GLOBAL WARMING

Global Warming

Global Warming

Global warming over recent decades is already affecting many physical and biological processes on a global scale. Ronald (2006) has pointed to changes in climate temperature, including increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level. Due to this changing climatic condition, much of the world's population is expected to face serious water shortages by the turn of the century, food production is expected to decline in low-altitude areas, and desertification will lead to food shortages. There are reported cases of increased intensity of tropical cyclones in the north Atlantic within the past 25-30 years, and storms with heavy precipitation have also increased. Mountain glaciers, snow cover, and Arctic sea ice have also fallen (Myhrel, 2003).

There is the likelihood of continuous enhanced coastal erosion, increased farming seasons, increased plant growth, and increased flooding as currently observed in different parts of Asia, Western Europe, and West Africa (Ronald, 2006).

There would also be more hot days and nights, and extreme variations in the amount of rainfall across the globe, where high altitude and generally wet places will tend to receive more rainfall, while tropical regions and generally dry places will probably receive less rain. This increase in rainfall will come in the form of more rainy days; in between these periods there will be longer periods of light or no rain, bringing about increasing frequency of drought. Hurricanes will also probably increase due to warmer ocean surface temperature (Masters, 1990: p91).

Global warming might spark the mass extinction of endangered species, eroding biodiversity. Several scientific reports have pointed to trends of animal populations moving northward as a result of alteration to their natural habitat; of species adapting slightly because of climate change; of plants blooming earlier; and of an increase in pests and parasites (Masters, 1990: p89).

Global warming will potentially stifle life-giving microscopic plants that live in the surface layer of the marine ecosystems, thereby cutting marine food production and accelerating climate change. Phytoplank-ton are not only the foundation of the marine food chain, but every day they take more than 100 million tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. As global warming raises the surface layer of the ocean, it becomes lighter and, therefore, separated from the cooler depths from which the phytoplanktons get many of their nutrients. This reduces their assemblage, not only reducing the food in the ...