We are all witnessing climate change around us. The most surprising change was the snow in Texas this winter. There are a lot of effects of climate change. Today we have reason to believe that human activities have triggered a chain of reactions that have led to changes in the atmosphere, water, earth, and life on the planet, primarily due to intensive greenhouse gas emissions. There will be more and more cases like this.

Thermal power plants that use fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas are the largest source of greenhouse gases on earth, especially carbon dioxide. The amount of energy used in the industrial sector in the world has increased over the last 20 years by more than 50%. This data is worrying.
In the mixture of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide occupies more than 70% and is, therefore, the largest culprit for global warming.

Burning wood mass and fossil fuels, chemical industry, cement production, and lime, as well as the iron and steel industry to a significant extent, participate in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Traffic is the second-largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, with a trend of constant growth. Ozone in the lower atmosphere also acts as a greenhouse gas, as it traps infrared sunlight reflected from the surface countries.

Crops are the largest source of nitrogen in the atmosphere (but also in water), especially due to the excessive use of artificial fertilizers. The largest amount of methane on the planet is generated by gas fields, during the exploitation of natural gas.

Transparency and accountability are essential to the fight against climate change.

Effects of climate change on nature

A few decades ago, the climate in different parts of the world began to change and become atypical, that is, began is to show signs unusual for a particular annual age. Hurricanes, floods, snowstorms, and droughts started to occur in areas where they were not common, and no one expected them.
Average yearly temperatures, especially in the polar regions, began to show signs of gradual but constant increase. This is the first of many effects of climate change.

Glaciers in the high mountains chains such as the Alps in Europe or the Cordilleras in America started to melt much faster during the warm seasons.
Faster than before, and to create their ice during the winter mass much slower than before. Amounts of ice and snow in Greenland, northern Europe, Canada, and Siberia already show signs of disappearance.
Migratory birds are beginning to change the directions of their migratory paths, gradually shifting the beginnings of the migratory, mating, and nesting seasons.

Others the animals also show temporal shifts in their activities, and the plants bloom earlier than before. None of these events need to be alarming by themselves but viewed together give a clear picture of climate change and the consequences of these changes. We have every reason to believe that the climate on our planet is changing. On a global scale, it is very likely that oceanic currents, at least slightly, change their directions.

The temperature of these currents will change due to the large inflow of fresh cold water created by the dissolution of ice and snow. The sea level will likely rise in the future decades of significant growth. All these events will impact the living world in the seas and oceans, and coastal ecosystems.

Destruction of forests

Never before has deforestation been as intense as it is today, with rainforests covering the tropics disappearing the fastest areas of our planet. The destruction of forests significantly affects, and there are effects of climate change.

Where forests are cut down, frequent rains wash away land, thus creating the danger of creating a desert. Since plants use carbon in their physiological processes, reducing the number of trees means that there will be less and less carbon to be able to remove from the air. Excessive deforestation prevents trees as one of the greatest natural purifiers air contributes to slowing climate change.
So, although carbon dioxide is not emitted through the cutting process itself forest, this human activity has a huge impact on growth concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere.

Effects of climate change on nature

Although the inhabitants of some parts of our planet still have enough water at their disposal, generally speaking, the world is already facing a crisis due to a lack of water. Approximately 25% of the world’s population does not have enough water, while 40% do not even have basic sanitary conditions.

Because of impossibility access to clean water is the most endangered areas Central Africa and the Middle East, while in most countries Africa, Indochina, the Malay region, and the western part of South America’s alarmingly high percentage of diseases caused using poor quality water.

A global rise in temperature can lead to a shift in climatic zones due to the spread of warmer areas towards the north, which can have several consequences. In areas that abound in fertile soil and a mild climate can frequent droughts and floods will occur, which will endanger agriculture production. A favorable climate zone with a temperature regime suitable for food production will move to more northern regions where the land is unsuitable for most crops. Moving climate zones creates very favorable conditions for the spread of many parasitic species to which their crops and other plants are not adapted.

Changes in global climate patterns are leading to a decline in food production. Temperature regimes, droughts, and floods have a strong influence on the size of the yield, and with a decrease in the price, yield food will begin to grow rapidly.

Diseases and migrations

Two other effects of climate change are disease and human migration. With a lack of water and food, human beings become more susceptible to diseases. As the temperature rises, tropical diseases occur through insects. They can spread to areas where they did not exist before.
Other vectors of disease, such as mice, also increase in numbers in areas where the temperature becomes more suitable for rodents.

In this way, bacteria and viruses arrive in new areas, where people are not accustomed to these diseases. Malaria, cholera, and Lyme disease so reach higher altitudes and higher latitudes. It is expected that the scope of such human displacements in escaping floods, droughts, and famines, in the future increase.

Rising sea level

In the period from 3000 years ago to the end of the nineteenth century, the sea level was more or less constant. Throughout the whole twentieth-century average annual rate of rising the sea was 1-2mm, while from the nineties of the twentieth century to date has reached a value of over 3mm.

Sea level rise is linked to global warming and is most likely due to melting snow and ice in the northern areas and high mountain ranges. Increase sea levels pose a huge threat to coastal areas continents.

Top 3 solutions

One of perhaps the most attractive solutions is green infrastructure in urban areas. Green walls and roof gardens, as well as, tree lines and drainage plantations, are the most attractive solution.
They can provide better air quality, water purification, reduce runoff and water pollution. Also, they can improve the health and quality of life of citizens, biodiversity and create employment opportunities.

The second example is the use of natural coastal structures to protect communities living along the coast from floods. Also to reduce the effects of rising sea levels. Thus, mangrove forests, woody plants that grow on muddy terrains of bays, lagoons, and estuaries in tropical areas, protect from floods and soil erosion.

Other examples of the application of solutions based on nature are the preservation of forests, afforestation, which achieves adaptation to climate change and their mitigation, ensures food and energy security, and the preservation of biodiversity.

The direction for the world today is toward renewable energy sources and green technology. Read more here.