The earth is warming. And the consequences of this are already clearly visible in many places.
The earth is warming due to the emission of greenhouse gases – such as carbon monoxide and methane. And especially in recent decades it has been going very fast; On average, the global temperature has risen by about 0.18 degrees Celsius per decade since 1981. It will therefore come as no surprise that the warmest years ever measured have all taken place quite recently; the top three consists of 2016, 2019 and 2020. And since the year 2015, the annual average global temperature has invariably been 1 degree Celsius higher than in pre-industrial times. And those higher temperatures are not without consequences; Global warming is already starting to have an effect in many places. We highlight seven for you.
1. Greenland
On the largest island in the world, climate change is not something of the future, but reality. The island is covered by a thick ice sheet that did not lose mass until 1990; ice lost through melting or calving was compensated by snowfall each year. But that has changed since 1990; the ice sheet is losing more ice than it is gaining. This is partly because the atmosphere is warming. In addition, higher water temperatures also play a role; as the surrounding waters warm, the glacier tongues resting on the water lose mass. As a result, they are less able to counterbalance the glaciers on land, causing them to flow faster. And you can see that, Michiel van den Broeke, professor of polar meteorology at Utrecht University, told years ago. Scientias.nl† “Because the glacier – especially at the far end – flows faster, it stretches a bit and the surface looks a bit crumbly. You can also clearly see that glaciers have become thinner.” Many glaciers rest between two rock faces. “You can see a slight color difference on those walls that betrays that the glacier was once thicker. Sometimes it is a difference of up to 100 meters. So a lot is changing. And that happens very quickly.”
2. Arctic Ocean
Another place where the effects of climate change are clearly visible is the Arctic Ocean. This is traditionally covered with a huge amount of sea ice. But that sea ice has been fading fast in recent years. As a result, not only has the size of the sea ice decreased; its thickness also decreases. The disappearance of sea ice is worrying because it could accelerate global warming. Sea ice is light in color and reflects about 80 percent of the sunlight (and therefore also the sun’s heat). When it disappears, it automatically gives way to the much darker ocean below, which absorbs just 90 percent of the sunlight (and heat). For example, the disappearance of sea ice will further accelerate the warming of the Arctic.
3. Morteratsch Glacier
But climate change is also visible closer to home, for example in the Alps. There we find the Morteratsch Glacier, which is on average 20 meters shorter every year. And you can see that, Hans Oerlemans, professor of meteorology at Utrecht University, told me a few years ago Scientias.nl† “If you walk through the valley, you can see very well from the moraines (debris deposits from the glacier, ed.) on the sides how high the ice used to be. And then you sometimes have to conclude that the place where you are now walking was still 100 meters of ice about 50 years ago. That is very impressive.” The story of this glacier is not an isolated one; researchers expect the Alps to have lost about half of their current glacier volume by 2050.
4. Third Pole
We all know the North and South Poles, but do you also know the ‘third pole’? The term is sometimes used to refer to the Himalayas; an impressive mountain range that contains the most ice after the Arctic and Antarctic. And that ice disappears very quickly, as recent research has shown. “Recent annual losses have averaged about 8 billion tons of water,” study researcher Josh Maurer said earlier. If you want to imagine that: you can fill 3.2 million Olympic swimming pools with that. In addition to rising temperatures, changes in precipitation also play a role in the mass loss of Himalayan glaciers. Like soot; Because many Asian countries burn large amounts of fossil fuels and biomass, a lot of soot is also generated, which partly ends up on the glaciers, where it absorbs solar energy and accelerates melting. Although the relatively low-lying glaciers receive the most melt, recent research has shown that even the highest glaciers cannot escape the impact of climate change; for example, even the South Col Glacier, located on the famous Mount Everest – has thinned by some 55 meters in the past 25 years.
5. Great Barrier Reef
But it’s not just ice-rich areas that are affected by warming. Elsewhere, too, the high temperatures are ruthless. For example, off the coast of Australia, where the beautiful Great Barrier Reef is located. The reef is changing under the influence of climate change. For example, the reef suffers from marine heat waves that occur more frequently due to global warming. The high water temperatures result in the microscopic algae that inhabit the coral (and provide it with color) to move away. What remains are ‘faded’ corals. They are not necessarily doomed to die, but they can have considerably less than their counterparts who still live in symbiosis with algae. Three times in the past five years, large parts of the reef have been bleached by ‘marine heat waves’. Those bleached corals can recover, but that becomes a lot more difficult when the marine heat waves follow each other so quickly. In addition, the coral also suffers from the acidification of the oceans; a large part of the CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans and that leads to a higher acidity. And in such a more acidic ocean, corals are less able to form skeletons and reefs. Finally, climate change also means that extreme weather events – such as cyclones, storms and floods – occur more frequently and become even more extreme. And that’s bad news for coastal areas like the Great Barrier Reef.
6. Netherlands
But here too, in our own little country – where the temperature has risen even faster than globally (in 130 years it has warmed by an average of 1.7 degrees Celsius) – the consequences of warming are being felt. For example, the number of cold days and nights has decreased considerably. At the same time, the amount of precipitation increases, the growing and flowering season starts earlier and the chance of heat waves increases.
7. West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula
Then back to an ice-rich area: Antarctica. Here too, a lot of ice is lost due to global warming, especially in West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. Ice loss has tripled in ten years, according to Dutch researchers a few years ago. And in 25 years, global sea levels have risen by an average of 7.2 millimeters due to Antarctic ice loss alone. Forty percent of that increase – about 3 millimeters – took place in just five years. “The loss of ice fluctuates due to variations in snowfall per year, but the broad outline is very clear,” said Van den Broeke in 2018. “And that in one generation. That is not nothing.”
The areas mentioned above are just a few of the countless places where climate change is already being felt. It is clear that many more places can be named; Recent research shows that anthropogenic climate change is already affecting at least 80 percent of the Earth’s surface. And that means that 85 percent of the world’s population is already aware of it. It’s disturbing; Climate change is not something in the future, but is already underway. And if we don’t act, temperatures will continue to rise and the impact of warming will become even more terrifying, a study group at the United Nations has warned. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is specifically researching the impact of climate change, earlier this year, including through its co-chairman Hans-Otto Pörtner. “Climate change threatens humanity and the health of the planet. If we wait any longer with a global, focused approach, we will miss our opportunity to ensure a livable future.”