The climate is changing. But what does this mean?

We are already experiencing impacts from climate change as a result of global warming, including deadly heat waves, extreme weather events, and threats to life on earth. There is no denying that human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and destruction to our natural environment, is behind global warming. 

What is climate change?

We are hearing it more and more: the climate is changing. But what does it mean? The climate is seen as the normal weather in a specific area. For example, the temperatures in the Amazon are always high and it is raining almost every day, while on the Antarctic it is always freezing and almost no rain falls. When the normal temperature and the amount of rain in a specific area changes, there is a transition in the normal weather. This is climate change. Not only in specific areas climate change is observed, all over the world the consequences of climate change are felt.

What is causing climate change?

Changes in the climate are not something new. In the past, natural factors, such as volcanic eruptions and El Niño, caused fluctuations in the temperature and rainfall. What is new, is the influence of humans on climate change. We drive our cars, are heating our houses when it is cold outside, and use energy to cook. These day to day activities cause the emission of greenhouse gasses, such as methane and carbon. These gasses prevent the heat emitted by the earth the escape, causing global warming.

What are the consequences of climate change?

Global warming has various consequences. Heat waves occur more often, rainfall becomes more intense and the sea level rises. Especially within vulnerable areas, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the consequences of climate change are felt on a daily basis.

Extreme heat and the lack of rain cause drought, with crop failure as a consequence. When rain does arrive, the showers are really intense, leaving no time for the water to infiltrate into the soil, causing it to flood to lower areas, washing away the fertile top layer of the soil. A process called erosion. It leads to degradation of the land, making it hard to grow crops, causing a decline of vegetation and maintain the land to be dry.

 This could lead to food shortage for the local communities. Since they are not assured to have food, the people migrate to other areas, hoping to find fertile soil where they can grow their crops. These people are also called climate refugees. They are forced to flee due to the consequences of climate change.

How can we solve climate change?

We can do this with help of regreening! Recent studies show that nature-based solutions can contribute up to 37% of the carbon emission intake required to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. Vegetation cause the sequestration of carbon, decreasing the amount carbon in the atmosphere and subsequently reducing the greenhouse effect, ultimately leading to the mitigation of global warming.

Vegetation also causes cooling of the soil, decreasing the evaporation of water from the soil leading to increased water availability for plants, animals and humans. In addition, greening stimulates the water cycle, causing increased rainfall and the retention of water in the soil. This increasement of the soil moisture content makes the land available for agriculture again, producing food and income for the local communities.

In conclusion, Global warming has caused serious changes to the planet, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, deforestation, disappearance of species... But, as individuals we can slow down global warming by implementing small more sustainable actions within our community.

The global population has more power than it realizes to demand measures from governments to raise global awareness about #ClimateAction because it’s increasingly clear that #ClimateChange will impact us all, no matter where we live or who we voted for. We must find a way to move forward with solutions, despite our differences.