For the longest time, there have been talks regarding Climate Change. We’ve been told and we’ve heard from various sources that the earth is getting hotter by the day and the fact that if something is not done now (urgently) then the worst may be around the corner. Climate Change is no longer a fancy term that environmentalists and experts merely raise concerns about in classrooms filled with tense faces and inquisitive minds.
Climate Change is affecting our planet and in ways that we may not have imagined. The bushfires in Australia and California, the melting polar caps, the shrinking size of the Himalayas and instances such as the Greenland Ice sheet that was growing in the 70s but isn’t as much as it should for the ecological balance- are all ominous signs of the times we are in.
But the United Nations has pointed at a situation that perhaps pronounces the climate crisis in a new light; with a brand new threat. According to the United Nations, the years in the period 2010-19, are going to make it the hottest decade in history.
And the fact that the period between 2010-2019 is the hottest decade in history also tells us about the sheer enormity of the challenge that we are currently facing. In addition to the drastic ecological imbalances, shared earlier- what’s worthwhile to know that the United Nations’ recent report suggests several reasons that are making the need for dialogue at this time, urgent and critical.
The World’s seas are now a quarter more acidic than they were 150 years ago. This threatening situation in itself is posing damage to the vital marine ecosystems upon which billions of people rely for food and jobs.
So a combination of all of these, together, poses a threat to the very survival of not only human life but the other life forms, as well. But that said, let’s delve a little deep into understanding why the period comprising 2010-19 has been considered the hottest decade in history.
NDTV, one of the respected media platforms, highlighted the concern raised by the United Nations’ report. It was of the view:
The World Meteorological Organization has shared the global temperatures so far this year were 1.1 degrees Celsius (two degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average between 1850-1900.
That puts 2019 on course to be in the top three warmest years ever recorded, and possibly the hottest non-El Nino year yet.
Man-made emissions from burning fossil fuels, building infrastructure, growing crops and transporting goods mean 2019 is set to break the record for atmospheric carbon concentrations, locking in further warming, the WMO said.
But all of that told, the worries regarding climate change take real shape when we dive into some other concerns that are staring at us.
Major water bodies covering the earth’s surface are in for a challenging time as well. It’s believed that the oceans, which absorb no fewer than around 90 percent of the heat produced by greenhouse gases are currently at their highest recorded temperatures.
In fact, during the period of October, the global mean sea level reached its highest on record as on date. This alarming development has risen out of a whopping 329 billion tonnes of ice lost from the Greenland ice sheet where the past 12 months are concerned.
Therefore, as a result, the past four decades have actually been the hottest in mankind’s history.