Myth or reality about climate change

Myth or reality?

There are people who are still unaware of the severe impacts of Climate Change or who, better still (for them), try to look the other way, so as not to recognize their NEGATIVE contribution to pollution on the planet.

The consequences

They are not isolated events that impact nature and do not affect people, quite the opposite. The repeated changes in the climate are mostly expressed by climatic consequences, either in destruction or loss of spaces.

Climate catastrophes have increased sharply in the last 20 years and here are the results.

The anomalies that we generate to nature through global warming and causing climate change, are not only expressed in catastrophes.

We see them most significantly in FORCED MIGRATION by the environment or known as "ECONOMIC MIGRATION".

"Quantifying environmental migration is a difficult task, due to the multiple factors that cause it, the methodological problems involved, and the lack of standards for data collection".

Some quantitative data exists on population movements within countries and, to a lesser extent, from one country to another caused by natural hazards.

However, in the case of migration caused by slow-onset environmental processes, such as drought or sea level rise, most of the existing data is qualitative and based on case studies, with very few comparative studies. .

"While data gaps persist, research methodologies are constantly improving."

Disadvantages

Droughts observed in the Northern Hemisphere this summer were "at least 20 times more likely" from human-caused climate change, according to a new "quick attribution" study.

The summer of 2022 saw Europe's worst drought in 500 years.

A combination of record temperatures and low rainfall has caused rivers to dry up, wildfires to rage and crop failures will exacerbate already high food prices.

And also in...

Elsewhere, the western United States experienced its most extreme drought conditions in 1,200 years and sections of the Yangtze, China's longest river, hit their lowest level since at least 1865 amid extreme temperatures and a "serious lack of water." of rain".

The World Weather Attribution finds that droughts of this intensity can be expected in the Northern Hemisphere once every 20 years in the current climate. However, in a world without climate change, they would only be expected once every 400 years or less.

The team also focused on west-central Europe, where they found that climate change made drought three to four times worse.

Climate change is causing "compounding and cascading risks," one study author told the news conference. For example, extreme droughts caused crop failures at a time when "world markets were already struggling with the impacts of the Ukraine war."

Record drought

In September 2022, after months of intense drought in the Northern Hemisphere, BBC News published an article with the headline: “Drought in China, Europe and the US:

Is 2022 the driest year on record?

From early May to mid-September, back-to-back heat waves swept across Europe, earning the summer the title of "hottest on record".

Two-thirds of Europe found itself under drought warnings in what some reported as the continent's worst drought in 500 years.

The drought had serious impacts on agriculture. For example, the Po river basin in northern Italy experienced its worst “WATER CRISIS” in about 70 years, disappearing completely in some areas and causing a 30% drop in the rice harvest.

As similar stories unfolded across Europe, fears of a global food security crisis were growing.

Professor Maarten van Aalst, of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, told a news conference that climate change is producing "composite and cascading risks". Speaking of the current food crisis, he said: “World markets were already struggling with the impacts of the Ukraine war, both in food prices and through fertilisers.

We had already seen some other weather shocks in those agricultural prices, including South Asian heat in India and Pakistan...

"In turn we saw the shocks that spread throughout the global system.”

The Guardian called the event a "MEGA DROUGHT," noting that Lake Mead and Lake Powell "are at record lows and steadily wilting," adding that "wildfires now rage year-round as that dry forests and grasslands are more primed than ever to burn.

Separately, China was hit by its most severe heat wave in six decades.

Sections of the Yangtze reached their lowest level since at least 1865, limiting hydroelectric power, halting shipping and forcing major companies to suspend operations.

Agricultural drought

There are many ways to define drought. For example, hydrologic drought focuses on the amount of rainfall a region receives, while pluvial droughts focus on surface and groundwater flows.

This study focuses on the “AGRICULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL DROUGHT”, which measures the moisture content of the soil.

The researchers calculated soil moisture in the "SURFACE" and "ROOT ZONE," which measure the amount of moisture in the top seven centimeters and top meter of soil, respectively.

Specialists say that measuring agricultural and ecological drought in the root zone is "PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT" because most plants absorb water at this depth.

This is why they investigate the role of climate change on soil moisture between June and August 2022 in the northern hemisphere, excluding tropical regions.

They also focus on a smaller region of central-western Europe during the same period.

Reflection

Climate Change is affecting every area of our lives and in sometimes smaller proportions, following by serious effects with intensity.

"Which accelerate our prevention measures, but also attack our surprise, leaving us unprotected in the face of extreme catastrophes."

The repercussions on our daily habits are undeniable "and it is remarkable how human beings are adapting to the fury of a climate that we knew how to destroy."

There must be an immediate change in efficiency habits! Those that we should adopt, so that improvements are reflected.

This article is also published on the author's blog. Illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.