Global Warming is a Global Warning

Environment Degradation – Pollution of air and water, acid rain, deforestation, depleting ozone and nuclear hazards-coupled with recent global warming trend is raising an alarm in both industrialized and developing countries in recent years. Global warming refers to long-term temperature increase caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. When sunlight warms the earth, certain gases in the lower atmosphere acting like a glass in a greenhouse, trap some of the heat as it radiates back into space. If these gases were less concentrated, the temperature of the earth would fall below the freezing point and if they were more in concentrated, these might trap too much heat resulting in the global warming popularly known as Green House Effect (GHE).

The global temperature had risen by only 4C over the last 1800 years but it has increased by 0.5C since the last century because of rapid industrialization in the developed countries. The six out of seven warmest years of the last 130 years have occurred only in the past seven years. If current trend continues, global temperature will increase by 0.5C by 2005 AD, 1.5C by 2015-2050 AD and 3C by 2050-2100 AD.

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, petrol and gas coupled with volcanic eruptions and deforestation has caused a steady increase in the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere. CO2 alone, contributes more than half towards greenhouse effect. Chloro-fluro carbons (CFCs), the third culprit, used in the world in aerosols solvents, air conditioners and refrigerants are responsible for about 15% of the greenhouse effect. Although the concentration of CFCs in the atmosphere is less but each molecule of CFCs is 15,000 times more efficient in trapping heat as compared with a molecule of CO2. The ozone layer, a protective shield that surrounds the earth, has been depleted by 2-3% at global level by the attack of CFCs. The amount of UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface is increasing endangering the human and plant life.