Earth’s climate has been in constant change. According to BBC, in the past, the Earth’s temperature has been both higher and lower than the current climate. However the Earth has recently been warming up at a rate more rapidly than before. Many researchers and scientists say this sudden intense warming is human induced and has serious future consequences for the world. There have been several visible implications of this human induced global warming, one of them being the recent Australian fires.
According to carbonbrief, wildfires need four ingredients – available fuel, dryness of that fuel, weather conditions that aid the rapid spread of fire and an ignition. Australia’s hotter, drier climate has contributed to fires becoming more frequent and more intense. Climate change is bringing “longer and more frequent periods of extreme heat,” said a piece in the New York Times, which “worsens these conditions and makes vegetation drier and more likely to burn.” The dry trees and plants are fuel that are available to burn, causing higher intensity fires that are very difficult to put out.
After hearing about these fires, several different students have recognized the importance of taking care of the Earth. Senior Prakruti Pancholi said, “I think it’s really sad that an entire continent is on fire because of problems that we caused. Even though the fires are obviously a problem, they are not enough to change anyone’s mind on what we need to do to solve climate change.” Senior Margaret Huang said, “The Australian wildfires show just how drastically human activity has impacted the Earth, and we should take this as a warning to increase our efforts against climate change.”
Global climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond. NASA says that temperatures will continue to rise, frost free season and growing season will lengthen, there will be changes in precipitation patterns, there will be more droughts and heatwaves, hurricanes will become stronger and more intense, the sea level will rise, and the Arctic will become ice free. These negative outcomes are a direct effect of human influence on the world and act as a calling to society for increased care of the environment.
