Ms. Urooj Fatima, Green Blogger, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, GCWUS
Climate means the usual condition of the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and other meteorological elements in an area of the Earth's surface for a long time.
Climate change is any significant long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of a region (or the whole Earth) over a significant period of time.
The First World Climate Conference was held on 12-23 February 1979 in Geneva and sponsored by the WMO. It was one of the first major international meetings on climate change.
According to research led by Dr. Adil Najam at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, by 2040 the cost of climate change to agriculture in Pakistan is likely to be up to 7% of productivity but that good climate adaptation practices could result in a net productivity gain of up to 40+%.
A vast array of physical and biological systems across the Earth is being affected by warming temperatures caused by human activity. These impacts include earlier leafing of trees and plants over many regions; movements of species to higher latitudes and altitudes in the Northern Hemisphere; changes in bird migrations and shifting of the oceans' plankton and fish from cold- to warm-adapted communities.
According to a study it was observed that humans are influencing climate through increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and warming world is causing impacts on physical and biological systems attributable at the global scale.
As the climate warms, it changes the nature of global rainfall, evaporation, snow, stream flow and other factors that affect water supply and quality. Specific impacts include warmer water temperatures that affect water quality and accelerate water pollution. Climate change can alter rainfall, influence crop yields, affect human health, cause changes to forests and other ecosystems, and even impact the energy supply.
The global push for cleaner, healthier energy is on. With costs dropping every day, renewable energy is the best choice for the environment and the economy.
We can do things to reduce climate change. Whenever and wherever we should:
· Take public transit.
· Ride a bike.
· Car-share.
· Switch to an electric or hybrid vehicle.
· Fly less (if you do fly, make sure you offset your emissions).
The small changes we make add up:
· Change to energy-efficient light bulbs.
· Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when you’re not using them.
· Wash clothes in cold or warm (not hot) water.
· Dryers are energy hogs, so hang dry when you can and use dryer balls when you can’t.
· Install a programmable thermostat.
· Look for the Energy Star label when buying new appliances.
· Winterize your home to prevent heat from escaping.
· Get a home or workplace energy audit to identify where you can make the most energy-saving gains.
At last, putting a price on carbon is one of the most important pillars of any strong climate policy. Carbon pricing sounds boring, but it helps makes polluting activities more expensive and green solutions relatively more affordable, allowing the energy-efficient business and/or household to save money.
Urooj Fatima
Department of Environmental Sciences, GCWUS
The Earth Needs Love