Sunday, September 25, 2011

GLOBAL WARMING

This has been the warmest decade since 1880. In 2010, global surface temperatures tied 2005 as the warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists say that the earth could warm by an additional 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 21st century if we fail to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. This rise in average temperature will have far-reaching effects on the earth's climate patterns and on all living things. Many of these changes have already begun.

The Consequences of Global Warming
On Weather Patterns
Higher temperatures could lead to increased droughts and wildfires, heavier rainfall and a greater number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes.
More Powerful and Dangerous Hurricanes
Warmer water in the oceans pumps more energy into tropical storms, making them stronger and potentially more destructive. Even with storms of the same intensity, future hurricanes will cause more damage as higher sea levels exacerbate storm surges, flooding, and erosion.
Warning signs today:
  • The number of category 4 and 5 storms has greatly increased over the past 35 years, along with ocean temperature.
  • Hurricane Katrina of August 2005 was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history and caused economic losses in the order of $125 billion.

Drought and Wildfire
Warmer temperatures could increase the probability of drought. Greater evaporation, particularly during summer and fall, could exacerbate drought conditions and increase the risk of wildfires.
Warning signs today:
  • The 1999-2002 national drought was one of the three most extensive droughts in the last 40 years.
  • Warming may have lead to the increased drought frequency that the West has experienced over the last 30 years.
  • The 2006 wildland fire season set new records in both the number of reported fires as well as acres burned. Close to 100,000 fires were reported and nearly 10 million acres burned, 125 percent above the 10-year average.
  • Firefighting expenditures have consistently totaled upwards of $1 billion per year.
 Retrived from: http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons/fcons1.asp
 by: MÓNICA LILIANA GUTIERREZ MEDELLIN

2 comments:

  1. These are terrible consequences of global warming but we are withiut conscience and without doing anything to cambat climate change, let´s get into action to save the planet.

    José Eduardo Jiménez

    ReplyDelete
  2. my view is that more than anything is to alert information is not the destruction of the problem, but to reflect and make a lot of awareness.

    ReplyDelete