Climatic Change: Impacts

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 in the recent past

Variability in climate occurs all the time. The nineties decade of the last century witnessed extreme weather events. The 1990s recorded the warmest temperature of the century and some of the worst floods around the world. The worst devastating drought in the Sahel region, south of the Sahara desert, from 1967-1977 is one such variability. During the 1930s, severe drought occurred in the southwestern Great Plains of the United States, described as the Dust Bowl. Historical records of crop yield or crop failures, of floods, and migration of people tell about the effects of changing climate. Europe witnessed the “Little Ice Age” from 1550 to about 1850. From about 1885-1940 world temperature showed an upward trend. After 1940, the rate of increase in temperature slowed down....

Climate Change: Causes

The causes of climate change are many. They can be grouped into astronomical, terrestrial, and volcanic causes....

Climatic Change: Impacts

The impacts of climate change are :...

Climate Change- FAQs

What do you mean by climate change?...