by Nuzhat Nobia (Pakistan)
Climate change has been a serious issue for many decades now. Our ancestors have coped as well as adapted to climate change for thousands of years. However, the enormity and nature of present day climate change dangerously challenges both our resilience and our capacities to adapt. Our life style, deforestation, oil and gas extraction, pollution, environmental degradation, heavy machines or vehicles and industrializations have contributed to a large extent in climate change.
The term climate change needs to be understood by everyone. Whenever we use this term, the very first question that arises in mind is what exactly it is. To answer this question we firstly have to understand what climate itself actually is. Generally, climate is considered to be the average weather. This average weather is measured by determining the patterns in temperature i.e. sunlight, winds, day lengths, rain, snow and many other variables respectively. Actually, climate is the expression of a highly complex system consisting of the following components:
- The Atmosphere (which is air)
- The hydrosphere (which is water)
- Cry sphere (which is the frozen part of earth)
- Biosphere (which is the part where life exists)
The term climate change usually refers to any change in climate over the period of time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activities. Changes in the world’s climate is not new, but it would be more correct to say that this is the issue which has influenced the course of human history and even the human evolution. It is believed that it was primarily climate that has changed human beings, and now we are changing the climate very rapidly which is indeed alarming!
Causes of Climate Change
There are many factors that are contributing to causing climate change:
- The major and most important problem is humans’ massive dependence on fuels. These fuels include particularly carbon based fuels in which we have coal, oil and natural gases. They emit lots of harmful gases in which carbon dioxide is at the top of the list.
- Green house gases are also the major contributing elements in climate change. These are the chemical compounds which includes carbon dioxide, methane gas, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons.
- It is universally known that green house gases absorb infrared radiations, which reflects back heat this heat is trapped by green house gases inside our atmosphere in result of it the earth will become warm otherwise it will be too cold due to which the atmosphere starts acting like a glass wall of a green house and sun rays keeps on entering inside but keeps the heat inside which plays a major role in climate change.
- Global warming is another key aspect of climate change. Due to the continuous trapping of heat inside earth’s atmosphere obvious average increase of earth’s surface temperature is recorded as compared to that of pervious centuries and this temperature keeps on increasing day by day.
- Large scale industrialization is another big issue this is the reason due to which 25-30% green house gases have increased which is again contributing in global is global warming.
- The fossil fuel burning produces 25% carbon dioxide. Also the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from petroleum and natural gas are 82% and the result is climate change.
- Pollution, gases produced by burning of fossil fuels, fogs of the industries/ factories etc. are causing depletion in the ozone layer this is known as “ozone layer depletion”. Due to this depletion the harmful ultra violet rays are reaching straight to the earth which not only causes many skin diseases like cancer but also is a big source of increasing earth’s temperature, this increase in temperature at the end results in climate change.
Suggestions for reducing harmful gas emissions:
- Innovative mechanisms should be developed. Both developing and developed countries should have fruitful meetings regarding this serious issue.
- People should keep on checking the engines of their vehicles try to keep them well conditioned so that these will not emit environment unfriendly gases by doing so we can control pollution to very large extent.
- Every person should contribute in keeping the planet green by any means.
- Private sectors should involve their selves that assure the benefit for them well conditioned so that these will not emit environment unfriendly gases by doing so we can control pollution to very large extent. whether planting a tree or making large scale gardens having so many plants and trees and also by using bicycle to visit nearby places like markets, school colleges etc. instead of using cars. developing countries by ways of technology transfer which can be further transfer to other developing countries.
- Emission trading is another thing, which is like trading of commodities in a market this allows countries to exchange emission allowances in result less gas emission takes place.