In this article we are going to talk about climate change, the natural disasters that it causes and the impact it has on society, in particular about how it affects human health and the populations that live in coastal towns. In the last part we are also going to address the protests led by Greta Thumberg.
Natural disasters
For some years now, climate change has been worsening natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, tsunamis… have always occurred but recently, because of global warming and climate change, they have been intensified: nowadays they are more frequent and more devastating all over the world.
In the last 30 years the number of climate-related disasters has tripled and each year more than 20 million people are obliged to leave their homes because of climate change.
Here are the main phenomena aggravated by climate change: hurricanes, floods, snowfalls, precipitations, bushfires and drought.
Hurricanes
In the past, hurricanes used to die down quickly once they made landfall. However, during the past 50 years the time that it takes for them to dissipate on the coast has doubled and that happens because, how researchers show, storms gain more energy from climate change, which continues to power them over land. Scientists who study these phenomena say that this will likely make hurricanes more damaging further inland in the coming years.
Floods
Floods are becoming more common as a result of more severe weather conditions: with global warming temperatures have become higher and the Earth’s system has more energy, so evaporation and, as a result, cloud formation, become more likely. At higher temperatures, there is more moisture in the air and this contributes to an increase in precipitation strength, length, and frequency.
Snowfalls
Climate change is likely to result also in more snowfall during winter storms, since a warmer earth evaporates more water into the atmosphere. More precipitation in the form of heavy snowfall or downpours is expected as a result of the moisture in the air. This can result in record-breaking flooding during the summer months, however, as the weather cools down during the winter, we can experience major winter storms instead of downpours.
Precipitations
Since the 1950s, extreme precipitation events have increased in frequency and created more rain in many parts of the world, including most of the United States. Heavy precipitation events have increased the most in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States. With global warming this condition continues to worsen: the air’s capacity for water vapor increases by around 7% for every degree of warming and this leads to more extreme precipitation events. Increases in heavy precipitation do not necessarily translate to further overall precipitation over the course of a season or year. Some climate models predict a decline in moderate rainfall and an increase in the duration of dry periods, which would partially offset the increased precipitation during heavy storms.
Bushfires
Bushfires are now more dangerous than in the past, posing a greater risk to people and property. Climate change has been predicted to raise the likelihood of severe bushfires in Australia for more than two decades. This warning was spot on. Without immediate and significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scientists predict that extreme fire weather will become more frequent and intense. The cost of putting out fires is rising. Australia is reliant on resource sharing agreements among its nations, states, and territories. When seasons overlap and fires become more devastating, governments’ ability to share resources will be hampered, and the cost of putting out fires will rise. Record-breaking temperatures and months of extreme drought fuelled a series of major bushfires across Australia during the 2019-2020 fire season. More than 11 million hectares (110,000 sq km or 27.2 million acres) of bush, woodland, and parks were destroyed, killing at least 33 people.
Drought
Drought is characterized by a lack of precipitation (rain, snow, or sleet) for a protracted period of time, resulting in a water shortage. It’s exacerbated by increased evaporation from soil and vegetation associated with warming, which is caused by a variety of factors. Drought is more likely to occur in areas where there is a lack of rain. Since the 1970s, the number of very dry areas on the planet has doubled. In particular, a long-term drying trend (from 1900 to 2008) persists in Africa, East and South Asia, eastern Australia, southern Europe, northern South America, most of Alaska, and western Canada.
Ice melting
Speaking of natural disasters we can’t talk about glaciers melting that is one of the most obvious effects of climate change. The ocean is about 7 to 8 inches (20 cm) higher than it was a century ago. Global sea level rise began around the start of the 20th century but became a real problem in the 1970s. Scientists say that until a hundred and fifty years ago sea level had been stable for 6000 years. Human activities, in particular the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is leading to an increase in global temperatures and a significant reduction in ice in both the Arctic and Antarctica, but also in the mountains. There are 2 main reasons why sea level has been rising: the first is ice-melting, the second is the fact that, since water in the oceans is getting warmer, it takes up more room and expands making sea level go higher.
How are coastal cities facing the problem?
Coastal cities are going to be threatened by sea level rise and this is a problem because these cities are home to millions of people. If the world fails in its duty to commit to the Paris Agreement’s goal of reducing carbon emissions and limit global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, the world will face an extraordinary threat from rising seas and coastal flooding by 2050. The total urban population at risk from sea level rise, if emissions don’t go down, could number over 800 million people, living in 570 cities, by 2050. Miami will also become “the most vulnerable major coastal city in the world,” with windstorms, coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and climate change causing billions of dollars in asset damage. The state is planning over $4 billion in sea level rise solutions, which include protecting sewage systems, raising roads, stormwater improvements and seawalls. The bedrock of Florida is porous limestone, which acts like a hard sponge with holes, allowing groundwater to rise at the same rate as the ocean. This complicates flood mitigation efforts because some traditional solutions won’t work, in fact water can flow through porous ground, up from beneath the surface, and under sea walls. Roads, drinking water and the sewage system are also at risk, and there will be flooding even when it’s not raining.
Human health and social aspects
At this point, it’s incredibly important to understand that climate change strongly influences human health and it enhances the social and health inequities and vulnerabilities that already exist. Climate change has, as we previously said, some direct consequences such as rising sea levels, increasing CO2 levels, increasing temperatures and more extreme weathers. These direct effects are then the cause of many other problems that concern our health. A study proves that less than 10% of the population is aware of this connection, but when they become aware of it, they start to take the problem of climate change a lot more seriously. Deaths caused by natural disasters are already increadìsing, for example in California, the average of deaths per year due to wildfires in the 1990s was around 60, today it is more than 100. The Earth is warming due to elevated concentrations of greenhouse gases, and will continue to warm in the future. These temperature changes will have direct effects on human health.Days that are hotter than the average seasonal temperature in the summer or colder than the average seasonal temperature in the winter cause increased levels of illness and death by compromising the body’s ability to regulate its temperature or by inducing direct or indirect health complications.Loss of internal temperature control can result in a cascade of illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia.Temperature extremes can also worsen chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes-related conditions. For what concerns air pollution, higher temperatures and wildfire emissions are also projected to harm human health by increasing ozone concentration, which will lead to premature deaths and acute respiratory symptoms.Poor air quality, whether outdoors or indoors, can negatively affect the human respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Rising levels of CO2 and resulting climate changes alter the production, distribution, and seasonal timing of aeroallergens. These changes increase the severity and prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases in humans. Vector-borne diseases are illnesses that are transmitted by vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.The seasonality, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases are influenced significantly by climate factors, primarily high and low temperature extremes and precipitation patterns. Usually, the risk of human infection is greatest in late spring and summer, but higher temperatures are going to anticipate the birth of vectors that are going to show up much earlier. Moreover, since many more areas on the planet are going to become an ideal habitat for vectors, many countries will have to face exotic diseases and illnesses that they had never encountered before. For example, the malaria parasite will be able to spread into many new areas by 2050. Climate change is also going to aggravate even more the social inequities that already exist, because it causes health risks that are not equally or fairly distributed across people, communities or nations. Across the U.S., low income communities and communities of color suffer substantially higher disease burdens and lower life expectancies than wealthier and white populations, so their climate vulnerability is much higher.
Fridays for future
Another important aspect to deal with are the Climate protests that have arisen in recent years since people realized that we are destroying our planet and we are facing an irreversible crisis. For this purpose a bunch of people joined in a series of movements to fight in favor of our environment and for all the living beings that exist. Among the many movements born, the highly successful and the emblem of the struggle against global warming is Friday For Future. This organization has been created by Greta Thunberg, a 18 years swedish girl, and a group of young activists, who decided to launch a campaign of objection against global warming, in particular addressing the Swedish government which wasn’t complying with the Paris climate agreements. To attract the attention of the government they decided to sit in front of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm skipping school days. The demonstrations weren’t only limited to the city of Stockholm, but they started very quickly to attract the attention of many people and a lot of consensus around the world. Today Friday For Future is an international team of school students who skip Friday’s lessons to participate in demonstrations demanding action for climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy. As mentioned above, the protest was not limited to Sweden but involved more than 125 countries in the world and in each of them there were several strikes. In addition, several strikes have been organised worldwide, in which hundreds of thousands of people have taken part. We can also bring to memory the Global Week for Future that took place from 20 to 27 September 2019, moreover this date was not chosen by chance in fact was organized 3 days before the United Nations Climate Summit. Not even the pandemic from Covid 19 stopped the Friday for Future movement that with the help of Social Media have spread their ideals and have maintained a certain visibility. It has also been possible to meet live to protest global warming, respecting distances and wearing masks.
Solutions?
Making this article helped us realize the gravity of the situation, so we looked on the internet to find some possible solutions for climate change. Unfortunately, some scientists believe that there is nothing we can do to make things go back to the way they were, but we can adopt a behaviour that will help slow down climate change and reduce the damages. Aside from the gestures that we all know to be environment-friendly, like recycling, preserving fresh water, reducing food waste and using public means of transportation, we came up with some other ideas to improve the situation.
First of all, in our society there is a high percentage of people who know very little about climate change, so the first thing to do would be teach and spread our knowledge in any way possible, especially starting from a young age in schools. The state should also create some new laws to set some limits to large-scale pollution and to convince people to take this matter seriously. Another thing that we can all do in our small way, is keep objects until they are broken and avoid disposable things.
Alice Nana, Simona Moraschini,
Jonathan Vicinzino, Luna Diarra
3BL
