Throughout the Earth’s entire lifespan, it has been constantly changing. Oceans have flowed and dried, glaciers have risen and fallen, and multiple ice ages have occurred throughout time. However, the biggest change in the history of the planet has already made its marks, and the effects it has will continue to increase. Global warming is the greatest and most extreme climate change that the Earth has ever faced. It has changed the Earth’s surface and atmosphere in drastic ways that no other climate change has done in the past. Because of the extreme transition, all of the populations on Earth are also subject to the consequences that occur. This makes global warming an enormous threat to both Earth and all of the living organisms on its surface. Global warming is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced because of the continuous rise of the sea level, the decline in the amount of agriculture produced, and the extreme and devastating weather patterns.
A rise in the sea level is one of the significant problems global warming creates because of the inconvenience it generates and the danger it poses to humanity. Since global warming is the gradual increase in temperature, one of the results is the continuous melting of ice sheets and glaciers (Houghton 176). “Ice sheets covering half of Greenland and substantial portions of West Antarctica” are starting to melt due to the warming Earth (“Global Environment: Data”). Glaciers and ice sheets contain enormous amounts of water and as a result, the sea level is increased significantly. This increase in the sea level causes serious problems in coastal areas (“Global Environment: Part”). The sea “will erode coasts and cause more frequent coastal flooding. Some island nations will disappear” (“Global Warming: Featuring Articles”). With the constant eroding, the coastal population would have to abandon their homes and travel inland. This would be a great inconvenience as it would decrease the space available for comfortable living. Also, due to the rise in sea level, the flood threat would increase as well, which would lead to the loss of life and property (“Global Warming: Featuring Articles”). The majority of the land would be vulnerable because it would be below sea level, so it would be easy for the water to flood an area in coastal regions. This would lead to an increase in deaths because the people in these regions wouldn’t be equipped to deal with the sudden floods.
A decrease in crop yield is also another effect of global warming, which will greatly affect humans because of the lack of food available for consumption. Due to the increase in temperatures, “bees and other pollinators face increasing risks to their survival” (Doyle). Pollinators have not developed to survive through high temperatures so as the temperature increases, the population of pollinators decreases. The lack of pollinators on the Earth threatens foods such as apples, blueberries, and coffees (Doyle). The entire food industry would be threatened by this, as the majority of their profit exists because of the pollinator’s contribution to plant life. An increase in temperature would also “reduce food production at lower latitudes, where many countries already face food shortages” (“Global Warming: Featuring Articles”). This would cause an even greater problem for the population, because they are barely able to survive with the amount of food they have. If there was even less food with the increase in temperature, then an alarming amount of people would face the threat of starvation. Agriculture has evolved and “developed based on the current climate” and if the climate were to change, it would be catastrophic (“Global Warming: Featuring Articles”).
The more extreme weather patterns based on global warming will incredibly impact the society because of the physical harm it causes. More evidence is being found which points to the fact that global warming is changing precipitation and the hydrologic cycle (Trenberth 4). “Storms, floods, and droughts will generally be more severe” as the weather patterns continue to change throughout the world (“Global Warming: Featuring Articles”). Floods, as well as droughts, will lead to a loss of property and life (Houghton 7). The storms and floods will bring unwanted water into areas which already have an abundant supply. This would pose a threat, as the rivers could easily overflow and drown a multitude of unaware people. Droughts throughout already dry regions would cause a plethora of problems. Crops would fail to grow, the amount of drinking water available would decrease, and there would be a higher probability for wildfires to occur. Also, due to the increase in temperature within regions that were generally cool, there would be more cases of heat stroke and death. These weather patterns would have a horrible effect on the population because humans in a certain region have never experienced the new weather before. This would make it even more difficult to survive when there is no experience with how to react to the new climate.
Global warming affects all of humanity by causing a rise in the current sea level, creating a decline in the agricultural yield, and developing more severe weather. The raised sea level affects the coastal communities all throughout the world, which makes it an enormous problem for every nation. With the decrease in the amount of food produced, more people don’t possess the privilege of having food on the table every night. The increased danger due to the change in the weather patterns poses a threat for everyone in the world, because no place is equipped to survive the drastic changes. Global warming is the greatest threat to humanity, and it will continue to be one in the future if nothing is done to stop it.