Scientists always thought that climate change and global warming were a distant problem. However, current changes in the world are showing that it may be an issue sooner than what they had hoped. This year, Europe was hit with such a catastrophic heatwave that it killed more than 30,000 people.
The weather set records that were unprecedented in this part of the world. Unfortunately, Europe was not the only area whose weather is outside the norm. Greenland’s ice sheets were affected by this heatwave. In fact, more than 40 billion tons of ice melted here. Experts were warning clear back in the 1990s that the Antarctic ice sheets were in danger, but it seems the problem is at hand.
Look at the massive number of hurricanes that are hitting the southern part of America. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused such catastrophic damage that many of these areas have never had the money to be repaired. It was estimated to cost around $5 billion in water damage alone. Then, let’s not forget about Hurricane Harvey that slammed into Texas in 2017. The city of Houston has grossly underestimated the cost of flooding from such an event, and it cost $125 billion to repair. Has the climate change turned into a crisis?
A report released by the United Nations forewarned of such events. The report, which was released five decades ago, warned that if the average temperature went just five degrees above the norm, it would cause unimaginable damage. Things that were once thought of as uncommon and unpredictable are now at hand.
Some scientists believe that the emissions of carbon dioxide have caused the temperature to increase. There are 263 million vehicles registered on the roads in America, and 1.2 billion cars being driven around the world. All those cars are putting dust and dangerous chemicals into the air that are ruining our environment.
It’s hard to refute that abrupt climate changes have affected us. As the ice shelves begin to melt, the seas rise. The warmer the water gets, the more influential the storms it churns. These storms are killing off marine life, which is vital to our world. Global warming isn’t coming; it’s here. We must find a way to reduce emissions and do something before more people suffer and die at something that can be controlled. Perhaps, the damage done is already too great.
