In this blog post, we will look at the reality of sea level rise and extreme weather events caused by global warming, and consider what measures individuals and society can take to prevent them.
You may have seen a public service announcement with a picture of a polar glacier melting like ice cream on a hot day, accompanied by a warning about rising sea levels. “Even if most of our islands are submerged, we will not leave our land. We must prevent that from happening.” This is what the Prime Minister of Tuvalu said. Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is considered a prime example of the damage caused by global warming. Much of the country has already been flooded due to rising sea levels. Today, global warming is considered a major factor in many extreme weather events, including rising sea levels, and has become a major social issue. Let’s take a closer look at global warming.
‘Global warming’ refers to the long-term rise in the temperature near the surface of the earth. It was first mentioned in the 1972 report of the Club of Rome, and then began to attract attention in 1985 when the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme claimed that the greenhouse effect caused by the increase in carbon dioxide concentration was the cause of global warming. Many experts predict that if global warming continues, it will lead to an irreversible catastrophe, and they have recently pointed to global warming as the cause of extreme weather events. Currently, humanity is working together to prevent global warming, launching a number of international agreements and cooperation organizations and implementing various campaigns.
In fact, since its creation, the Earth has been going through repeated periods of cold glaciation and warm interglacials. Currently, the Earth is in an interglacial period, and it is natural for the Earth’s temperature to rise, but the rate of increase is too high and this is a problem. The average temperature of the Earth has been rising and falling since the beginning of weather observations until the 1970s, and has shown a clear rise in temperature since the 1960s. The average temperature increase over the past 50 years has been 0.13°C every 10 years, which is about twice as high as the increase over the past 100 years (0.07°C/10 years). The past 10 years have been recorded as the hottest period in meteorological history, and the temperature is expected to rise even more in the future.
The need to prevent global warming stems from the fact that human activities are the main cause of the increase in greenhouse gases. Gases that cause the greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, carbon tetrachloride, which is also known as freon, and nitrogen dioxide. All of these gases can become more concentrated due to human activities, and the observed results show that their concentration is increasing significantly. If greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere at the current rate, the global average temperature is expected to rise by about 3°C by 2040, and in the worst case, the environment will become uninhabitable for humans by the end of the 21st century. Although there is controversy over the fact that the greenhouse effect is the main cause of global warming, the prevailing opinion is that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will mitigate global warming.
The main damage expected from global warming is sea level rise. The melting of glaciers floating in the sea does not directly affect sea level, but the melting of glaciers on land and their flow into the sea causes sea level to rise. In addition, the change in the density of seawater due to rising temperatures also contributes to sea level rise. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a sea level rise of 110 to 880 mm by the 21st century. If the sea level rises to this extent, many people living in low-lying coastal areas will have to move to higher ground, and most small island nations could disappear from the face of the earth. If global warming continues and even the glaciers of Greenland melt, the sea level could rise by more than 6 meters, an amount that could submerge most of the cities located along the coast.
In addition, extreme weather is considered to be a typical damage of global warming. As the temperature of the earth rises, the temperature of the sea also rises, and when a low pressure system forms, it tends to have stronger energy. For example, Typhoon ‘Rusa’ rained 870 mm in Gangneung in one day, breaking the record for the highest daily precipitation, and caused more than 5 trillion won in property damage. Typhoon Maemi caused more than 130 casualties and more than 4.7 trillion won in property damage across the country. In addition, global warming is changing precipitation patterns, causing floods on one side of the country while causing water shortages on the other. Precipitation increased in mid- and high-latitude regions, such as North and South America, eastern Europe, and northern Asia, while it decreased in low-latitude regions, such as the Sahel, the Mediterranean, and South and South Asia. An example is Lake Chad, which was once the sixth largest lake in the world, which evaporated due to drought. The frequency and duration of El Niño and La Niña events have also increased, which is closely related to the rise in global temperatures. Rising temperatures mean increased energy, and the Earth, which has warmed due to global warming, has more energy, which causes it to circulate water faster, causing extreme weather events.
So, what is the way to stop global warming? Simply put, it is to reduce greenhouse gases. If global warming is caused by human activities, it is due to the greenhouse gases emitted by humans. Another cause is the increased concentration of carbon dioxide due to deforestation. Although there are no practical solutions so far, there are things that individuals and communities can do.
Individual solutions include saving energy and resources. There are various ways to do this, such as saving electricity at home, using public transportation, and saving water. Using environmentally friendly products is also a good way. For example, using high-efficiency home appliances or products that generate less waste. If this consumption pattern becomes established, producers will also consider it when producing products, so the economic structure itself may change to be more environmentally friendly in the long run. In the same vein, making recycling a part of everyday life is also effective. A large amount of methane gas is emitted when waste is incinerated, so it is a great achievement if this can be reduced. Another practice that individuals can do is to plant or care for trees, which are carbon dioxide sinks. Countries with abundant forests, such as Northern Europe, have a large amount of carbon dioxide absorption and therefore have a smaller burden of reducing greenhouse gases.
At the community level, there is the Kyoto Protocol, which regulates greenhouse gas emissions, but there are difficulties in implementing it due to the political and economic interests of the participating countries. To reduce greenhouse gases without conflict between countries, “development of alternative energy” is necessary. Currently, various alternative energies are being researched and used, but the cost is high, making it difficult for consumers to use them easily. The way to go is to come up with a way to commercialize alternative energy at a low cost.
So far, we have looked at global warming, its causes, and countermeasures. Global warming is a phenomenon in which the Earth’s temperature rises, and it is an important issue that could cause enormous damage to humanity if it continues. If meteorologists’ analysis is correct, we will have to pay more attention to global warming and make efforts to prevent it. If humanity has developed by utilizing nature, it may be time to move towards living in harmony with nature.
