Climate Change: A Natural and Continuous Process
- The planet Earth has witnessed many variations in climate since the beginning. Geological records show alteration of glacial and inter-glacial periods.
- The geomorphological features, especially in high altitudes and high latitudes, exhibit traces of advances and retreats of glaciers.
- The sediment deposits in glacial lakes also reveal the occurrence of warm and cold periods.
- The rings in the trees provide clues about wet and dry periods. Historical records describe the vagaries in climate. All these pieces of evidence indicate that climate change is a natural and continuous process.
- India also witnessed alternate wet and dry periods. Archaeological findings show that the Rajasthan desert experienced a wet and cool climate around 8,000 B.C.
- The period 3,000- 1,700 B.C. had higher rainfall. From about 2,000 to 1,700 B.C., this region was the center of the Harappan civilization. Dry conditions accentuated since then.
- In the geological past, the earth was warm some 500-300 million years ago, through the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian periods.
- During the Pleistocene epoch, glacial and inter-glacial periods occurred, the last major peak glacial period was about 18,000 years ago. The present inter-glacial period started 10,000 years ago.
Climate Change| Class 11 Geography Notes
Climate Change is a state of impact that indicates and calculates the increasing frequency and severity of different natural disasters. Increasing temperature may increase the probability of wildfires which release so many pollutants in the climate.
Let us learn more about climate change in the article!