How is climate change affecting weather

Heat waves are smashing records, while greenhouse gases are rapidly increasing in the atmosphere, trapping heat. Significant floods are a consequence of glacier loss and the rise in ocean temperatures. On the other hand, intense heat causes severe wildfires. All of these extreme changes in weather patterns are serious side effects of climate change. The harmful effects of climate change on weather are obvious; nonetheless, this study will focus on incidents from recent years. These intense weather events endanger the daily lives of humans and animals while also pushing the planet Earth closer to distortion.

Global warming, defined as high temperatures on the planet with higher heat waves, is becoming more severe with each passing moment and is responsible for events such as forest fires, heavy rains, floods, warming oceans, sea level rise, tornadoes, droughts, and deadly heat waves that are completely unpredictable. The amount of water evaporation increased, reducing water resources and causing many countries to face a water crisis. Dry conditions generally occur when rivers and other reservoirs of water evaporate, removing moisture from the land. On the other hand, this evaporation is forming more clouds and causing unexpectedly severe rainfall. A surge of extreme weather events is taking place across the globe. The disaster stories alarm us and are the most concerning headlines this year: heat waves in India, the Middle East, or the warmer temperature of the ocean. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the year 2024 hits more severely compared to the year 2023. Intense greenhouse gas emissions and havoc in weather patterns are affecting almost every region of the world.

For a comprehensive overview of recent weather events, let's go through all of the disaster stories that have made news.

Venezuela's last Glacier:

The Humboldt or La Corona Glacier, Venezuela's last glacier, melted too quickly, according to the International Climate and Cryosphere Initiative (ICCI); additionally, its current geographic coverage is too little, with 0.02 square kilometres of remaining area, to be considered a glacier. This makes Venezuela the first country in America to lose all its glaciers. Melting glaciers are the consequences of human activities and climate change, leading Earth to lose all of its glaciers sooner.

Rise in sea levels;

Warmer water temperatures are one of the primary reasons why aquatic organisms are dying off. The melting of glaciers and ice caps in the tropics causes freshwater to enter the seafloor. For the past 150 years, this condition has caused an 8-inch rise in sea level.

Deadly heat waves:

Heat waves in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives and the Middle East have had the worst effects on record. Greenhouse gas emissions rise as air conditioning devices remain in constant use through the hot summer months. India has been experiencing strong heat waves since the early summer season. The serious implications during election campaigns reported Maharashtra election campaign where Union Minister of the country collapsed due to extreme heatstroke. The early summer season caused people in Andhra Pradesh to suffer from the hottest temperature of 46.3°C in the cities of Kadapa and Nandyal, yet that never proved to be the last straw and only the start of new records. All previous high records broke one after another across the country as a whole, surpassing 49.9 °C in the capital of India, and lastly, the highest record was 52.9 °C. Death rates rose due to heat waves in the country. Throughout crucial polling days, Bihar saw extreme scorching conditions that claimed the lives of a minimum 19 individuals.In Madhya Pradesh, temperatures soared above 44 degrees Celsius in Aurangabad and Kaimur districts.

After 30 deaths in Thailand from heat stroke, officials issued cautions to limit outdoor activity. In Mecca, the extreme heat raised concerns about the deaths during Hajj, where the temperature went up to 51 °C, which led to over 1000 deaths.

Water Crisis:

Among the most water-stressed countries on the globe, Jordan is on board with a water scarcity of 500 cubic metres per capita per year. India also faced a water shortage in the months of February and March. The 13 million residents of Silicon Valley, "Bengaluru," due to less rainfall, were out of fresh water sources as 14,000 of its borewells went dry.

Tornadoes:

Tornadoes are the most catastrophic meteorological events in the United States, causing widespread damage and loss of life. Power interruptions disrupted people's usual routines for more than five days in the regions. During the course of four days, 100 tornadoes struck the Midwest and Great Plains. Fatalities from tornadoes have risen lately. Cooke County, Texas, lost seven people, while Arkansas and Kentucky lost more.

In April, a tornado struck Guangzhou City, China resulting in 33 injuries and five fatalities.

Cyclones and Hurricanes:

Hurricanes and tropical cyclones strengthen when temperatures increase while the ocean gets warmer enough to the sensation of touch. Remal most recently slammed the regions of West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh, forcing many to escape to storm shelters. There were over 69 fatality cases to count.

Rains and Floods:

On the 16th of April there was a tremendous amount of rain in the United Arab Emirates, or Emirates. Overnight, heavy rains turn highways into large pools. Airways functioning at the globe's busiest international airport experienced delays, and some planes diverted to other destinations. In Dubai, cars were stranded. Warehouses and schools remained shut down owing to the most unwelcome precipitation in 75 years. Moreover a torrential downpour and sudden flooding caused havoc over sections of the Arabian Gulf geographical region, killed at least 18 people in Oman, and disrupted transport in the United Arab Emirates.

In May, the Kenyan torrential rains killed more than two hundred people and dislocated nearly 36,000 homes. Disrupted rainfall patterns led to downpours even in southern Brazil, with strong winds and lightning. These heavy showers caused the deaths of a hundred individuals, leaving around 130 missing and more than 230,000 displaced by flood water cutoffs.

Overflowing lakes and flooding streets, as well as terrible accidents and emergency rescue operations, are among the difficulties confronting India. Heat waves over the summers, which now have shifted into rainfalls along with floods, are rising in the country. We are now going through a vicious cycle involving water shortages and flooding as a result of climate change. Heavy rainfall has caused havoc in several parts of India. Heavy rains flooded roads, drowned automobiles, and caused power outages in areas of the region.

Wildfires:

Recent wildfire smoke is spreading across North America, threatening air quality across much of Canada, California, and the Pacific Northwest. These days, wildfires are out of control. In Western North America and Canada, wildfires are vital to the natural ecosystem, and local people in this area are witnessing the early onset of the fire season. Looking back at previous wildfire situations, the most catastrophic one occurred in California in 2018, damaging an area the size of a typical football field every three seconds and killing roughly 68 people. In 2020, a forest fire scorched more than 4 million acres. On the other hand, four firefighting personnel died while fighting a blaze in Canada in 2023. Around 250,000 Canadians had to relocate. There are additional emissions from this blaze, contributing to the dangerous air pollution that causes 2.98 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide to enter the atmosphere.

Safety precautions to mitigate climate change:

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints through sustainable transportation in a variety of ways, such as using electric vehicles instead of diesel-powered automobiles, flying less and less instead of driving personal vehicles, and taking public transportation, bicycles, or walking will be effective.
Renewable energies should be based on clean energy sources rather than fossil fuels. Solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass energy are more efficient.
Preserving forests, wetlands, and other natural areas to protect ecosystems and biodiversity would assist to mitigate climate change.
Protecting oceans from oil and gas drilling and deep sea mining, oceans are great help absorbing significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and contribute to climatic stability.
Proper water and waste management will be efficient.
Prohibition or reducing the consumption of plastic materials, since plastic consumption and uses are not only harmful and may require year degrade, and damage the soil quality. In addition, burning plastic releases a large quantity of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Recycle, reduce, repair, and refurbish electronic goods, materials that are textiles plastics, and other carbon-intensive products.
Consuming more veggies, as a vegetarian diet lowers the carbon impact.
Increasing public understanding of appropriate educational procedures, research practices, and innovation.