Global Warming, you’ve probably heard this word before in places like school, on the news, or maybe from your friends and family, but what even is global warming and what are the effects of it? Good Morning Ms. Hoy and year 8, today I’ll be talking about the harmful effects of global warming. So, back to the question, what is global warming. Well, global warming is a gradual increase in the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere which is mainly caused by the increasing levels of carbon dioxide, CFC’s and many other pollutants. Now that you know a little more about global warming, what are some of the harmful effects that may impact our lives for the worse? Global Warming is the reason behind the increasing water levels and acidic water.
Imagen wanting to visit a country now, but later discovering that it’s submerged underwater, how would you feel? This may sound absurd, impossible or outrageous, but this will become reality if global warming continues. But how does increasing water happen? Shouldn’t we be running out of it instead of gaining? Well, the reason why the water levels are rising is because of the ice melting in the North and South poles. This all was noticed during the end of 1970’s, When Nasa’s satellite records began, they saw that 35% of the frozen surface area was lost. During 1979 there were 7 million, 2 hundred and 20 thousand km2 of Ice, in 2016 there was only 4 million, 6 hundred and 80 thousand km2 of surface ice. If we continue going down this path, then in the year 2100 there will be approximately little to no ice left. As of this, on average, the sea level increases by 3.2 millimetres per year meaning that by 2100 the water would have risen by 262.4 millimetres. This may affect us by flooding places, but it also impacts the life of the animals who live in those areas leading them into extinction.
Ocean acidification. This word is used and seen in articles and the news, but we usually don’t care and ignore the word. Unlike the word global warming, it is used less frequently. The main question right know is what is Ocean acidification and how does it happen? Well our ocean is capable of absorbing 25% of the carbon dioxide that we create every year. It may not that sound bad, but it can drastically change the chemistry of the sea’s surface. The reason behind this is that when carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, it then dissolves into carbonic acid, this then causes the water to be more acidic, meaning that millions and billions of organisms affected. It is fact that our water has become 30% more acidic over the years. A thing that was and still is greatly affected by ocean acidification was the Great Barrier Reef. Did you know that 93% of the Great Barrier Reef is affected by bleaching, leaving only 7% unaffected? Ocean acidification has become so bad that it gained the nickname Global Warmings Evil Twin.
In conclusion the harmful effects of Global warming on the earth include the melting of Ice in the poles leading to the increasing sea levels and has caused ocean acidification disrupting multiple organisms. Thank you for listening, I hope you’ve enjoyed.