The global warming is the long-term warming of the climate (temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, etc.) of planet Earth observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900). It is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels that increase the levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Warming is most commonly measured as the average increase in the Earth's surface temperature.
Since the pre-industrial period, it has been estimated that human activities have increased the average global temperature by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that human activity has increased heat in the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Is global warming the same as climate change? Climate change is the long-term change in the patterns that have defined the local, regional and global climates of planet Earth.
The changes observed in the Earth's climate since the beginning of the 20th century are largely driven by human activities, in particular the burning of fossil gases, which increase greenhouse gases.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Main effects of climate change:
- increase in land, air and ocean temperatures
- rising ocean levels
- ice loss at the poles and mountain glaciers
- changes in frequency and severity of extreme weather such as hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, droughts, floods and rainfall
- changes in cloud cover and vegetation.
The causes of climate change
Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human extension of the "greenhouse effect," the warming that occurs when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from the Earth into space.
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Main effects of climate change:
- increase in land, air and ocean temperatures
- rising ocean levels
- ice loss at the poles and mountain glaciers
- changes in frequency and severity of extreme weather such as hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, droughts, floods and rainfall
- changes in cloud cover and vegetation.
The causes of climate change
Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human extension of the "greenhouse effect," the warming that occurs when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from the Earth into space.
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
[/vc_column_text]
Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Main effects of climate change:
- increase in land, air and ocean temperatures
- rising ocean levels
- ice loss at the poles and mountain glaciers
- changes in frequency and severity of extreme weather such as hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, droughts, floods and rainfall
- changes in cloud cover and vegetation.
The causes of climate change
Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human extension of the "greenhouse effect," the warming that occurs when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from the Earth into space.
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
- Water vaporWater vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, and also increases the likelihood of clouds and precipitation.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions: Human activity has led to an increase in the concentration of CO2 of more than one third.
- MethaneA gas from activities such as waste decomposition in landfills, agriculture (especially rice cultivation), digestion of livestock animals and handling of livestock manure.
- Nitrous oxide: It is produced due to practices associated with soil cultivation, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel incineration, nitric acid production and biomass burning.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)They are compounds created for various applications, which contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and have a greenhouse effect.
The consequences of the change in the atmosphere's natural greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some likely effects may be:
- Increased evaporation and more precipitation in general. Some regions will become wetter and others drier.
- It will warm the oceans and partially melt ice and glaciers, which will raise sea levels.
- Elevated temperatures and changing weather patterns could change the areas where crops grow best and affect the composition of natural plant communities.
The effects of climate change
Global climate change is already having effects that can be seen in the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice in rivers and lakes is melting prematurely, plant and animal habitats have changed, and trees are flowering earlier.
The effects that scientists predicted in the past would arise from global climate change are happening now: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and more intense heat waves.
Future effects
Some of the long-term effects of global climate change in the United States are as follows, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:
- Change will continue to occur during this century and beyond.
- Temperatures will continue to rise
- Frost-free season (and growing season) will be extended
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes will be stronger and more intense
- Sea level to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100
- Arctic likely to run out of ice
References:
Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change." 2. NASA, NASA, 24 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/.
2. "The Causes of Climate Change." NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/causas/.
3. "The Effects of Climate Change - Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". NASA, NASA, 26 Aug. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/efectos/.
4. PCC 2007, Summary for Policymakers, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p. 17.
5. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.). Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618
7.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply". 08. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment. 09. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment
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Author: Francheska Ruiz Canino
Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a concentration in Wildlife from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
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