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
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.
