The science and consensus is clear - planet earth is getting warmer as a result of human activity. GHG emissions have increased, because of a variety of human factors, which include the surge in industrial activity after World War 2. The atmospheric layer has been thickened resulting in more infrared radiation being trapped within planet earth, warming it beyond what is comfortable to support life as we know it.
But how warm is it really becoming? Most of us will agree that the world we live in has become warmer - irrespective of where we live. I can say this about Bangalore city , where I live. In the late 80's when I came to Bangalore on my first job, there was never a day when I did not wear my sweater and my monkey cap when I rode my TVS 50 to work and back. I came back to Bangalore after a long gap in 2006, and I do not remember any occasion when I have worn my sweater, even on my farm where it is much colder. This is definitely not just me growing a thick rhino skin as a result of two decades in the corporate world!
James Hansen, Former Director at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, estimates that the total warming trapped on planet earth as a result of continuous GHG emissions over the last 80 to 90 years is equal to 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding every day for a whole year! When we look at summer temperatures from the 1950’s, we will notice that the extreme temperature events that used to cover 0.1% of the Earth now cover 10%.
14 of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred since the year 2000. The hottest year ever measured has been 2014 and it was the 38th consecutive year with a global temperature above the 20th century average. According to the National Centers for Environ mental Information (NCEI), the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for August 2015 was 0.88°C above the 20th century average of 15.6°C and the highest August in the 136-year record. August 2015 was the sixth month in 2015 that has broken its monthly temperature record (February, March, May, June, July, and August). August 2015 tied with January 2007 as the third warmest monthly departure from average for any of the 1628 months since records began in January 1880, behind February 2015 and March 2015 (+0.89°C).
So it is getting warm…. Believe it….feel it.
The writer is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant, an entrepreneur and an expert in applied sustainability.
Visit: www.CBRamkumar.com.
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