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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC

Global Warming

Syllabus- Environment (GS Paper-3)

Context- A new study based on estimates of warming from palaeo-thermometry, have said that the earth’s surface has already warmed by more than 1.5 degrees C on average over pre-industrial degrees.

Background of 1.5degree C threshold

  • The 1.5 degrees C is not a systematic threshold. It became enshrined in the Paris Agreement after negotiations through member-nations of the UNFCCC.

Global warming

  • It refers back to the lengthy-term heating of Earth’s weather device found during the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900), often because of human activities.
  • This method releases greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the ecosystem and causing the planet to warm.

Causes

  • Greenhouse gases: These gases absorb and re-emit infrared radiation from the sun, trapping warmness in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main culprit, followed by using methane, nitrous oxide, and others.
  • Fossil gasoline burning: Burning coal, oil, and herbal gasoline releases huge amounts of CO2, the number one driving force of worldwide warming.
  • Deforestation: Trees absorb CO2, so their elimination contributes to better atmospheric levels.
  • Other human activities: Industrial methods, agriculture, and land-use changes also contribute to greenhouse fuel emissions.

Effects

  • Rising global temperatures: The average global temperature has already risen by about 1 degree Celsius since the pre-industrial era, with further warming expected in the future.
  • Climate change: More intense climate activities like heat waves, wildfires, and intense storms are becoming more frequent and severe.
  • Sea level upward push: Melting glaciers and thermal expansion of oceans are causing sea degrees to rise, threatening coastal groups and ecosystems.
  • Ocean acidification: Increased CO2 absorption via oceans makes them more acidic, harming marine life.
  • Changes in plant and animal existence: Species are being pressured to evolve or migrate because of converting temperatures and ecosystems.

Measures to deal with global warming

  • Mitigation:
      • Energy transition: Rapidly shift to renewable energy assets like sun, wind, geothermal, and hydro energy.
      • Sustainable land control: Protect forests, restore degraded land, and adopt sustainable agricultural practices that lessen emissions and shop carbon.
      • Circular financial system: Transition to a circular economic system wherein assets are reused and recycled, minimizing waste and related emissions.
      • Technological innovation: Invest in studies and improvement of easy technologies for various sectors, like carbon capture and and storage, advanced biofuels, and green hydrogen.
  • Adaptation:
    • Early warning systems: Develop and enforce effective early caution systems for excessive climate activities to permit well timed preparedness and reaction.
    • Climate-resilient infrastructure: Build and manipulate infrastructure like dams, water control structures, and coastal defenses to face up to the influences of growing sea degrees, floods, and storms.
    • Climate-smart agriculture: Develop and undertake agricultural practices which might be resilient to climate trade and drought, ensuring food protection.
    • Disaster danger discount: Invest in packages that lessen vulnerability to disasters and allow communities to get better fast and successfully.
    • Social safety nets: Implement social safety applications to assist vulnerable populations disproportionately tormented by weather alternate affects.

Global cooperation:

  • Global agreements: Strengthen global agreements like the Paris Agreement, making sure bold emissions reduction objectives and effective implementation mechanisms.
  • Technology transfer and economic assistance: Developed countries need to aid growing nations in their mitigation and adaptation efforts through technology switch, financial assistance, and capability building.

Individual action:

  • Reduce carbon footprint: Make conscious choices to lessen strength intake in your day by day lifestyles, opt for sustainable transportation, and eat much less.
  • Support climate-friendly businesses: Choose products and services from agencies committed to sustainability and decreasing their environmental effect.
  • Advocate for movement: Raise awareness about climate change and advocate for policies that support mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Way Ahead:

  • The urgency of addressing climate exchange is extensively diagnosed, however the tempo of movement remains insufficient to fulfill global objectives for emissions reductions.
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned of severe effects if we fail to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Source: Indian Express

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