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Kashish Singh
Mrs. Mikel
ELA 9H 5th/ Human Geography AP 6th
November 19, 2014
Global Warming Around the World and England
When someone thinks of the word controversial, many different topics and opinions
easily come to mind. However, one of the most controversial and debated topic worldwide is the
issue known as global warming. Global warming has become a serious topic due to the fact that
it affects different climates around the world as well as the worldwide climate in general.
Perhaps less obvious but no less ominous a threat to the environment is the general increase in
temperatures worldwide and the resulting climate changes. This phenomenon, known as global
warming, could have serious negative effects on humans and all other living things on this
Earth. (Gale, Cengage Learning) The effects of global warming can be seen in many places and
can affect many different things across the planet. A great example of the effects of global
warming is in England and how it affects climate conditions, the oceans, and how global
warming is connected to other serious problems.
To begin, global warming may have affected the weather to where extreme weather
conditions such as stronger hurricanes, stronger storms, major flooding, etc. In England there
was major flooding in 2007 and 2012 which caused massive damage to many towns. According
to the Environment Agency, 414 millimeters (16 inches) of rain fell across England and Wales
between May and July 2007, making it the wettest period since records began in 1766 (Platt) As
stated in the article The Drowned World, not only was a town known as Tewkesbury severely
affected by the floods but also affected Yorkshire, Humberside, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire. In

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total, 13 people drowned, more than 55,000 homes and businesses were flooded, and the
emergency services conducted more search-and-rescue missions then at any time since World
War II. The floods of 2007 was one of the worst civil emergencies in British history. But what
does weather have to do with global warming? Well ten of the hottest years on record have
occurred in the past 11 years and in September it was discovered that the Arctic sea ice had
shrunk to its smallest recorded extent. Sea levels have also risen thanks to the melting of the ice
caps and glaciers which makes the risk of flooding in many places double. Other severe extreme
weather patterns such as Hurricane Sandy, the super-typhoon Bopha, harsh droughts in China,
Brazil, and Russia, have all been due to the increasing temperatures of the planet due to global
warming. And increasing temperatures cause changes in the weather such as warmer oceans
which causes category 3-5 hurricanes and typhoons to form (category 3 and above
hurricanes/typhoons are considered major hurricanes and are extremely devastating with
category 5 causing total destruction of homes, trees, power poles, etc. and will make an area
uninhabitable for weeks to months) more easily and travel much farther. However, its not just
the weather that can be severely affected by global warming.
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Second of all, global warming also has a very severe effect on oceans to the point where

many precious ecosystems are being destroyed as well as effecting things such as fishing and
countries that somewhat depend on the ocean. In Britain, the winters are very mild due to the
ocean current called the Gulf Stream.
The Gulf Stream, in the North Atlantic Ocean, carries warm salty water from the
equator up to the coast of Greenland in the Artic. This water travels near the
surface of the water because warm water isnt very dense. As it travels to the
Arctic, the warm water heats the countries of the North Atlantic, like Britain. It

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then cools, which increases its density. The dense water sinks to the bottom of the
ocean where it is carried back to the equator. (The Trustees of the Natural History
Museum, London)
As explained, the Gulf Stream is very important to Englands climate however global warming is
causing the Greenland ice cap to melt. If this happens rapidly, the fresh melted water will flow
into the North Atlantic and cause the salty water coming from the equator to dilute which will
make it less dense and stop it from sinking. And this can cause the Gulf Stream to stop
completely which could cause winters in Britain to be 5 degrees cooler which would cause a
severe effect on agriculture, the economy, and the wildlife that lives in the UK. In fact, the Gulf
Stream has stopped several times in the past which caused rapid climate change in the North
Atlantic and declined the temperature by 5 degrees even though the planet was warming up
naturally. We are on the edge of one of the most significant moments in environmental history
as sea ice heads towards a new record low. The loss of sea ice will be devastating, raising global
temperatures that will impact on our ability to grow food and causing extreme weather around
the world. (Singh and Singh) But changes in ocean currents isnt the only problem for the
worlds oceans. Not many people realize that at least a quarter of CO2 from the atmosphere
dissolves into the ocean. To sum it up, Since the beginning of the industrial era, the ocean has
absorbed some 525 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, presently around 22 million tons
per day. (Waters) This is causing something called Ocean acidification which is causing the pH
levels in the ocean to drop. And even though oceans are extremely large, the amount of CO2 that
has been dumped into the ocean in the past 200 years have already caused the ocean to become
30% more acidic. Thanks to the more acidic ocean waters, marine life cannot adapt to the rapid
change in the pH levels which is causing the shells of some animals to dissolve in the more

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acidic sea water. However, ocean acidification not only affects shells, but coral as well. Because
they are so diverse, coral reefs are often called rainforests of the sea. Coral reefs are also very
important to people. The value of coral reefs has been estimated at 30 billion to 17 billion U.S
dollars each year. Unfortunately, people also pose the greatest threat to coral reefs. In some
places, reefs have been entirely destroyed, and in many places reefs today are a pale shadow of
what they once were. (Frost) And thanks to ocean acidification, coral reefs, one of the most
important ecosystems in the oceans is being destroyed even faster than before. But global
warming has still even more disastrous effects on our planet.
Lastly, global warming has many different effects on the planet but one of the most
disastrous effects it has is being connected to other severe problems going on. Global warming is
increased by not only pollution from burning fossil fuels for energy but also deforestation.
Deforestation is cutting down large amounts of trees from ecosystems. Since plants absorb CO2
from the atmosphere and releases oxygen, plants help lessen global warming. However due to
deforestation, there are less plants to absorbed the CO2 which causes global warming to increase.
And thanks to both deforestation and global warming, desertification is also increasing.
Desertification is where land becomes unable to support crops and eventually becomes desertlike. Desertification is mostly due to over farming and grazing but it is connected to deforestation
because trees are usually cut down to create more room for these very farms for livestock and
crops. So all in all, global warming is connected to desertification and deforestation, both very
serious environmental problems going on that are all connected to each other in one way or
another.
To put everything into perspective, global warming has very serious effects on the
worlds climate and ecosystems such as in England for example, the weather, ocean currents, and

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other problems connected to global warming like desertification are very big problems for the
country. But its not just England that is being affected. Many different regions all over the world
are being severely affected from global warming. From the desertification of farms in Central
Africa to the rising sea levels in the oceans due to the melting of the ice caps that threaten to
complete swallow up islands into the sea. There are many different effects of global warming
that is greatly changing the planet in many negative ways that will not only affect the billions of
different species or animals on the planet, but also greatly impact humans as well all over the
world no matter where someone may live. Its only up to the governments and the people of the
world to decide what kind of world they wish to live in. Because soon, humans may not have the
chance to choose anymore.

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Works Cited
Frost, Emily. "Corals and Coral Reefs." 16 October 2014. OceanPortal: Find Your Blue. 8
December 2014. <http://ocean.si.edu/corals-and-coral-reefs>.
Gale, Cengage Learning. "Global Warming." 2014. Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online collection.
2nd December 2014.
Platt, Edward. "The drowned world." New Statesman 4 January 2013: p20. 4 December 2014.
Singh, Bharat Raj and Onkar Singh. "The Melting of Glaciers Cannot Be Reversed With Global
Warming." 2014. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in context. Ed. Roman Espejo. 8 December
2014.
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London. "Changing Ocean Currents." n.d.
National history Museum (nhm). 4 December 2014. <http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureonline/environmental-change/climate-impacts/ocean-currents/>.
Waters, Hannah. "Ocean Acidification." 3 November 2014. OceanPortal: Find Your Blue. 4
December 2014. <http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-acidification>.