About climate change
Climate change can be defined as a phenomenon where significant and long term changes can be observed in the environment of a particular place or region. During the recent times, there has been increased scientific evidence that suggests that the temperature of the earth is increasing as a result of human activities. There are different ways in which human activities are influencing changes in the environment. Some of these include fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, obnoxious gases released by the industries, land use, agriculture,
Among all these, fossil fuel combustion holds the biggest share in influencing climate change. Ever since industrial revolution has taken place, human consumption of fossil fuels has increased significantly. As a result, concentration of certain gases in the atmosphere has increased to enormous levels resulting in increased temperatures on the earth, a phenomenon known as greenhouse effect. Some of these gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur that have caused huge depletions in the ozone layer. Next important factor that has significantly changed environment is deforestation. Trees have an important role to play in safeguarding earth’s environment since they absorb harmful greenhouse gases from the environment and convert them into useful materials. Apart from these, other factors such as excessive usage of land, rise in agricultural activities and rearing of livestock have been known to contribute enormously towards release of greenhouse gases, thereby influencing changes in the local climate.
