| Global Warming |
Compiled by Moumita Das
If you thought that year 2008 was a good climatic year perhaps you were not wrong because the last 12 months have been the coolest since 2000, according to an analysis by Nasa`s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.According to Met Office figures for the last 11 months, the global mean temperature for 2008 is 14.3C, which is 0.14C below the average temperature for 2001-07.
In the beginning of the year, climate scientists had predicted that 2008 would be relatively cool in comparison to recent years because in the year`s beginning there was a strong La Niña event - characterised by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Although 2008 is cool by recent standards, it is still in the negative zone. 10 warmest years have occurred since 1997 and world average temperature for the current decade is nearly 0.2C warmer than the average for the last decade.
U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change summit which took place between 1-12 December in Poznan (Poland) upset developing countries about the progress toward a post-2012 treaty to fight climate change. In 2007 an Adaptation Fund was created to help the developing countries cope with the devastating impact of climate change – rising seas, melting glaciers and spreading deserts. Until now, the Fund’s board could not operate since it had no legal status and was blocked from directly disbursing money to developing countries. However, the developing countries are still disappointed by the lack of dependable funding for the Fund, which currently contains 30 million carbon credits and is expected to be worth USD 300 million per year by 2012.
The summit decided that a final deal must be reached by next December in Copenhagen. However, the developing countries and NGOs have accused rich nations of stalling all significant proposals.
Climate Change & India
India has been adversely affected owing to this climate change. It has lost more people due to extreme weather events caused by climate change than any other country, with an average of 4,532 people killed every year. If one took into account the average death, deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, average total losses and average losses as percentage of GDP, India would rank seventh among countries most affected by extreme weather events in the last decade. 2,502 Indians had been killed by extreme weather events in 2007 alone (Finding by Sven Harmeling of Germanwatch).
Effect of Global Warming
Earth has warmed by 0.4 degrees Celsius in 30 Years: A 30-year map of the Earth’s climate changes has indicated that the planet’s atmosphere warmed an average of about 0.4 degrees Celsius.
Scientists have determined that Greenland’s ice glaciers are losing nearly three times ice this year as compared to last year. In September, Arctic sea ice coverage reached the second-lowest level recorded since the beginning of the satellite era, according to observations from the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado.
According to a NASA study, Global warming is increasing the frequency of extremely high clouds in the Earth`s tropics that cause severe storms and rainfall. Two new studies revealed that Swiss glaciers are melting away at an accelerating rate and many will vanish this century if climate projections are correct.
Disasters in 2008
Weather related disasters and earthquakes made the year 2008 most expensive year after 2005.
Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar in May, was the most deadly event of 2008 so far, claiming an estimated 84,500 lives.
The most costly was May`s earthquake in China. This natural catastrophe killed Over 67,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands.
Hurricane Fay set records by hitting Florida four times and dumping almost 30 inches of rain on some areas in 2008.
Kosi changes course: The month of August witnessed the one of the worst disasters ever to hit India, when Kosi river in Bihar changed its course, killing hundreds and displacing over 2 million. |
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