Global warming has serious consequences such as climate change
and rising sea levels. Even though rising sea levels is one of the most drastic
changes in the environment, there are many other changes that greatly affected the
beauty of nature. Thus, I disagree that rising sea levels is the worst impact of global
warming.
Global warming has also caused rising sea levels due to the
expansion of warmer seawater and the melting of ice-caps. Rising sea levels will
cause floods in low lying areas. Massive flooding and waves can wipe out coastal
communities and submerge low-lying islands such as Vanuatu and Cook Island in
the South Pacific, which are in danger of being submerged. Rising sea levels can
also contaminate rivers and streams, worsening the problem of water constraints.
Food supplies may be affected as arable land in coastal and low-lying areas will be
submerged. Natural habitats and marine ecosystems along coastal areas such as
French Polynesia will be at risk. Therefore, we can conclude that rising sea levels is
indeed one of the worst impacts of global warming.
Global warming affects both the weather and the climate. Sequence
of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change project
temperatures which range from an increase of 1.1oC to 6.4oC. In coastal regions,
extreme weather events such as cyclones, storms and floods are likely to occur
frequently. This is because a warmer climate increases the amount of evaporation,
which results in more condensation and rainfall. Arid and semi-arid areas on the
other hand may face more frequent and prolonged droughts as a result of intense
evaporation. In hotter regions, a warmer climate may destroy crops and slow
agricultural growth and economic development. Pests, such as flies, and mosquitoes
are likely to multiply and thrive, causing widespread epidemics such as malaria and
dengue fever. Frequent flooding and heat waves brought by global warming may
cause deaths particularly to the old and very young. Thus we can see that global
warming has drastically changed the global temperature resulting in extreme climate
conditions.
Global warming has also caused a major impact on the environment.
Global warming has an impact on animals. Due to the rise in temperature, natural
habitats are affected. For example, Yaks and llamas that survive only in low
temperatures may have to migrate to mountainous or cooler areas when
temperatures rise or they will become extinct. Global warming also has an impact on
plants. Vegetation growth is affected due to the changing climatic conditions such as
rainfall and temperature patterns. In countries South of the Sahara desert in Africa
like Mali and Niger, decrease in rainfall would adverse growth of important crops like
rice, wheat and corn. It also results in production of food crops to decrease, leading
to food shortage. Global warming also has impact on people. It causes negative
effects on human health. The increase in temperature in tropical areas will cause
pests such as flies and mosquitoes to multiply and thrive causing widespread
epidemics such as malaria and dengue fever. Hence we can see that global warming
has caused many living things to be affected.
In conclusion, although rising sea levels is a major impact caused by
global warming, there are still many more severe impacts brought about by global
warming. Economic impacts brought up by rising sea levels can be curbed with
sufficient time. However, damage on the environment such as possible extinctions of
exotic plants and animals are permanent and tragical. Hence, I feel that changes in
climate of habitats are the most severe impact of global warming.
Done by:
Simon Zhang 2O3
Wu Hong 2O3
Zhang Qing Yang 2O3