Friday 11 April 2014

CLIMATE CHANGE 2014




CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT 2014
UN/ IPCC

In March 2014, the IPCC [the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] explicitly declared that the global climate system is warming as a result of human interference. This declaration simply confirmed what environmental activists had been claiming for some time. But 


the declaration provided official approval for the demands for environmental policies by the countries of the UN.
During the 20th century, the atmosphere and the oceans have warmed; the sea levels have risen; and greenhouse gases increased.



Ocean warming is the most dominant process, accounting for more than 90% of the energy accumulated during the period 1971 – 2010. This warming has led to the Greenland, and Antarctic ice sheets losing mass; and the global sea levels rising more in the last 100 years.
In the atmosphere, the levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are greater than in the last 800,000 years. The absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans has led to increasing acidification.
The researchers of the IPCC acknowledge that some of these changes are due to natural causes such as volcanic activity, but there is overwhelming evidence of human influence on the climate system. Temperatures of the atmosphere and oceans are rising.


 Changes in the global water cycle have led to reductions in snow and ice: and increases in flooding, and drought. Large areas of the world have become uninhabitable.   Global sea levels are rising. 

Greenhouse gases continue to increase in response to the rising use of fossil fuels. Shifts in wind movements result in seasonal changes in temperature distribution and rain patterns. The IPCC reported that carbon pollution from automobiles had lowered significantly, but they asserted that it was still important to reduce the use of cars and lorries, and control oil pollution.
What is disturbing for politicians is that the Report made it clear that the current accumulation of heat in the oceans guarantees the climate changes for the rest of the century. Even if there were substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions now, the energy stored in the oceans will result in a 2C+ global temperature change beyond 2100.



 Heating of the global oceans will affect ocean circulation. Arctic sea ice cover will continue to shrink and thin. The evidence made it clear that human intervention in the past will have climatic consequences for the present and future. 
The climate changes that are in progress will lead to further changes in the future. The increasing temperatures of the upper levels of the oceans will result in the rising temperatures of the lower atmosphere, and alterations in the patterns of rainfall. It is essential for the United Nations to persuade all 196 member countries to take action to limit air and water pollution, and oil pollution.