Top Social Issues Heating Up This Cold Season
Against the backdrop of increasing globalization, global warming has become a common challenge we all face. This phenomenon has not only attracted widespread international attention but has also had profound impacts across countries and regions. The United States, a major global economy, has not been immune. In recent years, as global warming has intensified, cold snaps and extreme weather events have become more frequent in the United States, causing significant inconvenience and distress to local residents. So, what exactly is causing these changes?
The Impact of Global Warming
- US Cold Snap
In February 2019, the United States experienced its strongest cold snap in history. How did this rare storm occur amidst continued global warming? The root cause was unusual disturbances in the polar vortex. Due to global warming, the polar vortex's airflow has become abnormal, triggering this rare snowstorm.
- Causes of Climate Warming
Global warming, a closely related natural phenomenon, is primarily attributed to the continued strengthening of the greenhouse effect. When the energy absorbed by the atmospheric system exceeds the energy emitted, this energy imbalance begins to accumulate, driving temperatures higher and ultimately causing global warming. The intensification of the greenhouse effect is primarily due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, etc.) and the production of greenhouse gases through deforestation and burning. These gases are highly transparent to visible solar radiation but efficiently absorb longwave radiation emitted by the Earth, particularly infrared radiation from the ground, leading to a continued rise in global temperatures.
- Extreme Cold Weather
Recent data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reveal that July 2021 set a new record for global average temperatures, making it the warmest July since meteorological records began in 1880. Global land and ocean surface temperatures for July were abnormally high, reaching 0.93°C, compared to the 20th-century average temperature of 15.8°C. Over the past 30 years, the Arctic has experienced some of the most significant climate change on Earth, including a sharp rise in temperatures, widespread sea ice melt, a decrease in spring snow cover, and an increase in autumn snow cover. Despite the overall global warming trend, extreme cold weather in mid-latitude winters has shown a significant increase. Therefore, the extremely cold winter experienced by the United States is just one example of a series of climate anomalies triggered by global warming.
- Impacts of Global Temperature Rise
A 1-degree rise in global average surface temperature has already led to numerous extreme events, such as heat waves, heavy rain and flooding, glacier melt, permafrost thaw, and sea level rise. If the temperature rises by another 1.5 degrees Celsius, 14% of the global population will experience a heat wave every five years; if the temperature rise reaches 2 degrees Celsius, this proportion will surge to 37%. Such changes will profoundly impact all aspects of human life, including production, socioeconomics, infrastructure, food production, and ecosystems.
