Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system that persists for

several decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural processes, such as changes in
the Sun’s radiation, volcanoes or internal variability in the climate system, or due to human
influences such as changes in the composition of the atmosphere or land use. Many lines of
evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse
gases from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and land-use change, are primarily responsible
for the climate changes observed in the industrial era, especially over the last six decades. The
atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to human-caused warming,
has increased by about 40% over the industrial era. This change has intensified the natural
greenhouse effect, driving an increase in global surface temperatures and other widespread
changes in Earth’s climate that are unprecedented in the history.

The greenhouse effect is a natural Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and some artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Carbon dioxide and methane in particular, trap the heat radiated by the sun. The problem we now
face is that human activities are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases. From the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) observation, the increase and too much
concentration of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more
heat that warms up the planet leading to a phenomenon called global warming. Global warming is
the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere
and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. The
increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil
fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are believed to be the primary sources
of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years. Scientists from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global warming research have recently predicted
that average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100. Changes
resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps,
as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events – all of
which are signs of a changing climactic patterns.

The impact of climate change: According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the aspects
of climate change are having increasingly complex and important impacts on all the nations’
economy and quality of life. Impacts related to climate change are evident across regions and in
many sectors important to society—such as human health, agriculture and food security, water
supply, transportation, energy, ecosystems, and others—and are expected to become increasingly
disruptive throughout this century and beyond. Climate change affects human health and
wellbeing through more extreme weather events and wildfires, decreased air quality, and diseases
transmitted by insects, food, and water. Climate disruptions to agriculture have been increasing
and are projected to become more severe over this century, a trend that would diminish the
security of the world’s food supply. Surface and groundwater supplies in some regions are already
stressed, and water quality is diminishing in many areas, in part due to increasing sediment and
contaminant concentrations after heavy downpours. In some regions, prolonged periods of high
temperatures associated with droughts contribute to conditions that lead to larger wildfires and
longer fire seasons. For coastal communities, sea level rise, combined with coastal storms, has
increased the risk of erosion, storm surge damage, and flooding. Extreme heat, sea level rise, and
heavy downpours are affecting infrastructure like roads, rail lines, airports, and all other
infrastructures. The capacity of ecosystems like forests, barrier beaches, and wetlands to buffer the
impacts of extreme events like fires, floods, and severe storms is being overwhelmed. The rising
temperature and changing chemistry of ocean water is combining with other stresses, such as
overfishing and pollution, alter marine-based food production and harm fishing communities.
Some climate changes currently have beneficial effects for specific sectors or regions. For
example, current benefits of warming include longer growing seasons and longer ice – free period
for agriculture.

Climate Change Mitigation Efforts Nations all over the world are now experiencing the impacts of
climate change and are now making consensus efforts through the creation of domestic and
international treaties, policies, plans and actions to mitigate the effects and adapt to the risks
brought about by this world – wide environmental concern. It is time for humans to make effort and
find solution to the very problem they themselves created.