ABNORMAL CLIMATE

Climate is a region with a particular whether condition that occurs regularly over a long period of time. Abnormal climate is a shift in the process or the pattern of a climate that lasts for a long period of time. Distortions in the regular pattern or path of a climate may be referred to as abnormal. Abnormal in the sense that, if for a long period of time Town A has been experiencing rainfall in March, then we say the whether condition for Town A in March is rainy. But in the case where Town A experiences snowing in March say 2018 and it repeats itself in 2019, 2020 and the follow up years, then we tag it as abnormal because there has been a distortion in the regular pattern of the climate in Town A. Thus, from raining to snowing and it is creating the impression of lasting for a very long time.

Abnormal climate is a global problem that affects our everyday life. It is very worth to say that this abnormal climate occurs by some natural phenomenon and also by the doings of humans. In other words, human activities are one of the main cause of abnormal climate around the globe and abnormal climate occurs as a result of changes in temperature. Water levels are to rise by seven (7) meters from now if the changes in temperature is not controlled and thus, if Greenland keeps melting. This would cause an uncontrollable flood because this 7 meters rise would find its way onto the main land, where you and I live.

Life affects climate through its role in the carbon and water cycles and through such mechanisms as albedo, evapotranspiration, cloud formation, and weathering. Other mechanisms that affects climate include: volcanism, orbital variations, solar output, plate tectonics, cosmic ray flux and chicxulub impact.

On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and the rate at which it is lost to space determine the equilibrium temperature and climate of Earth. This energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcing or "forcing mechanisms".

Forcing mechanisms are processes such as variations in solar radiation, variations in the Earth's orbit, variations in the albedo or reflectivity of the continents, atmosphere, and oceans, mountain-building and continental drift and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond more slowly in reaction to climate forcing, while others respond more quickly. There are also key threshold factors which when exceeded can produce rapid change.

Evidence of climate change include changes in the following phenomenon

·         Temperature (surface and oceans):

The instrumental temperature record from surface stations was supplemented by radiosonde balloons, extensive atmospheric monitoring by the mid-20th century, and, from the 1970s on, with global satellite data as well. Taking the record as a whole, most of the 20th century had been unprecedentedly warm, while the 19th and 17th centuries were quite cool. (Src: wikipedia.com)

·         Glaciers:

A glacier is a large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock, sediment, and often liquid water that originates on land and moves down slope under the influence of its own weight and gravity. They are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change. Their size is determined by a mass balance between snow inputs and melt output. As temperatures warm, glaciers retreat unless snow precipitation increases to make up for the additional melt; the converse is also true.

·         Arctic sea ice decline

Arctic sea ice decline refers to the sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean. Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface. It covers millions of square kilometers in the Polar Regions, varying with the seasons.

·         Sea level change

Global sea level change for much of the last century has generally been estimated using tide gauge measurements collated over long periods of time to give a long term average. More recently, altimeter measurements—in combination with accurately determined satellite orbits—have provided an improved measurement of global sea level change. (Src: wikipedia.com)

·         Ice cores

Analysis of ice in a core drilled from an ice sheet such as the Antarctic ice sheet, can be used to show a link between temperature and global sea level variations. The air trapped in bubbles in the ice can also reveal the CO₂ variations of the atmosphere from the distant past, well before modern environmental influences. The study of these ice cores has been a significant indicator of the changes in CO₂ over many millennia, and continues to provide valuable information about the differences between ancient and modern atmospheric conditions. (Src: wikipedia.com)

·         Cloud cover and precipitation

Past precipitation can be estimated in the modern era with the global network of precipitation gauges. Surface coverage over oceans and remote areas is relatively sparse, but, reducing reliance on interpolation, satellite clouds and precipitation data has been available since the 1970s.

Abnormal climate is a torture in the lives of our generation but together we can fight and win the war against it.

Thank you.

Obiri Amoako Justice

Eco Generation Ambassador (Ghana)