Global_Warming

Global Warming In the past one hundred and forty years, the average temperature of the globe has increased by approximately 0.6°C. (Zwiers, 200) More recently, the 1990s was the hottest decade that has been recorded during this one hundred and forty year period. At first glance, this change may not appear to be significant. However, this seemingly small increase in global mean temperatures has caused some important changes in our earth’s landscape, in the 20th Century alone. Mean sea levels have increased by two millimeters annually, putting many low-lying nations in increasing danger during tropical storms. The incidence of tropical storms and other extreme weather events have dramatically increased. Temperature and precipitation shifts have forced many plants and animals to adjust their ranges upward in elevation and towards their respective poles. (Cunningham, 2000) Glaciers have been retreating at an alarming rate, and lake ice covers in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere last fourteen fewer days than they did at the beginning of the century. In the Northern Hemisphere, warming has caused earlier migration of birds, earlier breeding seasons, earlier plant flowering, and earlier emergence of insects. Growing seasons in the northern latitudes climate, global, change, natural, causes, century, warming, much, greenhouse, carbon, gasses, dioxide, been, anthropogenic, aerosols, levels, increase, earth, 20th, 2000, models, increased, changes, atmosphere, trend, temperatures, past, latitudes, however, factors, based, upon, therefore, temperature, solar