Climate Change, a Major Threat to Humanity

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Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. This belief is shared by adults and the youth around the globe as the impact of climate change becomes more evident. The recent study by the American Psychological Association reveals that more than half of American adults believe that climate change is the most important issue at present and 62% of them say they will vote for a candidate in the next elections based on his or her position on climate change. Whereas the 2019 Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission shows that 93% of EU citizens consider climate change as a serious problem and they have taken at least one specific action to mitigate its adverse effects. Similarly, 90% of Singaporeans are aware of climate change and its impact and 80% of them are prepared to take climate action according to 2019 research conducted by the National Climate Change Secretariat. Amnesty International’s poll conducted among the youth in December 2019 reports that young people in 22 countries identify climate change as their top priority issue.

Humanity and our planet are in peril and there is no doubt we are in a climate crisis. While our planet has been experiencing climate change for millions of years now, human activities has expedited this change causing havoc on the environment. The past five years and the last decade were the hottest registered since temperature recordings began in late 1880s. Blistering heatwaves were experienced last year in Japan, China, India, Pakistan, and Australia. The recent Australian bushfires that ravaged the country, burned through large tracts of forests and farms, threatened communities, and killed more than a billion animals was clearly the influence of climate change. Just a few months ago, Southern and Northern California also experienced frightening wildfires that devastated the country’s most populated state. Climate change also further escalates fire risk in the Amazon, often threatened by deforestation. Middle East and North Africa have suffered from an almost continuous drought since 1998 and climate change further threatens the region with water shortage that could impact an estimated 80-100 million people by 2025. Without urgent action to stop global emissions, temperature in some parts of the world could reach 50°C and there might be places too hot to be inhabitable.

The excessive heat in the atmosphere doubles the number of extreme weather anomalies besides droughts and heat waves. Climate experts and scientists inform us that more frequent and more intense rains, storm surges, typhoons, hurricanes, and floods would devastate societies across the globe. Extreme weather could prove disastrous for lives, food production, water sources, economies, and infrastructure.

Considered to be one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change and home to 60% of the world’s population, the Asia-Pacific felt the severity of climate change impact in 2019. India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were ravaged by torrential monsoon rains that caused massive flooding and landslides resulting to hundreds of human deaths and heavy damage in infrastructures and properties. Likewise, China, Vietnam, Japan, India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines were sharply hit by strong typhoons that displaced hundreds of communities, killed a number of people, and caused millions of dollars in damage. Extreme weather events are further exacerbated due to rapid urbanization in many poor nations “with the pace of development often overtaking proper infrastructure planning” and thus, posing further threat to water and food security.

Even countries rarely visited by heavy rains and massive floods became victims of such calamities in 2019 notably in Yemen, Oman, UAE, and Iran. In recent years, a noted increase in the intensity of rains, thunderstorms, and winds across Europe was also experienced which caused flooding and landslides to numerous urban and rural areas.

Glaciers, ice, and snow that supposedly reflect solar radiation back into space and keep the planet relatively cool, retreat and melt with rising global emissions. Consequently, sea levels climb up causing flooding, shoreline erosion, hazards from storms, and worse, could displace about 187 million people all around the world if crisis is unresolved. Especially vulnerable are the people living on low-lying islands such as in the Pacific and coastal population centers found in Shanghai, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, and Vietnam. The very existence of some places on the planet is severely threatened in the face of climate crisis such as the case of Marshall Islands in the Pacific and Maldives in Indian Ocean.

Humanity will be vulnerably exposed to climate-related risks to health, livelihood, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report 2018. Present emission level must decline by half by 2030 to keep the global temperature from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius—a temperature level that could put 20-30% of species at risk. Likewise, the world must achieve a zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avert the worst effects of climate change that could irreversibly damage ecosystems. This translates to emissions dropping by 7.6% on average every year for the next 10 years beginning this year.

Climate experts and scientists, however, contend that despite these painful adjustments, extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, droughts, forest fires, super typhoons, hurricanes, and massive floods are the new normal. It is therefore necessary and crucial to put in place climate change adaptation and resilience programs in schools, work places, communities, and cities to secure human survival.