaring by petroleum drilling companies have to be stopped so as to prevent climatic change.
Revision Questions
- What do you understand by the term (a) Climatic change? (b) Global warming? (c) Climatic forcers?
- List and discuss six causes of climatic change.
- List and explain eight effects of climatic change.
- List and explain six remedies to the effect of climatic change by the government of Nigeria.