With that increase in global temperatures comes the catastrophic affects on mankind and the environment that could only be caused by monumental climate change. These devastating effects on the environment include intense heat waves, the spread of infectious diseases, more forest fires, and rising sea levels and flooding, among many other deadly consequences. Here is a brief, admittedly incomplete list, of the adverse effects of manmade GW.
In 2003, Europe experienced a deadly heat wave, killing more than 35,000 people. Temperatures soared, devastating the lives of thousands, as well as the economies of many European countries. While humans may dislike heatwaves, carriers of deadly diseases love it. As temperatures increase in places of the world that are not usually very hot, vectors such as mosquitoes will begin to increase, bringing with them deadly diseases. According to the UK’s Department of Health, increasing temperatures could lead to more people infected with West Nile Virus, and Lyme disease. In fact, they predict that Malaria could return to England by 2050.
As more CO2 is put into the atmosphere by man, the likelihood of such deadly heat waves increases. According to a study by two researchers from Oxford and one from the UK’s Meteorology Office, “past human influence has more than doubled the risk of European mean summer temperatures as hot as 2003.” Even more alarming is that the the researchers found that by 2044, the risk that heat waves like the one that devastated Europe will happen will “increase 100-fold.”
Another adverse affect of global warming that we are seeing happen now is an increase in forest fires. Since the 1980’s, forest fire activity increased “suddenly and dramatically,” according to a recent study by the Scripp’s Institution of Oceanography. Over the last 19 years, wildfires have become more frequent and intense. The comprehensive study found that wildfire frequency has increased four-fold, and that the length of the forest fire season has increase 64%. In addition to this, the total area burned by forest fires has increased more than six-fold. According to Dr. Cayan, director of the Scripp’s Climate Research Division, this substantial increase in wildfire frequency and intensity is “another part of a chain of reactions to climate warming." This is yet another effect of global warming that we are feeling now, and that will become worse as global temperatures increase in the future.
One of the worst effects of global warming is the the rise of sea levels, which causes massive flooding. Since 1900, sea levels have been rising about 2 milimeters per year, although recently it has increased to 3 milimeters per year. As temperatures warm, water expands. In addition, glaciers are melting and collapsing at alarming rates. If nothing is done to prevent rising temperatures, sea level rise could be devastating. According to Dr. Overpeck, the co-author of a recent study published in the Journal of Science which analyzed arctic melting, “If we don't do something soon, we're committed to four-to-six meters of sea level rise in the future." Below is the bay area. The red is the area that would be flooded by 6 meters of sea-level rise. And the Bay Area certainly wouldn't be the worst affected area of the world.
Indeed the world, and mankind, will be endangered if nothing is done to prevent global warming. Prof. James Hansen, NASA’s lead climate researcher, has warned, “The Earth's climate is nearing... a tipping point beyond which it will be impossible to avoid climate change with far-ranging undesirable consequences.” We are nearing, but haven’t arrived at, the tipping point, which could be as soon as 10 years. There is still time...
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