You’ve probably heard of it on the news, social media or in your everyday lives. Although, you might not be really sure what exactly it is and that’s where we come in. Today I’ll be telling you what climate change is as simply as I can.
Climate Change is the long term change of the normal weather pattern in a region or in this case, the earth over a specific period of time. This includes changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns. Sometimes I like to think of it as the “white walkers” coming to take over the world and harm everyone that comes in its path, only that they caused a decrease in the temperature while climate change is an increase in the global temperature. Now I guess you’re probably wondering what causes this and why it’s such a big deal?
It all starts when fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oil are burned and releases greenhouse gases, mostly water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants are then collected in the atmosphere. Some of these gases are absorbed by sunlight and solar radiation but some of these gases trap heat radiation and re-emits it to the surface which leads to the heating up of the environment. Fun fact: The greenhouse effect is actually good for the earth, it is what keeps us from freezing like the white walkers but as with everything else, too much of it is harmful and as a result of human activities it is getting to that level. The more the greenhouse effect, the warmer the earth (Global Warming) therefore changing the climate and causing consequences such as change in rain and snow patterns, stronger storms, more droughts and wildfires, less snow and ice, higher temperature and more heatwaves.
Does that ring a bell? Let me know in the comment section and stay tuned for more content.