I argue that climate change does exist and that we need to respond on a global scale to this very issue. Without immediate steps now, it would be more difficult and expensive to respond to such impacts in the future. The effects of global warming on the climate are large and far-reaching in the following aspects:
First, increased ocean warming caused by climate change undermines and threatens to unplug outlets of the glacier, contributing to a faster rise in sea level (Deconto, 2016). Around 1993 and 2017, the global mean sea level rose by an average of 3.1 mm per year, with an increased rising-rate observed as well (WCRP, 2018). Over the 21st century, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the sea level will rise by 61–110 cm in a high carbon emission scenario (Oppenheimer, 2019). In the worst case, if the Greenland Ice Sheet completely melted away, sea level will rise to around 7 meters or 23 feet. If the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, sea level will increase by about 57 meters, or 187 feet (Lythe et al. 2001), which will directly affect countries in the world wide: countries in low-lying areas, as well as small islands, are concerned that their land fields will be limited due to floods and coastal erosion and, at worst, a significant proportion of their population may be forced to move to other countries.
Furthermore, current warming temperature can lead to changes in the geographical range, frequency, timing, and intensity of hurricanes, as well as the duration of the hurricane season (Broccoli and Manabe, 1993). In particular, since the early 1980s, the strength and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes as well as the frequency of the strongest hurricanes such as categories 4 and 5, have all increased, and rainfall levels associated with hurricanes are expected to increase as the temperature in this area keeps rising. Emanuel (1987) further indicated that potential damage from hurricanes could rise by 40–50 percent with the increase of atmospheric CO2.
Besides, the effects of climate change would be extreme for agriculture. During the summer of 2003, Europe witnessed a particularly extreme climate event with average temperatures 6 °C above normal and precipitation deficits of up to 300 mm. In Italy, a record crop yield loss of 36% was observed for corn grown in the Po Valley where extremely high temperatures prevailed, and it is estimated that the extreme summer temperatures are now 50% more likely to occur in Europe as a result of global climate change (Ciais et al., 2005). By comparing statistical correlations between increasing seasonal temperature, precipitation and global average yield for the major crops, Lobell & Field (2007) reported that since 1981 warming has resulted in cumulative annual losses of 5 billion U.S. Dollars.
In my opinion, the examples mentioned above show us that climate change is an existential threat, and we need to recognize that we’re already living through the negative effects: the increase in natural disasters is costing billions of dollars and affecting many people’s life. It is an enormous challenge for us and future generations, and we need to make every effort to prevent it from becoming worse and uncontrolled.
Reference
Broccoli, A. J., & Manabe, S. (1993). Climate Model Studies of Interactions between Ice Sheets and the Atmosphere-Ocean System. Ice in the Climate System, 271–290. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-85016-5_17
Deconto, R. M., & Pollard, D. (2016). Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise. Nature, 531(7596), 591–597. doi: 10.1038/nature17145
Emanuel, K. A. (1987). The dependence of hurricane intensity on climate. Nature, 326(6112), 483–485. doi: 10.1038/326483a0
Global sea-level budget 1993–present. (2018). Earth System Science Data, 10(3), 1551–1590. doi: 10.5194/essd-10-1551-2018
Lobell, D. B., & Field, C. B. (2007). Global scale climate–crop yield relationships and the impacts of recent warming. Environmental Research Letters, 2(1), 014002. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/2/1/014002
Lythe, M. B., & Vaughan, D. G. (2001). A new ice thickness and subglacial topographic model of Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 106(B6), 11335–11351. doi: 10.1029/2000jb900449
Schmitz, O. (2005). Faculty Opinions recommendation of Europe-wide reduction in primary productivity caused by the heat and drought in 2003. Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature. doi: 10.3410/f.1028231.336075