Disasters caused by global warming accelerate global warming

 
By Science Columnist Ho-Gwan Ko

 

Heat wave alerts are not surprising news anymore. We have been warned about record-breaking heat waves several times before summer begins. Even if where you live is immune to heat waves, many people die from abnormally hot weather somewhere on the planet every year. This summer, many European countries suffered the worst heat wave. A region in northern Spain recorded a high temperature of 42°C, which was apparently the highest in 65 years.

Heat waves are bad for your health. Our body is supposed to maintain 36.5°C. If our body temperature is not properly controlled due to heat waves, various problems arise such as heat stroke, caused by failure of the body's heat control mechanisms, heat exhaustion, caused by sweating too much, and heat cramps that occur during heavy exercise in hot environments. In addition, the mortality rate of patients suffering from chronic diseases including diabetes and hypertension increases.

It’s not just heat waves that global warming brings. As the air heats up, a number of abnormal climate conditions are often observed. This year, East Asia suffered from a long rainy season instead of heat waves. In Korea, the rainy season lasted for about 55 days, breaking the record in terms of both length of time and precipitation. Long heavy rains in China produced over 200 casualties and 60 million displaced people, and Japan was also heavily damaged by an unusual monsoon season.

 

 ▲Disasters caused by global warming not only cost many lives but also accelerate global warming by emitting more greenhouse gases.

Although abnormal climate phenomena such as heat waves, cold waves, and heavy rain existed before global warming, they are getting worse and happening more frequently. Meteorologists speculate that global warming is the cause. We shouldn’t take global warming lightly; it’s not simply the earth getting warmer. Consisting of complex events that we can’t even predict, weather can cause a variety of disasters.

Massive wildfires broke out throughout California this year, burning areas six times the size of Seoul. This marked the second largest series of wildfires in California history, with more than 100,000 residents evacuated and over 10,000 firefighters working to put out the fires.

The cause of the fires was lightning. About a whopping 10,000 lightning strikes in three days caused wildfires all over the place. Meteorologists say that the warmer the air, the more water vapor it can hold, and as a result, lightning strikes more often. Additionally, it's not easy to put out wildfires amid massive heat waves exceeding 40°C.

California was not the only area that suffered from wildfires. In Australia, massive wildfires occurred from Sep 2019 to Jan 2020, causing great damage to humans and animals. This wildfires also spread fast due to the heat wave. On Jan 4, Sydney had the highest temperature of 48.9°C since measurements started. In addition, Siberia in the Arctic Circle suffered from a large forest fire as well.

Another disaster caused by climate change is drought. It rains too much in some places, while it rains too little in other places. Europe has been worried about droughts for three years. One region is suffering from the worst drought in 100 years, and another in 500 years. Many countries in Africa have already suffered severe droughts due to global warming for a long time. Droughts lead to crop loss putting not only people but also animals and plants in danger.

Furthermore, if the current trend of melting glaciers and rising sea levels continues, seashore lowlands will be submerged, displacing the residents. A 0.5-meter increase in sea levels could flood the world's major coastal cities and make the small islands of the Pacific Ocean disappear. If a tsunami is added to this scenario due to a strong typhoon, the damage will become more severe.

It turns out that even the polar regions, which were thought to benefit from global warming, are not free from disasters. As the frozen permafrost melts, the cities and infrastructure on it are in danger of collapse. In fact, as the ground collapses, industrial facilities such as oil pipes are being damaged.

What's even more frightening is that these disasters create a vicious cycle of global warming. When the Siberian permafrost melts, methane gas buried in the ground is released into the air. It’s a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. As heat waves get longer, people use air conditioners more, releasing more carbon dioxide and accelerating global warming. As for wildfires, trees are burned releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.

We should consider what we can do to go through this difficult time in our daily lives.