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AS3 | G STS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (UV MAIN: BEED1-A1)

Lesson 4.2 Global Warming

The Philippines gets hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year, according to the national weather agency. During extreme El Niño events,
when the surface waters of the Pacific warm up, the number of typhoons that make landfall drops to 11 — but these storms are more
intense, bringing stronger winds and larger volumes of rainfall.

The bad news for the Philippines, already one of the most vulnerable countries to severe weather events, is that both El Niño and La
Niña events are set to increase in frequency, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

What is Global Warming?

  Also, it is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the
greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels.
 Generally, global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the
Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. It is directly linked to the increase of greenhouse gases
in our atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse effect.

What causes global warming?

Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and
absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space—but
these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. That is
known as the greenhouse effect.

How global warming linked to extreme weather?

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 Scientists agree that the earth’s rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves, more frequent droughts, heavier
rainfall, and more powerful typhoons. They also said the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over
the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine announced that it’s now possible to
confidently attribute certain weather events, like some heat waves, directly to climate change.
  The earth’s ocean temperatures are getting warmer, too—which means that tropical storms can pick up more energy. So global
warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the
frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes has increased since the early 1980s, as well as the number of storms that reach categories 4
and 5.

What are the other effects of global warming?

Each year, scientists learn more about the consequences of global warming, and many agree that environmental, economic, and health
consequences are likely to occur if current trends continue. Here’s just a smattering of what we can look forward to:

Melting glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and increase the risk of wildfires.

Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard.
Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding. All those factors
will damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increased growth of pollen-producing
ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.

Other Impacts of Global Warming

Global warming is expected to increase the frequency of El Niño and La Niña weather events in the Pacific, resulting in more
powerful typhoons hitting the Philippines, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The report’s authors warn that even under a low-carbon-emission scenario, such extreme weather events are inevitable.
The Philippines also has to contend with warming ocean waters that threaten to kill its coral reefs and drive its once-plentiful fish
stocks to cooler regions of the Pacific.
The IPCC authors say more research is needed to better understand how ocean warming will impact the Philippines and the wider
region.

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 The impacts of global warming are being felt across the globe. Extreme heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the
world in recent years. And in an alarming sign of events to come, Antarctica has been losing about 134 billion metric tons of ice per year
since 2002. This rate could speed up if we keep burning fossil fuels at our current pace, some experts say, causing sea levels to rise
several meters over the next 50 to 150 years.

What is greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat. This process makes Earth much
warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of the things that makes Earth a comfortable place to
live.

How does the greenhouse effect work?

 As you might expect from the name, the greenhouse effect works … like a greenhouse! A greenhouse is a building with glass walls
and a glass roof. Greenhouses are used to grow plants, such as tomatoes and tropical flowers.
 A greenhouse stays warm inside, even during the winter. In the daytime, sunlight shines into the greenhouse and warms the plants
and air inside. At nighttime, it is colder outside, but the greenhouse stays warm inside. That's because the glass walls of the
greenhouse trap the Sun's heat.

How are humans impacting the greenhouse effect?

Human activities are changing Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil puts more carbon dioxide into
our atmosphere.

NASA has observed increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Too much of
these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat. This causes Earth to warm up.

What reduces the greenhouse effect on Earth?

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Just like a glass greenhouse, Earth's greenhouse is also full of plants! Plants can help to balance the greenhouse effect on Earth. All
plants — from giant trees to tiny phytoplankton in the ocean — take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.
The ocean also absorbs a lot of excess carbon dioxide in the air. Unfortunately, the increased carbon dioxide in the ocean changes
the water, making it more acidic. This is called ocean acidification.
More acidic water can be harmful to many ocean creatures, such as certain shellfish and coral. Warming oceans — from too many
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ; — can also be harmful to these organisms. Warmer waters are a main cause of coral
bleaching.

 (Note: Please watch the video below to learn more about the possible effect of Global Warming)

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