Climate change causes extinction – temperature rise, glaciers melting, biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and disease
Kumar et. al 21 [Abhishek Kumar; Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Shilpi Nagar; PhD student at the Department of Environmental Studies at University of Delhi; Shalini Anand; PhD researcher at the Center for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety, DRDO, New Delhi, India; 2021; "Climate change and existential threats"; ScienceDirect; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128229286000058; Accessed 7-15-2023; AW]
The unprecedented intrusion of human beings into nature has given rise to worldwide devastations. Animals and plants have been suffering on a massive scale. Newer problems keep coming into the picture on a daily basis, damaging the planet massively. Climate change has been the front runner among all the problems. It is caused by a rise in the amount of greenhouse gases, deforestation, waste generation, and population explosion. The US Environmental Protection Agency reported a release of 6677 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent of total greenhouse gases in 2018, with carbon dioxide contributing more than 80% of the total emissions. Methane and nitrous oxide were ranked second (10%) and third (7%) on the emission list. Additionally, the warming of our planet, caused due to greenhouse gases, could be irreversible for centuries. Climate change has given rise to many existential threats, including a rise in global temperatures, melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, increment in sea level, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather events, and an outbreak of uncountable diseases. The chapter discusses the various threats, arising out of climate change, to understand their likely impacts on flora and fauna. Attempts at mitigation and adaptation are extremely significant if we do not want to make our world wear sunglasses or switch on planet-sized coolers.