Despite the efforts to at least lessen its effects to us, it seems that climate change is here to stay—and it gets worse every year. 2016 has seen the Earth at the planet’s warmest and as a result, the world has seen some strange occurrences. Here are some of them. And kids, do take care of the planet; it’s the only one we’ve got.
8. Sea Levels Rising
A number of coastal areas around the world will be unlivable by the year 2100 because of the unpredictable rise of sea levels, according to researchers. The flooding in these areas is a result of global warming: primarily because of the constant melting of glaciers, disintegration of ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica and expansion of sea waters. While the trend every year changes dramatically, NASA’s data confirms that the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has disastrously risen by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) over the past century.
7. Shrinking Glaciers
Hiking in the ice slopes of New Zealand has been a tradition for many enthusiasts for the past century, but it has since become dangerous due to the rapid melting of glaciers in the area. Globally, glaciers have been shrinking since the 1940s due to constant global warming. And since the earth is getting warmer through the years, there will come a time when most of them will completely disappear.
6. Meltwater Lake
There has been a meltwater lake found beneath the Roi Baudouin ice sheet in East Antarctica and on several other ice sheets. Usually the result of melting glaciers, these lakes are rising in numbers, turning more blocks of ice into a bodies of water.
5. Reindeers are Getting Thin
It has become a survival of the fittest for the beloved reindeers. Recent research on reindeers living in the Norwegian island of Svalbard has shown that these animals have dropped in weight by 10-12 percent for the past 16 years. This malnutrition is the result of limited food available to them due to the rising temperatures.
4. More Polar Bears are Becoming Climate Refugees
Since there is less ice, some polar bears were seen on land because of the receding of sea ice. Oh, these poor creatures.
3. Utah’s Great Salt Lake is shrinking
The largest salt lake in the West has been shrinking at an alarming rate no thanks to climate change and mismanagement of water system. It has reached its lowest level in history last October, and it could possibly diminish soon due to persistent climate change.
2. Drought in Africa
2016 has been the hottest year on record, and it’s no wonder that a lot of countries are experiencing drought—especially in some African countries. The most depressed regions in these places need water and food to survive, and the drastic climate pattern has resulted in food and water crises that affect millions of poor residents.
1. Seaweed Invasion in West Africa
We love the sandy beaches in the sunny Caribbean, but recent reports of the invasion of Sargassum seaweeds along some beach shores will surely bum beach-goers. Many of these beaches are tourist spots, and this prompted the local government to hire 5,000 day laborers to rake these seaweeds off the shore.
Know other effects of climate change? Tell us below!
