Climate change is a periodic modification of Earth’s climate, that is brought about due to the changes in the atmosphere and the interactions between the atmosphere and the other various geological, chemical, biological, and geographical factors within the Earth’s system. Climate change is considered one of the major issues of modern times, with large environmental, economic, and social impacts worldwide. Understanding different aspects of climate change connected to its causes, evidence, impacts, mitigation, and adaptation techniques stands in front of the proper approach to this challenge.
Aspect | Natural Greenhouse Effect | Enhanced Greenhouse Effect |
---|---|---|
Definition | A natural process that warms the Earth’s surface by trapping some of the Sun’s energy in the atmosphere. | A process intensified by human activities, leading to an increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. |
Cause | The Sun’s energy, some of which is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed and re-radiated as heat by the Earth. | Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation that increase greenhouse gases beyond natural levels. |
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) | Naturally occurring GHGs (e.g., water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane) trap heat, maintaining Earth’s temperature. | Increased levels of GHGs (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane) due to human activities trap more heat, leading to global warming. |
Impact on Earth’s Temperature | Keeps the planet warm enough to sustain life, maintaining a stable climate. | Causes a rise in global temperatures, leading to global warming and climate change. |
The increased concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere is mainly due to human activities emitting enormous amounts of GHGs. These are the major causes of global warming: burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides a set of scenarios from low to high-emission pathways. Thus, keeping in view different levels of GHG emissions. These scenarios are helping policymakers understand what the potential future climates might look like and the ensuing urgency of reduction.
While climate models are a necessary tool, they carry uncertainties because of the complexity of the climate system. These include feedback mechanisms, natural variability, and human responses. Precise predictions can hardly be made. There is a continuing need to further improve the precision and reliability of the models.
Climate change is a multidimensional issue. Its response thus requires the cooperation of the whole world. It encompasses essential elements: the greenhouse effect, global warming, climate models, mitigation, and adaptation strategies, which form the basis for developing policies and practices. For aspirants of UPSC, the comprehensive understanding hereby sought is quite opportune given questions that are likely to be asked relating to environmental studies, sustainable development, and current affairs.
Climate Change Impact UPSC Notes |
1. Climate change is driven by interactions between the atmosphere and other Earth systems, exacerbated by human activities like deforestation. 2. The greenhouse effect maintains the temperature of the Earth. Through human activities, this effect has been magnified, leading to global warming. 3. Key gases include carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, methane from agriculture, nitrous oxide from industry, and potent fluorinated gases from industrial uses. 4. Greenhouse gases originate from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, while mitigation takes place through the absorption of these gases by forests and oceans. 5. Increased global temperatures and ice core evidence showing rises in temperature with increases in CO2 levels are some of the obvious proofs of global warming. 6. The melting of the ice caps, rising sea levels, flooding of coasts, and disruption of ecosystems resulting in loss of biodiversity are the manifestations of the effects. 7. The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement present limits to increase the rise in temperature of the globe. 8. Growth in the field of renewable energy, electrical vehicles, and smart grids is an absolute necessity in the direction of reduced dependency on fossil fuels and enhanced energy management. |
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