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What Effects Are Happening with Global Warming?

The instrumental temperature record indicates a steady trend in the increase of worldwide average temperatures since the late 1800s, an effect known as global warming. Global warming is the result of several man-made factors, most notably the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and widespread deforestation. While scientists predict that the effects of global warming will magnify with time, its impact is already apparent around the world.

  1. Rising Seas

    • One of the most significant and perceptible effects of global warming is ice melting worldwide. Especially in the Polar Regions, such as Greenland and Antarctica, which are more sensitive to temperature changes, mountain glaciers and ice shelves are melting at a swift rate and causing oceans and seas to rise. A report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that global average sea levels will rise by up to 2 feet over the next century. Rising water levels will cause massive flooding in coastal areas and potentially displace millions of people. In the island country of the Maldives, the imminent threat of flooding has induced the government to begin searching for a new home for the nation.

    Storms

    • Globally, rising temperatures have resulted in changing weather patterns. Precipitation has increased on average around the world. Climatologists have observed an increase in the strength of hurricanes, cyclones and storms. These storms of growing intensity are caused primarily by rising ocean temperatures; they pose the biggest risks to coastal areas and tropical islands. A 2008 article in the journal "Nature" reported that the maximum wind speeds of tropical cyclones have increased significantly since 1981.

    Drought

    • Although average precipitation has increased, droughts have also become more common and more severe as changing temperatures carry rainfall into different regions and out of others. Drought and water shortages result in massive crop failures and shape both human and animal migration patterns. As regions begin to run out of water, greater pressure is placed on neighboring resources, which can strain both the natural and social environment. Scientists predict that the Middle Eastern country of Yemen will soon be the first nation on earth to run out of water.

    Extinction

    • Rising temperatures wreak havoc and destruction throughout the animal kingdom, especially among the more sensitive and vulnerable species. According to research published in "Nature" in 2004, global warming could lead to the extinction of more than 1 million species by 2050. Perhaps nowhere are changes more apparent than in the oceans. A 2009 report from the World Wildlife Fund calls attention to the mass extinction of fish species, and warns that at the current rate of ocean warming and associated acidification, important coral reefs could face total collapse by 2100.

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