Global warming

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Global warming is a long-term increase in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system, occurring for more than a century, the main cause of which is human activity (anthropogenic factor).

Since 1850, on a decadal scale, the air temperature in each decade has been higher than in any previous decade. Since 1750-1800, humans have been responsible for increasing the average global temperature by 0.8-1.2 °C. The likely value of further temperature growth over the course of the twenty-first century based on climate models is 0.3-1.7 °C for the minimum greenhouse gas emission scenario, and 2.6-4.8 °C for the maximum emission scenario.

The effects of global warming include rising sea levels, regional changes in precipitation, and more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves and expanding deserts. As stated on the UN website: there is disturbing evidence that exceeding the thresholds leading to irreversible changes in the ecosystems and climate system of our planet has already occurred.

The impact of global warming on the environment is broad and far-reaching. It includes the following various effects:

Melting Arctic ice, rising sea levels, and retreating glaciers: global warming has led to decades of shrinking and thinning Arctic sea ice. Now it is in a dangerous position and vulnerable to atmospheric anomalies. Sea level rise since 1993 has been estimated to have averaged between 2.6 mm and 2.9 mm per year ± 0.4 mm. In addition, sea level rise accelerated during the observation period from 1995 to 2015. The IPCC high-emission scenario suggests that sea levels could rise by an average of 52-98 cm over the course of the twenty-first century.

Natural disaster: an increase in global temperature will lead to changes in the amount and distribution of precipitation. The atmosphere becomes more humid, with more rain falling in high and low latitudes, and less in tropical and subtropical regions. As a result, floods, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events may become more frequent.

Heat waves and other quasi-stationary weather conditions: the frequency of extremely hot weather events has increased approximately 50-fold compared to the decades before 1980.

Reducing the days of "favorable" weather: researchers determine its boundaries with a temperature of 18 °C-30 °C, precipitation of no more than 1 mm per day and low humidity, with a dew point below 20 °C. On average, "favorable weather" is maintained on Earth for 74 days a year, and this indicator will decrease due to global warming.

Ocean acidification, ocean deoxygenation: an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to an increase in dissolved CO2 in seawater and, consequently, an increase in ocean acidity, measured by lower pH values.

Long-term effects also include the reaction of the earth's crust caused by ice melting and subsequent deglaciation in a process called glacioisostasis, in which land areas stop experiencing the pressure of the mass of ice. This can lead to landslides and increased seismic and volcanic activity. Underwater landslides caused by warming ocean water, melting permafrost on the ocean floor, or the release of gas hydrates can cause tsunamis.

Another example is the possibility of slowing or stopping the circulation of Atlantic meridional currents. This may cause cooling in the North Atlantic, Europe, and North America. This will particularly affect areas such as the British Isles, France and Northern European countries that are being warmed by the North Atlantic current.