The Problem of Global Warming

Since standardized global weather data began to be collected in the 1880s, the planet has been getting hotter. This warming trend is unequivocally human-caused.

Burning fossil fuels releases water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane, which are greenhouse gases. They also produce particulate pollution that reflects sunlight and cools the Earth.

Climate Change

A: Global warming is the long-term rise in Earth’s average temperature. It’s caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere. These gases act like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping heat and keeping it from escaping back into space. They’re released into the air by burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, and through other activities such as clearing forests and raising livestock.

Almost all scientists agree that climate change is real and that humans are the cause. Warmer temperatures are already changing the way our planet works, leading to things like droughts, extreme weather events and disappearing polar ice. They’re also making food supplies harder to grow, driving species to extinction and raising sea levels. Global warming affects everyone, but marginalized and disadvantaged communities are more likely to experience its worst effects. This is because those communities contribute the least to climate change but are most vulnerable to its negative impacts.

Air Quality

Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide (CO2), which warms the climate. It also produces aerosols, such as soot and sulfuric acid that temporarily cool the planet by reflecting sunlight and increasing cloud cover. The air pollutants methane and black carbon increase ozone, which warms the climate, reduces agricultural productivity and increases the risk of extreme heat events and natural disasters.

Human activity is causing many health problems associated with climate change, and those effects are amplified by the air pollution produced by burning fossil fuels. Heat waves and poor air quality worsen existing diseases, such as heart and respiratory conditions and asthma. Climate change may also help disease-carrying mosquitoes, ticks and fleas spread across new geographic areas. The chemical species that cause air quality degradation are often co-emitted with greenhouse gases, such as CO2. In addition, the climate-forcing chemicals that settle in the atmosphere can negatively impact ecosystems by increasing soil erosion and decreasing nutrient availability.

Water Resources

Millions of people lack access to clean drinking water, a situation that is only expected to worsen as global warming continues. Climate change impacts water resources through extreme weather, including heat waves, droughts, flooding, mudslides and wildfires, which increase the demand for water and reduce its availability while also polluting it with carbon dioxide emissions.

Warmer temperatures also affect ocean ecosystems by increasing the acidity of seawater, which wears away at the calcium carbonate skeletons that many marine organisms use to build their homes. This process is known as ocean acidification and has already begun to cause serious harm to some marine species.

Because many of the world’s freshwater sources transcend national borders, international cooperation on water management is critical. Fortunately, individuals can help to lessen the impact of water scarcity on their communities by fixing leaky plumbing, using energy sources that consume less water, and avoiding foods that require more water to grow or transport.

Human Health

The most important problem caused by global warming is the direct harm to human health from rising temperatures, more frequent and severe extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. These impacts are exacerbated for some groups of people, including children, older adults, those with preexisting medical conditions, and those living in lower-income countries that have contributed least to climate change.

The carbon dioxide and other air pollutants released when burning fossil fuels cause the planet to warm by trapping the sun’s radiation that would otherwise escape into space. This process is called the greenhouse effect.

Indirect impacts include decreased food security and access to water and sanitation, increased vector-borne diseases (mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, etc.), and mental health problems from damage to property, loss of loved ones, displacement, and chronic stress. These effects are disproportionately felt by women, minorities, poor communities, and migrants or displaced populations. Increasing temperatures also worsen some existing medical conditions, such as heart and respiratory diseases.