Is Climate Change Real?

Climate change is a very popular topic nowadays. Significant natural and climatic events are being linked to it.

For example, Australia’s intense and widespread bushfires started in September 2019. The typhoon Hagibis that hit Japan in October 2019 killing at least 86 people, the heatwave in India when the temperature reached 49 C (120°F) in June 2019 killing 90 people (Radu, 2019), and other extreme natural disasters that happened in the last decade (Grossman, S.R. & O’Connor, L., 2019).

Despite all the catastrophic events mentioned above and scientific studies done, many still wonder if climate change is real and happening.

Scientists call for action

Scientists are urging governments and decision-makers to act urgently. Thankfully, we have all the solutions and technology to tackle the problem. However, the window of opportunity to take action is limited.

Scientists and researchers estimated that within about 10 years, the wheels of climate change will have already begun, and there is no way of stopping or escaping the consequences of climate change.

Environmental activists picture these consequences as apocalyptic. We hear these claims like “Billions will die”, “Life on Earth is dying”, “The world is going to end in 12 years if don’t address climate change”, and “Irreversible chain reaction to end our civilization” will happen (Shellenberger, 2019).

While these claims have some truth, they are causing a lot of fear and anxiety, especially in younger generations (Ward, 2019). Before responding and taking action, we need to know the basics.

Is there truth about climate change, and is there evidence to prove that this is happening?

Before tackling the answer, let us define what the phrase means.

According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), “climate change” is human-induced global warming of the Earth caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The biggest contributor to GHG is carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels used daily for energy. In New Zealand, methane from the agriculture industry is also a significant emissions contributor. (What is climate, 2016).

Since the Industrial Revolution, which began in the latter half of the 18th century when the United States and the UK transitioned from making things painstakingly by hand to mass production using machines and factories, human activities have caused the Earth to warm by 1°C (Industrial Revolution, 2019).

These tiny increases in temperature have serious consequences. They will also create more frequent heavy rainfall, hot days, and droughts. As the temperature continues to rise, so will the number of extreme weather events and natural disasters (What is climate, n.d.).

NASA starts by differentiating weather from climate to explain climate change as such: weather refers to the changes we see every day, like rainy, sunny, cold or hot. On the other hand, climate is the usual weather of a place and varies depending on the season (What is Climate, 2014).

For example, during summer, a place will be mostly warm and dry, while winter in the same place will be cool and wet. Different places also have different climates.

For instance, you may be living in the interior of Greenland, which has a polar chill climate that is very cold and dry throughout the year. Or perhaps in inland Australia, which has an arid environment, where the opposite is true—very hot and dry all year long. Or in the damp tropical regions in Southeast Asia, where you only have two seasons, either rainy or dry, every year (Locsin, 2019).

Climate change, however, is a change in a place’s usual weather. For example, a change occurs in the usual amounts of rain or temperature of a given area for a month or a season. Climate change also refers to the changing temperature of the Earth and where rain or snow usually falls (What is climate, 2014).

NASA explains that the Earth’s climate has changed many times over thousands of years. There have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, and the end of the last ice age, about 11,700 years ago, marked the beginning of human civilisation. These past climate changes are the result of very small variations in Earth’s orbit that changed the amount of solar energy it receives from the sun, making the Earth cooler and warmer in the past than it is today (Climate change: how, 2020).

Other factors can also change the Earth’s climate, such as changes in the ocean or a volcano’s eruption.

How about climate change today? What is causing it?

Scientists have found that the Earth’s warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution is attributed to human activities or anthropogenic factors. Humans have dumped and continue to dump enormous amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from activities like driving cars and burning coal, oil, and gas for energy, thereby increasing the “greenhouse effect” (What is climate, 2018).

The greenhouse effect is how the Earth absorbs some heat or energy from the sun. The solar energy radiating back to space from the Earth’s surface is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and emitted back in all directions.  Without this natural greenhouse gas effect, the Earth would be 30°C colder, making life on Earth hostile (What is climate, 2018).

Scientists believe that we are increasing the greenhouse gas effect through enormous carbon emissions released from the industrial and agricultural sectors. These emissions trap more energy in the atmosphere and thus increase the Earth’s temperature, known as global warming or climate change (What is climate, 2018).

The Earth’s temperature will continue to rise.

Scientists think the Earth’s temperature will keep rising in the next 100 years, causing more snow and ice to melt and ocean waters to rise. Even a small increase in the Earth’s temperature can have big effects (What is Climate, 2014), a fact that most people probably find hard to believe.

Are there pieces of evidence for climate change?

Earth-orbiting satellites and technological advances have allowed scientists to see the big picture and collect data. These data reveal that the climate is changing. According to NASA, not only is there evidence for climate change, but it also shows how rapid the change is. Below are events that show global warming is happening (Climate Change: How, 2020).

Global temperature rise. Since the late 19th century, surface temperature has risen about 0.9 degrees Celsius. Warming has occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record happening since 2010.

Warming oceans. The oceans have absorbed much of the increased heat, and NASA recorded more than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit heat increase in the top 700 meters of the ocean since 1969.

Shrinking Ice Sheets. Greenland’s and Antarctica’s ice sheets have shrunk. Between 1993 and 2016, Greenland lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice per year, while Antarctica lost about 127 billion tons in the same period.

Glacial retreat occurs in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa. The most remarkable example is Mt. Kilimanjaro in Iceland.

Decreased snow cover. Satellites show that spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere has decreased in the last five decades, and the snow is melting earlier.

Sea-level rise. The global sea level rose by around 8 inches in the last century, accelerating slightly each year.

Declining Arctic Sea Ice. The Arctic ice has declined rapidly in terms of extent and thickness over the last decades.

Extreme events. The United States has experienced an increasing number of record-high temperatures, while record-low temperatures have decreased since 1950. The country has also experienced a growing frequency of heavy rainfall.

Ocean acidification. Increased by 30 per cent due to increased CO2 emissions. The oceans absorb 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Who believes that climate change is happening?

In the United States, 18 scientific associations have declared in a statement that “climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver” (Scientific Consensus, 2020).

Among these scientific organisations are the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Medical Association, American Meteorological Society, American Physical Society, and the Geological Society of America. Also, science academies like the US National Academy of Sciences issued a joint statement accepting that “global warming is occurring…and can be attributed to human activities”.  The US government agencies, such as the U.S Global Change Research Program, also stated in 2018 that they accept the reality of climate change. And last but not least, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Scientific Consensus, 2020).

What can we do to help?

As citizens of this planet, we can do something to help prevent climate change, and it’s very simple; it will surprise you. NASA suggests that we can help by using less energy and water. For example, turn off lights, electric equipment, and appliances when leaving the room, conserve water as much as possible, and plant trees (What is Climate, 2014). Aside from these, we can also switch to energy-saving lightbulbs, walk instead of driving, recycle and reduce food waste. Another thing that we can do is to check out eco-friendly ideas and conservation tips start doing it (What is climate change, n.d.).

We can do a lot more than the suggestions above. There are many actions that we can take to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Common sense tells us that when we take our environment for granted, dump our waste into it, and abuse its resources, bad things happen. However, if we care for it, it will also care for us for many years and generations to come.