Why is Climate changing?

Why is Climate changing?

Who would have thought that Middle East will get flooded due to heavy rainfall? How about Alaska having warm winters? Or what about the rapid melting of glaciers in the Himalayas?

Global temperature increasing, rapid melting of glaciers, violent storms and hurricanes, rising-sea-levels, severe droughts, heavy rains and floods, it is quite obvious that our global climate is quickly changing.

There are two factors which influences climate shift: (1) Anthropogenic factors and (2) natural factors.

Anthropogenic factors. It refers to any man-made activity that changes the environment like burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), deforestation, and emission of CFC’s. All of these contribute to global warming.

Natural factors.
Tectonic plate movement. As the movement of tectonic plates rearranges the global land and ocean areas and generates topography, it affects both the local and worldwide climate patterns and the atmosphere-ocean circulation.
Thermohaline Circulation System. Also known as the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor or the global conveyor belt, this system refers to the slow and deep movement of ocean water around the world. It acts as the planet’s cooling system. It is responsible for keeping Ireland and UK mostly ice free and Scandinavian countries from being too cold. This system greatly influences global weather and climate and is very vital in keeping our world from another ice age.
Solar output variations. Solar energy is pre-dominant here on Earth. Both long and short term variations in solar output can affect climate shift but according to recent studies, solar output variations hasn’t changed much instead they focus on the increase in solar radiation and its effect on global warming.
Volcanism. It is proven that large-scale eruptions such as the Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Tambora can deeply influence climate change. When volcanoes erupt, they release carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that can cause cooling for a period of time.
Milankovitch Cycle. Named after Milutin Milankovic, Serbian civil engineer and mathematician who theorised that variations in the eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession of the Earth’s orbit affects climatic patterns on Earth.

In conclusion, we experience climate change both naturally and unnaturally. Climate is always changing due to natural forces but the sudden and unusual climate shift happen because of global warming.