Climate change Challenges and solutions

The National Weekender
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental Toktok

By GODFRIED ANGI
IN a previous article I discussed what climate change is, what causes it and its impacts.
To recap from that article, climate change is a shift in temperatures and weather patterns. The shift refers to the long-term increases in temperatures and weather patterns that begin in the 1800s due to human interferences with nature.
When God created this world, everything was at an equilibrium cancelling out each other and maintaining the balance system.
Nature has its own way of repairing and maintaining itself to its original state. That was the state of the environment/nature until the 1800s when humans began interfering with the environment for industrial development. The development of industries during the industrial revolution brought about environmental pollution and environmental degradation.
Climate Change is one of the environmental issues that has its origins from this era of industrial development.
Generally, we understand what climate change is, it impacts on humans, animals and its level of disasters such as cyclones and storms. Let us discuss some elements of interest that contribute to this issue. The long term shift or increase in temperature and weather patterns is a result of the release or emissions of what is referred to as greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane.
Climate change is a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Often climate change refers specifically to the rise in global temperatures from the mid-20th century to present.

Difference between climate and weather
Climate is sometimes mistaken for weather. But climate is different from weather because it is measured over a long period of time, whereas weather can change from day to day, or from year to year.
The climate of an area includes seasonal temperature and rainfall averages, and wind patterns. Different places have different climates. A desert, for example, is referred to as an arid climate because little water falls, as rain or snow, during the year. Other types of climates include tropical climates, which are hot and humid, and temperate climates, which have warm summers and cooler winters.
Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. Climate change could refer to a particular location or the planet as a whole.
Climate change may cause weather patterns to be less predictable. These unexpected weather patterns can make it difficult to maintain and grow crops in regions that rely on farming because expected temperature and rainfall levels can no longer be relied on. Climate change has also been connected with other damaging weather events such as more frequent and more intense hurricanes, floods, downpours, and winter storms.
In polar regions, the warming global temperatures associated with climate change have meant ice sheets and glaciers are melting at an accelerated rate from season to season. This contributes to sea levels rising in different regions of the planet. Together with expanding ocean waters due to rising temperatures, the resulting rise in sea level has begun to damage coastlines as a result of increased flooding and erosion.
The cause of current climate change is largely human activity, like burning fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere. There, these gases trap heat from the sun’s rays inside the atmosphere causing Earth’s average temperature to rise.
This rise in the planet’s temperature is called global warming. The warming of the planet impacts local and regional climates. Throughout earth’s history, climate has continually changed. When occurring naturally, this is a slow process that has taken place over hundreds and thousands of years. The human influenced climate change that is happening now is occurring at a much faster rate.
Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year. A region’s weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate.

Climate features
The most familiar features of a region’s climate are probably average temperature and precipitation. Changes in day-to-day, day-to-night, and seasonal variations also help determine specific climates.
Climate features also include windiness, humidity, cloud cover, atmospheric pressure, and fogginess. Latitude plays a huge factor in determining climate. Landscape can also help define regional climate. A region’s elevation, proximity to the ocean or freshwater, and land-use patterns can all impact climate.
All climates are the product of many factors, including latitude, elevation, topography, distance from the ocean, and location on a continent. The rainy, tropical climate of West Africa, for example, is influenced by the region’s location near the equator (latitude) and its position on the western side of the continent.
The area receives direct sunlight year-round, and sits at an area called the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ, pronounced “itch”), where moist trade winds meet. As a result, the region’s climate is warm and rainy.
– Discussions on the topic to continue in the next article.

  • Godfried Angi is the principal scientist at Yeyue Environmental Services