How has the average surface temperature of the Earth changed over the past decades?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Only lazy people don't talk about climate change now. Unusually hot and dry summers, frosty winters with minimal snow… In a word, the average temperature of the planet has definitely changed. That's just how it has changed, and what it can turn into in the not so distant future?

Scientists say temperatures have risen by about 3 degrees over the past century. It seems to be a trifle, however, such a meager change in temperature has led to a significant change in climatic conditions. The ice of Greenland and the Arctic is melting, biologists grimly predict the imminent extinction of polar bears, and ornithologists are writing dissertations on the topic of a significant change in bird flight routes. In particular, many cranes now stop for winter in regions much closer to their habitats than they did just half a century ago.

In general, there is sufficient evidence to argue that the average temperature on Earth has risen significantly. But is a person involved in this phenomenon? Here the opinions of scientists differ radically. Supporters of anthropomorphic climate change tend to blame humans for everything, while their opponents argue that humanity has little to docontributed to warming.

Arguments of the latter are the simplest mathematical calculations. They show that the average temperature will rise much more from an average volcanic eruption. All factories in the world emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few years than a single volcano in a couple of days of eruption! If we talk about powerful eruptions, like the one that destroyed the Cretan civilization, then the comparison is reminiscent of a wood-boring beetle and a woodworking factory.

Thus, the question of why the average temperature of the Earth has risen remains open to this day. But what will further warming lead to?

In principle, the consequences can already be observed today: the area of deserts is expanding, there is a gradual degradation of soils, and the level of the World Ocean is rising. But it's not all bad.

Environmentalists say that if the average temperature continues to rise, then most of our country will be positively affected. The growing season of plants will increase sharply, the climate will become warmer and milder. However, most of the coastal lands will be flooded, and crowds of refugees will rush to safety, which clearly will not help stabilize the political and economic situation in the country.

But there is another danger. And its name is the greenhouse effect. As the temperature of the planet's surface rises, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises sharply. Initially, this is precisely what causes warming, whichtime is replaced by a sharp cold snap. This is how all ice ages on our planet began.

So what awaits us? It is rather difficult to answer this question unequivocally: there is not enough statistical data. However, with a fair degree of certainty, we can say that the average temperature will still increase in the coming decades. There is no doubt that humanity should play less big politics and think more about its own future.