Aditya Sinha
4 min readJun 19, 2021

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What is Global Warming and its Causes

Global warming, the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past centuries. Climate scientists have since the mid-20th century gathered observations of various weather phenomena (such as temperatures, precipitation, and storms) and of related influences on climate (such as ocean currents and the atmosphere’s chemical composition). These data indicate that Earth’s climate has changed over almost every conceivable timescale since the beginning of geologic time and that the influence of human activities since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution has been deeply woven into the very fabric of climate change.

U.S. Regional Effects

Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.

Northwest. Changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off.

Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.

Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.

Southwest. Increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns.
Data from -
https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

Global Warming is expected to have far reaching in many cases and dangerous consequences in for planet Earth.

It has become clear that humans have caused most of the past century’s warming by releasing heat-trapping gases as we power our modern lives knows as Green House Gases.

Now what are Green House Gases -:

The “Greenhouse effect” is warming of earth that happens when certain gases in earth’s atmosphere gets trapped and increases the surface temperature. These gases are really important but in moderate form. These gases trap the light and heat coming from the sun, inside the earth to keep the temperature moderate but nowadays these gases are increasing.

Sunlight shines onto the Earth’s surface, where the energy is absorbed and then radiate back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, greenhouse gas molecules trap some of the heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases concentrate in the atmosphere, the more heat gets locked up in the molecules.

Now lets know, how many greenhouse gases are there -:

primarily there are three green house gases -:

  • Carbon dioxide is the main contributor to climate change, especially through the burning of fossil fuels.
  • Methane is produced naturally when vegetation is burned, digested or rotted without oxygen. Oil and gas production, cattle farming, waste dumps and rice farming release large amounts of methane.
  • Nitrous oxide, released by chemical fertilizers and burning fossil fuels, has a global warming potential 310 times that of carbon dioxide.
  • Data from - https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/greenhouse-gases/

Now lets get back to Global Warming and there devastating causes -:

  • Melting of Glaciers -Due to increased global warming, the level of the sea will rise which will lead to flooding and this will, in turn, create havoc in human life. Apart from raising the sea levels, it will also endanger several species of animals and thus will hamper the balance of the ecosystem.
  • Climate Change -Irregular weather patterns have already started showing results. Increased precipitation in the form of rain has already been noticed in polar and sub-polar regions. More global warming will lead to more evaporation which will cause more rains. Animals and plants cannot easily adapt to increased rainfall. Plants may die and animals may migrate to other areas, which can cause the entire ecosystem out of balance.
  • The Rise of Sea Levels - The melting of polar ice-caps and less water evaporating into the atmosphere are causing increased sea levels. Quaint coastal towns and cities near the U.S. east coast and Gulf of Mexico are just a few areas where devastating flood damage is starting to make its mark in history.
  • Data from - https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/globalwarmingeffects.php

We have to be little active now, pay attention towards the climate change and global warming. A small step towards the mother Earth can save the upcoming Generations. Colonizing other planets and living there is fine, but destroying our mother earth who has been with us for decades is just not fair.

Have feedback or questions? Send me an email at aadityasinha0308@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to respond!

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Aditya Sinha

I am an 8th grade student, a frontend developer with good knowledge of Python and Arduino. Really interested in cosmology, environmental science & physics.