What are the consequences of global warming?
1. Sea level rise
The occurrence of high temperature weather on the earth does not mean that Miami’s lifestyle will be similar to Africa, but it does lead to the rise of sea levels. How can hot weather cause sea levels to rise? It turns out that too high temperatures will cause icebergs to melt. Sea ice and polar ice caps continue to melt, increasing the amount of water in the ocean, causing sea levels to rise.
If the beach is flooded by sea water, people will lose a lot of fun. Many cities around the world, like Miami, are currently facing threats from rising sea levels.
Scientists were able to measure the impact of the melting Greenland ice sheet: the flow of the Colorado River increased sixfold. Scientists predict that if ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica continue to melt, sea levels will be 6 meters higher than today by 2100. This would inundate many of Indonesia's tropical islands and low-lying areas, as well as Miami, New York City's Manhattan, and Bangladesh.
2. Melting glaciers
Observing whether glaciers are melting does not require the use of special equipment. After the permafrost that originally covered the surface of the tundra melted due to rising surface temperatures, vegetation now grows on it.
Montana’s Glacier National Park has lost much of its stunning beauty due to rising surface temperatures.
Glaciers in Montana’s national parks have been severely reduced during this century. In addition, Himalayan glaciers are the main source of Ganges water. The Ganges, which provides drinking and irrigation water to 500 million people, is said to be reducing at a rate of 37 meters per year.
3. Heat wave attack
In 2003, a deadly heat wave swept across Europe, killing about 35,000 people. This may be a harbinger of the heat wave trend that scientists began tracking in the early 20th century.
Heat waves not only inhibit some functions of the human body, but can also kill people. The picture shows a man trying to cool down by pouring water from a bottle on the streets of New York during a heat wave in 2008.
In the last 50 to 100 years, extreme heat waves have occurred two to four times more frequently than usual. It is predicted that in the next 40 years, there will be a situation higher than 100 times. Experts predict that continued heat waves will lead to an increase in the frequency of fires, related diseases, and an increase in the average temperature of the earth.
4. Storms and floods
Experts use climate models to predict that rising global temperatures will have an impact on precipitation. But the increasingly frequent superstorms are something no one wants to see: in just 30 years, the frequency of severe hurricanes from Category 4 to Category 5 has almost doubled.
Warmer waters increase the likelihood of severe storms. In July 2008, Hurricane Dolly struck the Texas-Mexico border.
Warm ocean waters give hurricanes their strength. Scientists have linked ocean and atmospheric temperatures to the likelihood of severe storms. Over the past few years, both the United States and the United Kingdom have been hit by superstorms and floods that have killed many people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. From 1905 to 2005, the frequency of hurricanes increased steadily. Between 1905 and 1930, there were an average of 3.5 hurricanes per year; between 1931 and 1994, there were an average of 5.1 hurricanes per year; and between 1995 and 2005, there were an average of 8.4 hurricanes per year.
5. Drought
While some parts of the world are struck by storms and flash floods, others are threatened by drought. As the climate warms, experts estimate that droughts may increase by at least 66%. Increased droughts shrink water supplies and lead to a decline in the quality of crop production. This puts global food production and supply at risk, putting people at increasing risk of starvation.