Climate Change
What is Climate Change
Climate change is the long-term change in temperature, weather patterns, and ocean conditions. It's largely caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation. This leads to increase in greenhouse gases which are gases that trap heat from the sun, warming Earth over time. The most common greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, methane released from landfills and livestock, and nitrous oxide. Since 1982, global temperature has been increase by 0.20°C (0.36°F) on average per decade. While this may not seem like much, even a small change has serious effects on an ecosystem
Image Source: https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2022-in-review-global-temperature
For example, polar bears rely on ice to hunt seals, which is their primary food source. However, as the temperature of the Arctic rises, the sea ice melts earlier and forms later every year, which reduces the time polar bears have to hunt. Climate change doesn't just affect polar regions; these small changes affect us. As more of the Arctic ice melts, the sea level increases near the coast, causing parts of the San Diego coast to disappear over time. San Diego is facing hotter temperatures, heatwaves, increased wildlife risks, severe droughts, and more. Even in other places like unexpected blizzards in Florida and flash flooding in Texas serve as small warnings to the disruptions of environments beyond polar regions.
Animals are especially affected because many species rely on specific environmental conditions to survive. Climate change can disrupt migration patterns, breeding seasons, and food availability, which pushes some species towards extinction. Climate change threatens biodiversity by disrupting habitats, food sources, and survival conditions, making it important to take action and protect and preserve the animals that sustain life on Earth.
