GENERAL DISCUSSION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON EARTH ABSTRACT The increased dependency of human beings on conventional fossil fuels i.e. oil, gas and coal have raised the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to the levels not recorded across the history of planet. Temperature on the north pole is rising at a much higher pace compared to global average. Consequently, extreme climatic changes are taking place at almost every corner of the planet from coral reef depletion, glaciers and extreme flooding, hurricanes, cyclones, droughts and heatwaves leading to wildfires. Developing nations are heavily affected by this dramatic climate change events with forced migration, diseases and deteriorated air quality. The only solution to this global issue is global cooperation and it can only be possible when countries across the world play their role in adopting sustainable practices and methods of energy production. Otherwise the impacts of climate change can jeopardize the survival of ecosystems, biodiversity and human life. INTRODUCTION Climate change is the average change in environmental conditions (precipitation, wind patterns, temperature, habitat) of any specific area or region over a long period of time usually decades. It must not be confused with weather which takes into account short term environmental changes while climatic data includes long term environmental and atmospheric changes of a region (NOAA, 2020). Over the last 50 years, the climatic systems of planet earth are heavily disturbed by anthropogenic activities due to excessive release of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, O3) into the atmosphere (IPCC, 2014). Human activities like fossil fuel burning for transportation and energy production have increased the concentration of CO2 from 280ppm to 413ppm causing a much greater issue of global warming (Anwar et al., 2019). Global warming is the leading cause of climate change and scientific community worldwide agree upon the fact that the excessive burning of fossil fuel since the industrial revolution is the primary driver behind global warming events earth is witnessing today (Jönsson et al., 2012). The average temperature across arctic region is increasing two folds than the rest of world due to excessive carbon dioxide CO2 being emitted in the atmosphere and is shaping the climatic conditions through rapid ice melting leading to glaciers and flooding (Serreze et al., 2011). Due to increase in average temperature, wildfire activities in California increased greatly causing a devastating impact of wildlife habitats and ecosystems driving multiple species towards forced migration (Westerling et al. 2006). Volcanic eruptions and forest fires though natural processes but also contribute to climate change by increasing global CO2 level. Since 1960 weather related disastrous events i.e. flooding, forced migration, desertification, droughts, hurricanes, land erosion and declining coral reef from the marine ecosystem have increased three times which primarily affect the developing nations and have caused nearly 60,000 deaths, thus posing a severe threat to human life and biodiversity survival (Anwar et al., 2019). Climate change also have a huge impact in reducing the indoor air quality (IAQ) as a result molds growth, viral and fungus related allergic and respiratory diseases like asthma are becoming more and more common (Shaikh et al., 2018). Using renewable energy sources and reducing carbon footprint can help combating the rapidly increasing global warming and climate issues but it is equally difficult to completely shift from non-renewable to renewable energy sources because of its major share in energy production especially in the developing nations (Anwar et., 2019). It is for this reason that global collective efforts are the need of the hour to explore green and sustainable methods of energy production and agreements from nations to mitigate the effects of climate change at the global level. The objectives of this paper aim to pen down the major threats and impacts of climate change on earth, ecosystem survival and human life. IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON EARTH Since the industrial revolution, the concentration of greenhouse in the atmosphere have risen at a much higher pace than ever before. Human activities involving fossil fuel burning not only have increased the average global temperatures but also have changed the dynamics of climate throughout the planet in the form of extreme disastrous event. Few are described below. Flooding and Glaciers One reason for extreme flooding in coastal areas is the rapid melting of ice caps due to increased global temperature. Ice in the arctic region is melting at a much higher pace because the temperature in that region is increasing about two times more than average global temperatures (Fig 1). As a result, glaciers and floods have an adverse impact on ecosystem stability driving thousands of people every year towards forced migration (Serreze et al., 2011). Figure 1: Arctic and Global mean annual surface temperature (Serreze et al., 2011). Similarly, climate change also has a huge impact in altering the weather patterns worldwide. When weather patterns in a region are disturbed, extreme weathers like heat waves, above average annual precipitation and no rainfall at all can be expected. Many South Asian countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are highly vulnerable to extreme flooding due to climate change (Mirza, 2010). These countries are heavily affected due to extreme floods and every year floods cause enormous damage to life, property, infrastructure and biodiversity actor the entire South Asia. The reason for this extreme flooding in that region is the dramatic increase in annual rainfall due to climate change (Cruz et al., 2007). Depletion of Corals Coral reefs are the primary producers in marine ecosystem and have an integral role in regulating the marine food chain. Yet due to climate change and increased water temperature, they are under severe threat and are declining in number every passing year. As water temperature rises coral lose the microscopic algae that produce the food they require, consequently posing a severe threat to their survival (NOAA, 2020). By 2100 it is expected that coral reef will decline at a much higher pace due to the effects of rapid changes in climate and global warming. Fig 2: Expected world population (billions) and coral reef status (%) by 2100. (Source: Wilkinson 1992 Proc 7th Intern Coral Reef Sympos 1: 11.) Extreme wildfires and Biodiversity loss Another devastating impact of climate change are the extreme wildfire events that occurred recently leading to extreme fires of unprecedented scale and duration in certain parts of the world i.e. Australian Bushfires 2019, fires in Brazilian Amazon rain forest 2019 and California fires 2020 (Xu et al., 2020). With these extreme wildfire events climate change not only pose threats to the survival if biodiversity but also contribute in air pollution. Besides natural reason one main element that trigger wildfires is the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The concentration of CO2 increased dramatically over the course of last 50 years to levels that were not recorded across the history of planet (NOAA, 2020). Fig 3: Change in Carbon Dioxide concentration (ppm) in atmosphere from 1960-2020 Source: (Mauna Loa Observatory, Huawei, 2020) As these gases i.e. CO2, CH4, N2O and O3 trap outgoing heat from the earth into atmosphere thereby increasing the global temperature that triggers extreme wildfires consequently leading to biodiversity loss and habitat destruction. Spread of Infectious Diseases Infectious diseases (air borne, water borne, vector borne, and food borne) are also increasing due to climate changes (Altizer et al., 2013). Factors like pathogen, host and spreading environment are compulsory for most of the infectious diseases (Epstein, 2001). Suitable climatic conditions are required by the pathogen’s vectors for their survival, reproduction and dispersal. Thus, changed climatic conditions trigger the spread of infectious diseases (Epstein, 2001). From various studies, it is cleared that many infectious diseases are geographically expanding due to the long-term climatic changes (Wu et al., 2016). Risky weather conditions also increasing the opportunity of disease outbreaks. These climate related infectious diseases include typhoid fever, respiratory infections, cancer, leptospirosis (Sanders et al., 2019). Fig 4: Climate change impacts on the spread of infectious diseases Source: (Wu et al., 2016). Rising Sea Level and Coastal Erosion Since 1993-2008 the sea level has risen to 3.5mm per year globally (Nicholls et al., 2010). Due to global warming sea water level have risen to a much higher level and is expected to rise two or three times higher than current rate (Cai et al., 2009). This dramatic increase in sea level leads to coastal erosion and have a huge impact on coastal ecosystems and mangroves communities. European-wide study provide the data that the 17% of coastline area in UK eroded due to rise in sea levels. England coastline was 29.8% eroded due to the sea level rise. Through the artificial beaches, 45.9% of the coastline area of England was protected. About 19.9% coastlines have eroded in Ireland alone with only 7.6% safe coastlines remaining. Since 1993-2008 the sea level rise was 3.5mm per year globally (Nicholls et al., 2010). CONCLUSION To conclude climate change is shaping our ecosystem and natural cycles drastically. The use of fossil fuels to meet energy demands and less sustainable practices of humans may collapse the stability of nature by putting extraordinary burden on ecosystems beyond their carrying capacity. As a result, climate changes are expected like we are seeing today in the form of flooding, migration, specie extinction and extreme weathers. Therefore, it is the need of hour that require international cooperate to solve this global problem. 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