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1) Introduction
According to a continuous study conducted by the NASA’s Goddard
institute, the Earth’s average global temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius or 1.4
degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the
thermometer readings have risen continuously.

The weather in your locality constantly goes up and down by larger degrees. Why
should anyone be concerned about a 1 degree increase in the global temperature?
Well, global temperature is primarily depends on the amount of energy it receives from
the sun and how much of it is radiated back into space. The numbers change very little
unless some other factor is affecting the change in temperature. The amount of energy
that the planet radiates back into space is dependent upon the chemical composition of
our atmosphere – like greenhouse gases. A 1 degree rise in the surface temperature of
the Earth is therefore very important. Something unnatural is causing this and scientists
have discovered that burning of fossil fuels is one major contributor. It is not a small feat
to warm all the oceans, land and the atmosphere by even 1 degree.

According to a study, the warmest 30 year period is between 1983 to 2012. Human
activities continue to emit large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere in spite of efforts
to reduce our carbon footprint.

History of global surface temperature since 1880

Fig 1.1

The graph shows average annual global temperatures since 1880. The zero line represents the long-term
average temperature for the whole planet; bars show the difference above or below average for each
year.
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2) About Surface Temperature

The concept of an average temperature for the entire globe may

seem odd. After all, at this very moment, the highest and lowest temperatures on
Earth are likely more than 100°F (55°C) apart. Temperatures vary from night to
day and between seasonal extremes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
This means that some parts of Earth are quite cold while other parts are
downright hot. To speak of the "average" temperature, then, may seem like
nonsense. However, the concept of a global average temperature is convenient
for detecting and tracking changes in Earth's energy budget—how much
sunlight Earth absorbs minus how much it radiates to space as heat—over time.

To calculate a global average temperature, scientists begin with temperature

measurements taken at locations around the globe. Because their goal is to track
changes in temperature, measurements are converted from
absolute temperature readings to temperature anomalies—the difference
between the observed temperature and the long-term average temperature for
each location and date. Multiple independent research groups across the world
perform their own analysis of the surface temperature data, and they all show a
similar upward trend.

Difference from average (^C)

Fig 2.1
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3) Global Warming

3.1 : What Warms our Planet?

The global temperature is affected by the amount of energy Earth
gets from the sun and how much it radiates back into space. The amount of energy
that is expelled by the Earth largely depends on the chemical composition of our
atmosphere. The equation hardly changes unless something is happening in our
atmosphere that’s trapping the heat in the planet – and today, that ―something‖ is
greenhouse gases.

3.2 : The Impact of a Warmer Earth

A further increase in temperature will cause the ice caps and glaciers
to melt, causing sea levels to rise and inundating coastal cities – where most of
human civilization is located. Warmer oceans will cause more severe weather
disturbances such as intense hurricanes and tsunamis, further causing havoc to
our cities. The absence of our polar caps and glaciers will contribute to further
warming since these ice caps help reflect the sun’s heat back into space.
Without them, the planet will absorb the sun’s heat more.

Nothing good can come out of global warming. See how you can help stop or
reverse the current trend. You Count – that’s why the world counts. Whatever
happens to the planet, affects all of us.

 Global Warming is going into the Oceans

Fig 3.2 Fig 3.1

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3.3 : Extreme Weather Patterns

 More hurricanes and drought;

 Longer spells of dry heat or intense rain (depending on where you are in
the world);

 Scientists have pointed out that Northern Europe could be severely

affected with colder weather if climate change continues, as the arctic
begins to melt and send fresher waters further south. It would effectively
cut off the Gulf Stream that brings warmth from the Gulf of Mexico,
keeping countries such as Britain warmer than expected;

 In South Asia, the Himalayan glaciers could retreat causing water scarcity
in the long run.

While many environmental groups have been warning about extreme weather
conditions for a few years, the World Meteorological Organization announced in July
2003 that Recent scientific assessments indicate that, as the global temperatures
continue to warm due to climate change, the number and intensity of extreme events
might increase.

More recently, Brazil was struck by the first-ever recorded hurricane in the South
Atlantic last March.

―Weather records are being set all the time now. We’re in an era of unprecedented
extreme weather events,‖ -- McCarthy said.

Historical weather patterns are becoming less useful for predicting the future
conditions because global warming is changing ocean and atmospheric conditions.

―In 30 to 50 years’ time, the Earth’s weather generating system will be entirely
different, he predicted.”
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4) Top 5 Extreme Weather Events in 2010

Looking at 2010 as a whole year revealed a variety of extreme
weather events. A panel of climate and weather experts ranked the top 5 global
weather/climate events of 2010 which included heat waves to droughts to negative
arctic oscillation (a climate pattern where cold Arctic air slides south while warmer air
moves north, bringing snow storms and record cold temperatures to much of the
Northern Hemisphere) show that a variety of weather events can occur as a result of
changing climate:

Top Ten Global Weather/Climate Events of 2010

Table 4.1
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5) Role Of Carbon Dioxide

5.1 Amount Of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) In Atmosphere Is Increasing

People don’t always produce more CO2 from one year to the
next. When the global economy weakens, emissions from human activities can actually
drop slightly for a year or two. Yet the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere
continues to rise, as shown in the graph to the right. It’s a bit like a savings account:
even if your contributions get smaller in a tight budget year, the total in your account still
goes up.

Fig 5.1

5.2 : How Much Carbon Dioxide is Already in the Atmosphere?

Fig 5.2
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6) The 30-Year Horizon

There are other reasons that this 30-year span of time is important. Thirty
years is a length of time in which people plan. This includes personal choices – where
to live, what job to take, how to plan for retirement. There are institutional choices –
building bridges, building factories and power plants, urban flood management. There
are resource management questions – assuring water supply for people, ecosystems,
energy production and agriculture. There are many questions concerning how to build
the fortifications and plan the migrations that sea-level rise will demand. Thirty years is
long enough to be convincing that the climate is changing, and short enough that we
can conceive, both individually and collectively, what the future might hold.

Finally, 30 years is long enough to educate us. We have 30 years during which we can
see what challenges a changing climate brings us. Thirty years that are informing us
about the next 30 years, which will be warmer still. This is a temperature record that
makes it clear that the new normal will be systematically rising temperatures, not the
ups and downs of the last 100 years.

Those who are under 30 years old have not experienced the climate I grew up with. In
thirty more years, those born today will also be living in a climate that, by fundamental
measures, will be different than the climate of their birth. Future success will rely on
understanding that the climate in which we are all now living is changing and will
continue to change with accumulating consequences.

Nearly 30 years ago, scientists developed a computer model of the Earth’s

climate that predicted the level of global warming – to the ridicule of ‘sceptics’ at
a time when there still seemed to be a debate over the issue.

Now two leading researchers have compared the model’s results with what actually
happened over the last three decades and, to their surprise, found they were ―very
similar‖.

7) Conclusions

 There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong
action now.
 Climate change could have serious impacts on growth and development.

 The costs of stabilizing the climate are significant but manageable; delay would
be dangerous and much more costly.
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 Action on climate change is required across all countries, and it need not cap the
aspirations for growth of rich or poor countries.

 Climate change demands an international response, based on a shared

understanding of long-term goals and agreement on frameworks for action.

8) Remedy

This summary concludes by presenting four key elements that future international
frameworks should include:

 Emissions trading: Expanding and linking the growing number of emissions-

trading schemes around the world is a powerful way to promote cost-effective
reductions in emissions and to bring forward action in developing countries:
strong targets in rich countries could drive flows amounting to tens of billions of
dollars each year to support the transition to low-carbon development paths.

 Technology cooperation: Informal co-ordination as well as formal agreements

can boost the effectiveness of investments in innovation around the world.
Globally, support for energy R&D should at least double, and support for the
deployment of new low-carbon technologies should increase up to five-fold.
International cooperation on product standards is a powerful way to boost energy
efficiency.

 Action to reduce deforestation: The loss of natural forests around the world
contributes more to global emissions each year than the transport sector.
Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way to reduce emissions; large-
scale international pilot programs to explore the best ways to do this could get
underway quickly.

 Adaptation: The poorest countries are most vulnerable to climate change. It is

essential that climate change be fully integrated into development policy, and that
rich countries honor their pledges to increase support through overseas
development assistance. International funding should also support improved
regional information on climate change impacts, and research into new crop
varieties that will be more resilient to drought and flood.
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9) References
 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate:
Global Analysis for Annual 2016, published online January 2017, retrieved on
September 11, 2017 from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201613.

 R. J. H. Dunn, D. F. Hurst, N. Gobron, and K. M. Willett, Eds., 2017: Global

Climate [in ―State of the Climate in 2016‖]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98 (8), S5–
S62, doi:10.1175/2017BAMSStateoftheClimate.1.

 UCAR: How much has the Global Temperatre Risen in the Last 100 years?
 Wikipedia: Climate Change

 http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-
introduction#WhataretheimpactsofGlobalWarming

 https://globalclimate.ucr.edu/resources.html

 http://theconversation.com/lets-call-it-30-years-of-above-average-temperatures-
means-the-climate-has-changed-36175

 http://grist.org/article/climate-change-economics/