Transboundary Pollution and Climate Change

Unit 4 International Environmental problems Concept of Transboundary pollution During 1970s s the environmental problems spread beyond the national boundaries by causing damage to the neighboring countries. During that period, almost all the countries of the world have witnessed tremendous growth not only in their production but also in international trade. A transboundary pollution is an environmental problem that is transboundary in nature. In other words, it is a problem originating in or contributed by our country and affecting or impacting another, by crossing borders through pathways like water or air. Pollution can be transported across hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. One of the problem of transboundary pollution is that it can carry pollution away from a heavy emitties and deposit it on to a nation whose emissions are relatively low

Climate change The term climate change refers to the general weather conditions of a place over many years. Climate change is a significant variation of average weather condition- say conditions of becoming warmer, wetter or direr- over several decades or more. It is a long term trend which differentiate climate change from natural weather variability. Climate change may be natural, but since 1980s human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, live coal, oil and gas, which produces heat.

Causes of climate change Natural causes of climate change 1. Greenhouse gases: As the temperature increases, more greenhouse gases are released into the air. This traps more heat in the earth s atmosphere while thinning out the ozone layer, which means less radiation can escape. The major greenhouses gases are A. Water vapour B. Carbondioxide C. Methane D. Nitrous Oxide E. Chloroflourocarbon Over the last three decades all greenhouse gas emission increased by an average of 1.6 per cent per year with CO2 emission from fossil fuels growing at 1.9 per cent per year. The largest growth in greenhouse gas emission has come from energy supply and road transport .

2. Volcanic eruption: A volcano release a large amount of sulphur dioxide, water vapour, dust and ashes into the atmosphere when it erupts. These large volume of gases and ash can trigger climate change. Volcanic eruptions produce hazardous effects for the environment, climate and health of the exposed persons and are associated with the deterioration of social and economic conditions.

3. Solar Radiation: The suns rays heat the earth regardless of changes in weather patterns that occur below. As such, any change in the sun s radiation either an increase or decrease will influence our surface temperatures. There is increasing evidence that the amount of solar radiation incident at the Earth s surface is not stable over the years but undergoes significant decadal variations and greatly responsible for climate change. Man Made causes of climate change: 1. Cities and pollution: Cities are major contributors to climate change. According to UN Habitat, cities consume 78 per cent of the world s energy and produce more than 60 per cent of green house gas emission. The sheer density of people relying on fossil fuels make urban population highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

2. Global Warming: Global warming is the long time heating of the earth s climatic system due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth s atmosphere. Higher temperature worsens an increase the frequency of many types of disasters including storms, floods, heat waves and droughts. 3. Deforestation: Plants breathe in carbon dioxide, which makes them an essential part of life on the planet. When increasing amounts of trees are cut down without planting new ones, it means a disproportionate amount of carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere and heats up the environment.

4. Acid Rain: Acid rain is a type of rain diluted with aid which once formed in the atmosphere. It is formed when the oxides of sulphur and nitrogen combine together with atmospheric moisture, and they get transformed into sulphuric and nutric acid. This acids get mixed with rain drops and shower on earth. The acid rain affect the storage function of the soil. It also has an adverse impact on forests, fresh water and soil, killing microbes, insects and aquatic life forms and human beings. Thus it greatly affects towards climate change. 5. Industrialization: Increased development of industrial areas has led to greater production and allocation of energy, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in greater percentage than in the past. Emission of poisonous gases from the industries has lead to the problem of global warming.

6. Human activity: According to the Environment Protection Agency, the most significant contributor to climate change is the burning of fossil fuels for electricity heat and transportation. Of these factors, transportation in the forms of cars, trucks, ships, trains and planes emit the largest percentage of CO2 speeding up global warming and remaining a significant cause of climate change. 7. Agriculture and Livestock: There are many significant ways in which agriculture impacts climate change. From deforestation in places like the Amazon, to the transportation and livestock which are taken to support agricultural effort around the world, agriculture is responsible for a major portion of the world s greenhouse gas emission. Agriculture contributes towards global warming through anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and by the conversion of non agricultural land such as forests into agricultural land. Livestock in the form of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry play a significant role in climate change. Emissions are caused by feed production, enteric farmutation, animal waste and land use change.

Impact of climate change on environment 1. Hotter Temperature: Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves very frequently. 2020 was one of the hottest year on record. Higher temperatures increases heat increase, heat related diseases and can make it more difficult to work and move around. 2. More severe storms: Changes to temperature causes changes in rainfall. This results in more severe and frequent storm. They cause flooding and landslides, destroying homes and communications and costing billions of dollars. There has been an increase in the extreme sea level events associated with some tropical cyclones and severe storms. 3. Increased droughts: Water is becoming scarcer in many regions. Droughts can stir destructive sand and dust storms that can move billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are expanding, while there are reduction of land for growing food. Many people now faces the threat of not having enough water on regular basis.

4. Rise in sea level: Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since reliable record keeping began in 1880. It is projected to rise another 1 to 8 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from melting land ice and expansion of seawater as it warms. 5. Loss of species: Climate change poses greater risk to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risk increase as temperature rises. Forest fire, extreme weather and invasive pests and diseases are among may such threats. 6. More heath risk: Changing weather patterns are spreading diseases such as malaria. Extreme weather events increase diseases and deaths and make it difficult for health care system to keep up. Other risks to health include increased hunger and poor nutrition in places where people cannot grow o find sufficient level. Therefore, climate change is the single biggest health threats facing humanity.

Measures to slow down climate change Electing people at every level of government who are committed to enacting policies that defeat climate change. Reducing the amount of single use, disposable plastic items, including bags, bottles etc, as the production of these cheaply made items release high levels of greenhouse gases. Turning off lights and electrical appliances when they are not in use. Taking shorter showers and using water only when needed, since unnecessary heating of water drives up energy usage. Increase in investment in renewable resources such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal and geothermal energy. Instead of using vehicles unnecessarily, use public transport or prefer walking for short distances.

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