Heat waves, droughts, forest fires, sea level rise due to global temperature increase, and human health damages caused by infrared radiation, are just some of the consequences of climate change that the planet is experiencing as a result of global warming. Natural phenomena such as El Niño, which modifies the weather pattern leading to climate changes such as tornadoes, hurricanes and floods, or the rising ocean acidification detected by NOAA, are some of these new phenomena.
Entities such as the Mauna Loa Observatory measure greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and study the extreme weather events that will occur as a result. The data collected show a constant increase of CO2 concentration levels, which affects not only the terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, but also affects the food security of our food.
Following the Paris agreement in 2015, a series of climate policy measures were agreed through which all countries committed to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, with the objective of reducing the global temperature by 1.5ºC or 2ºC. The use of carbon sinks was also proposed, through which to evacuate river or waste water, preventing it from affecting the fields and their crops.
The climate crisis facing absolutely all countries of the world requires an adaptation to climate change by the authorities. It is vital to implement an energy transition that relies on the use of renewable energies to achieve this reduction in greenhouse effect. It is the only way to achieve in the short or medium term a stabilization of the fragile global economy, placing all countries at a starting point that traces a course with the same objective for all.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
This is the scientific agency responsible for monitoring ocean and atmospheric conditions, with the aim of understanding and predicting changes in climate, oceans and coasts. Thanks to this entity belonging to the US Department of Commerce, we can have access to relevant data such as those published in their latest environmental study.
Atmosphere´s worrying data
The data obtained in the latest study carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in collaboration with scientists at the University of California San Diego is quite disturbing. It is the first time that a total of 430 parts per million (ppm) has been recorded, representing more than 3 ppm than last year. What do these data imply? It is clear that countries that have committed to reducing their emissions are doing a lousy job. It is heartbreaking to read how the professor of climate sciences, marine chemistry and geochemistry at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Ralph Keeling, stated “Another year, another record, it’s sad.”
Uncontrolled increase in CO2
The worrying situation is not only the increase in emissions, but also the speed at which this increase has occurred and continues to occur. Exceeding the limit of 400ppm was completely unthinkable, but forecasts warn that we will reach 500ppm in 30 years. It is incredibly disturbing. Keeling even explained that these levels existed before the presence of humans on Earth, “[…] we probably could have adapted to such a world, but we built our society and a civilization around yesterday’s climate.”
Keeling Curve
These exorbitant levels are measured by the Keeling Curve, which began measuring CO2 in 1958 with instruments from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. It is through this that we have been able to see the curves belonging to the time of the Industrial Revolution (due to the increase in emissions from the use of fossil fuels), and the curve representing the current society of consumption and pollution. It is undeniable that the current climatic situation is a real disaster, and although the last thing lost is hope, I feel that it will be increasingly difficult to reverse the climate situation, and that the terrible consequences in the form of natural disasters will become increasingly common.
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