Assignment 3

What is global warming

Earth is warmed by heat-trapping gases, also called greenhouse gases, that are present in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases have kept the temperature of the planet in a range hospitable for life as we know it for a long time. Recently, due to human activity, levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, have been increasing in the atmosphere. This increase threatens to make Earth warmer than it has been for millions of years. As a result of this planetary warming trend, sea level will also rise.Throughout the world, temperatures are higher on land, in the air, at the sea surface, underground, and under ice. Ice covered areas are receding, and recent data suggests that the polar ice caps may be melting faster than expected. There is also evidence that tropical storms may be growing more intense.

Effects

There are 2 major effects of global warming:

1. Increase of temperature on the earth by about 3° C to 5° C (34° to 41° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.
2. Rise of thr sea levels by at least 25 meters (82 feet) by the year 2100.

More details about the effects of global warming :

Increasing global temperatures are causing a broad range of changes. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land ice. Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing. The total annual power of hurricanes has already increased markedly since 1975 because their average intensity and average duration have increased (in addition, there has been a high correlation of hurricane power with tropical sea-surface temperature).
Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.
Although global warming is affecting the number and magnitude of these events, it is difficult to connect specific events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming is expected to continue past then because carbon dioxide (chemical symbol CO2) has an estimated atmospheric lifetime of 50 to 200 years. For a summary of the predictions for the future increase in temperature up to 2100