The Science and Impact of Climate Change by Asheem Srivastav

Author:Asheem Srivastav
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9789811308093
Publisher: Springer Singapore

4.1 Increased Vulnerability to Natural/Man-Made Disasters

Almost every individual on this planet is conversant with the proverb ‘whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’. In other words, it means ‘you will get what you sow’. There is a general belief that ocean and atmosphere never keep anything unwanted in their belly and return it soonest. The scientific logic behind this is easy to understand. The total energy of the Earth is well balanced, and any shift in that balance in any of its components results in destabilization inimical to the flow of energy. Greater the destabilization larger the reaction of nature that may be IRREVERSIBLE, no one knows for sure. A substantial proportion of 7 billion plus people have forced so many changes in global energetic that it seems difficult to retrieve the situation, at least in the near future.

Climate-related all events including catastrophic ones are a natural phenomenon, and all natural events cannot be directly linked to the recent climate change. It is not possible to say with confidence that a particular storm, fire, flood, drought or earthquake was caused by the recent climate change. But what can be said with certainty is the fact that any action that leads to increase in GHG, whether locally or globally, increases the risk of catastrophic events. It is like saying that there may not be a direct correlation between smoking and lung cancer (not every smoker has lung cancer) but that smoking increases the chances of lung cancer. What is worrisome is the fact that in recent years, there has been rise in torrential hurricanes, droughts, and ice and snow storms, raging heatwaves that have devastated many areas of the world claiming human and animal lives.

The climate events (Fig. 4.1) can be divided into:1.Climatological events: such as extreme temperatures, droughts and fires. For instance, in May 2015 global average temperature was highest on record. Some 2200 died people in India alone when the temperature soared 45 °C during the heatwave of 10 days.

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