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Effects of
The effects of rising temperatures can vary. The increase in temperature will affect not only the ecological activities of the natural world on the surface but also human activities. It is evident that the area of ice sheets, mountain glaciers, and ice caps distributed in Antarctica and the Arctic will be rapidly reduced due to rising temperatures, resulting in ocean fluctuations.
Reduction of Sea Ice in The Arctic Ocean
The decrease in sea ice area in the Arctic Ocean shows the most visible effects of global warming. Temperatures in the Arctic have more than doubled in the last two decades. As a result, sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has decreased rapidly since the 1970s. In the Arctic Ocean, the sea ice area in September was the lowest in 2012, and the sea ice area in 2020 was also lower than that of 2012 over almost the previous month except for June. According to NASA data, sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has been decreasing at an annual rate of 12.85% compared to the average between 1981 and 2010 since satellite observation began in 1979.
image from: National Snow and Ice Data Center. NSIDC Arctic News and Analysis RSS. (2022, September 22). Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2022/09/arctic-sea-ice-minimum-ties-tenth-lowest/
Moreover, the area of ‘multi year ice’ that is more than two years old sea ice of the Arctic Sea is continuously decreasing, indicating that the size of sea ice is expected to continue to decrease. Considering the scenario of greenhouse gas emissions in the IPCC Sixth Report, it is predicted that ice sheets will disappear completely in some areas of the Arctic Sea after the middle of this century.
image from:
Wang , F. (2018, October 18). How we solved an Arctic Mercury mystery. The Conversation. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/how-we-solved-an-arctic-mercury-mystery-103963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNO0kxTClYo&feature=youtu.be
A decrease in the area of multi-year ice can pose a severe threat to the Arctic Ocean ecosystem. The surface of multi-year ice is an essential place for seal hunting as an important living stage for native Arctic or polar bears. In this regard, seasonal ice, which repeats the process of freezing and melting every year, cannot replace the function of multi-year ice.
Reduction of Continental Glaciers
In recent decades, mountain glaciers and permafrost have also decreased. The snowfall period is generally reduced, especially in the lowlands, by 0-10 days every 10 years.
This graph shows changes in continental glaciers observed for more than 30 years compared to the amount of glaciers in 1976. Glacier volume decline is evident worldwide.
image from: https://wgms.ch/global-glacier-state/
Extreme glacier is melting in the European Alps
The Melting Glacier
In The Alps
It has long been reported that mountain glaciers, such as the European Alps, are melting. When strong heat waves appeared in Europe in 2003, the Pasteraze glacier of Austria was reduced by 30 meters in length and 6.3 meters in thickness. After that, ice thicknesses decreased by 70cm and 60cm in 2004 and 2005, respectively, in the Alps.
image from: https://climate.copernicus.eu/alpine-glaciers
Water Conflict in Kenya
Eighty percent of the glaciers covering Mount Kenya in Africa have already disappeared, causing water disputes among residents as the surrounding rivers dried up.
Rising Sea Levels
The mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Ice Sheet is also continuously decreasing. About 267 billion tons of Greenland ice sheets melt and disappear every year, and it leads to a 0.7mm annual rise in the world's average sea level. According to data from IPCC (2019), the Greenland ice sheet melts 205 times faster than before industrialization. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is also melting rapidly, and the effect of the melting of the two ice sheets on sea level rise reaches 1.2±0.1mm per year.
image from: Letterly, A. (2020, May 12). Changes in the cryosphere over time. Global Cryosphere Watch - Cryosphere Trends. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://globalcryospherewatch.org/assessments/trends/
The global average sea level has risen by 21 to 24 cm compared to 1880, and more than a third of that figure has recently been reported due to accelerated sea level rise in the last 25 years. According to IPCC (2019), the global average sea level increased by an average of 1.4mm per year from 1901 to 1990 and an average of 3.6mm per year from 2006 to 2015.
image from: Lindsey, R. (2022, April 19). Climate change: Global sea level. NOAA Climate.gov. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level#:~:text=Global%20mean%20sea%20level%20has,of%20seawater%20as%20it%20warms
According to the analysis of climatic data, if the average temperature of the Earth rises more than 2°C than now, the Greenland Ice Sheet and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may collapse, which may raise the sea level by 5 to 6m.
If the sea level rises, coastal cities, wetlands, and low islands such as coral islands will face frequent flooding, and coastal erosion may occur. And salt may flow into rivers or aquifers of the areas. A third of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast, and the world's most populous metropolitan cities are located on the coast. And it raises many concerns. In particular, the Netherlands, Italy's Venice, Bangladesh, and small island countries are quite dangerous from rising sea levels. If sea levels continue to rise due to rising temperatures, billions of people could have to migrate.
The IPCC 6th report predicted that the effect of mountain glacier melting would add to the effect of thermal expansion of seawater, raising the global average sea level by 1m compared to 1900 in 2100 and up to 7m in the 2300s (IPCC, 2021). Even if a nature-friendly policy is taken, the sea level is expected to rise nearly 60cm compared to the height of 1900 by the end of the 21st century and rise up to 3m by 2300.
Venice is Sinking!
Venice is Sinking!
Recently, Venice, Italy, has been flooded by global warming. In 2019, it was reported that the water level in Venice soared due to torrential rains and high tide. Floods called "acqua alta" in Venice are frequent, but in 2019, the high tide level hit a whopping 187 cm, flooding more than 90 percent of the city. In fact, floods in Venice occurred more frequently in the 2000s due to the effects of global warming.
image from:
Ha, M., & Schleiger, R. (2022, September 5). 21.2: Data dive- flooding in Venice Italy. Biology LibreTexts. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Ecology/Environmental_Science_%28Ha_and_Schleiger%29/06%3A_Environmental_Impacts/6.03%3A_Climate_Change/6.3.02%3A_Data_Dive-_Flooding_in_Venice_Italy
High Temperature - Drought & Wildfire
High Temperature - Drought & Wildfire
Europe is Burning!
Europe is Burning!
Europeans suffered from disasters, such as dry drinking water and continued forest fires due to heat waves and droughts this summer. Weather changes caused by global warming have threatened the daily lives of Europeans. Continued high temperatures, droughts, and severe wildfires caused by global warming had an impact on Europeans' unbearable suffering this summer.
For the first time, the temperature was over 40 degrees Celsius in the UK due to heat and drought, so it was not easy to get drinking water.
There have been frequent wildfires in southwestern France due to severely dry weather. More than 6,000 hectares of forest have been eliminated by wildfires, and dozens of homes have been destroyed.
The Rhine River in Germany had difficulty transporting supplies, including energy resources such as coal and gasoline, as the heat wave lowered the water level of the river. This happened because the water level of the waterway remained very low due to high temperatures and low precipitation.
image from:
Suleiman, F., & Ravikumar, S. (2022, August 12). UK declares drought in parts of England amid heatwave. Reuters. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-yorkshire-water-introduce-hosepipe-ban-august-26-2022-08-12/
Chrisafis, A. (2022, August 11). French PM Sounds Climate Crisis Alarm as 'ogre-like' wildfire rages. The Guardian. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/11/france-must-fight-more-than-ever-against-climate-crisis-wildfire-elisabeth-borne
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