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The Asian region spans polar, temperate, and tropical climates and is home to over 3 billion people. As the climate warms, many mountain glaciers may disappear, permafrost will thaw, and the northern forests are likely to shift further north. Rapid population growth and development in countries like China and India will put additional pressures on natural ecosystems and will lead to a rapid rise in the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere unless steps are taken to curtail emissions.
The combined heating effect of greenhouse gases and the brown clouds is necessary and sufficient to account for the retreat of Himalayan glaciers observed over the past 50 years, the researchers conclude.
Led by Scripps atmospheric chemistry professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan, the team describes their findings in a paper to be published in the August 2 edition of the journal "Nature."
Not entirely made up of water vapor like regular clouds, brown clouds contain soot, sulfates, nitrates, hundreds of organic compounds, and fly ash from urban, industrial and agricultural sources.
"The conventional thinking is that brown clouds have masked as much as 50 percent of the global warming by greenhouse gases through the so-called global dimming," said Dr. Ramanathan.
The overwhelming majority of scientists now agree that our globe is undergoing major climate change. They also agree that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising at a terrifying rate.
We can see from satellite images that the ice caps are melting faster, our sea levels are rising, and weather patterns are changing. We are experiencing more water shortages and we will see hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones increasing in ferocity and frequency. The deserts will expand and the world will ultimately have difficulty growing enough food. Without doubt, we have to change the way we live.
Thousands of scientists from a hundred countries are working on the scientific aspects of climate change. They are not just proving this theory to be correct, but they are also advising on what action we must take.
The earth has gone through many natural climatic cycles during its long history. The scary part is we are causing changes to happen at an unbelievable rate, much faster than normal. Burning fossil fuels pours out greenhouse gases at a life-threatening rate and causing global warming. Global Warming, Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change .... is happening right now!
This is a crisis of global proportion, but please don't despair! Come with me and understand what causes global warming and climate change, then act, do something.... YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
