Scientists say climate change will cause ocean levels to rise and increase the likelihood of extreme weather.
At
its highest point, the Maldives is only about three metres above sea
level. Rising sea levels, blamed on global warming, jeopardise the
country(***)s existence. Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives(***) former
president, was a vocal proponent of global action to fight climate
change.
Black carbon, a fine soot released into the atmosphere by forest fires, is a major contributor to global warming.
In
nature, trees act like carbon dioxide filters, inhaling carbon
dioxide and exhaling oxygen. When deforestation occurs, these natural
filters disappear, leading to a rise in carbon dioxide levels in the
atmosphere.
Researchers
from The Nature Conservancy, an environmental group, estimate that a
one-degree Celsius rise in ocean temperature leads to a 31 per cent
increase in Category 4 and 5 tropical storms. Today, the average ocean
temperature is 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than in 1970.
Power
plants and other forms of energy supply are responsible for 26 per cent
of the world\(***)s carbon dioxide emissions. At the moment, just 16
per cent of the world\(***)s energy comes from renewable sources, such
as hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power, geothermal, or biomass.
Scientists believe that climate change will increase the likelihood of extreme droughts over the course of the next century.
Studies
suggest that the increase in greenhouse emissions in the 20th century
has doubled the probability of flash floods around the world.
Transportation accounts
for about 13 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to
estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.
Increasing
levels of carbon dioxide in sea water and rising water temperatures are
causing bleaching and damage to coral. This eventually kills the coral,
disturbing a delicate underwater ecosystem.
Livestock,
especially animals such as cows and sheep, are a major source of
methane emissions. After carbon dioxide, methane is the second-biggest
contributor to climate change.
Scientists
stress that climate change will not cause uniform warming throughout
the world. While average temperatures will rise, weather patterns will
be disrupted, causing unusually cold, wet, or dry weather in some
regions. Above, a March 2012 snowstorm in Saudi Arabia.
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