Heating up our planet, industrial pollution, acid rain, and climate are issues responsible for the highest death rate in our history. This article will inform you on the alarming problems existing in today's world related to the changing climate of the planet and how it may result in a global disaster.
Floods in the Himalayan Region: The world is experiencing the effects of climate change and the retreat of glaciers worldwide. High mountain ecosystems are considered to be early indicators of climate change because extreme weather events show their high sensitivity to climate. They are particularly sensitive to increasing temperatures, an initial sign of accelerated glacial retreat. The melting ice means that downstream areas will need to brace for more water in the future, thereby flooding these areas as the water flows into river basins below.
Other Events: The epic heat wave that struck Europe in the summer of 2003 claimed more than 70,000 lives. It was measured not only in rising death tolls but also in a host of other impacts, from forest fires to crop failures to droughts and floods across the continent. The root cause of the disaster—and of nearly all other natural disasters—is climate change, driven by human consumption of fossil fuels.
Global Emission: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2020 showed that the year 2020 set new records in terms of rise in extreme weather events, including wildfires and hurricanes, and in the melting of glaciers and ice at both poles.
Global Climate Risk: The accuracy of climate change projections is increasing, which in turn increases the risk to people's lives, livelihoods, businesses and governments around the world.
As Texas finds itself in the midst of a rare and brutal blast of winter weather, with temperatures plunging below freezing levels, over 4.3 million people across the US state have been left without power after high demand for electricity caused the power grid to repeatedly fail.
Over a dozen deaths have been attributed to the unprecedented winter storm ‘Uri’ so far in the state, with local authorities warning that frigid conditions are likely to continue for another few days.
With Texas reporting some of its lowest temperatures in the last three decades, the state has recorded a sudden spike in electricity demand.
Meanwhile, its primary sources of energy — natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind and solar — have been afflicted by the cold and ice. As a result, power grid operators have been forced to conduct rolling blackouts in different parts of the state.
India was the seventh most-affected by the devastating impact of climate change globally in 2019 according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021.
Climate change in India is having profound effects on India, which is ranked fourth among the list of countries most affected by climate change in the period from 1996 to 2015.
India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases each year; about two and a half tons per person, which is half the world average. The country emits 7% of global emissions.
Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna and other major rivers.
A 2007 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that the Indus River may run dry for the same reason.
Heat waves' frequency and power are increasing in India because of climate change. Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam.
The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research has reported that, if the predictions relating to global warming made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change come to fruition, climate-related factors could cause India's GDP to decline by up to 9%.