From the unbearable heat (seen above), to “winter”, many of us have experienced such drastic weather conditions more so in recent years.
Looking at the info-graphic below, we can see the huge disparity in temperature readings. These extreme weather conditions have been said to be an effect of climate change. For instance, frequent rainfalls due to climate change could lead to cooler temperatures. On the other hand, another effect is that it could be hotter as well.
However, Singapore’s climate generally still involves an overall increase in temperature. The “winter” temperature as mentioned earlier was an anomaly experienced in early 2018. Climate refers to atmospheric conditions over a relatively long period of time versus weather (shorter time span).
In Singapore, the temperature has been increasing at around 0.25 degrees per decade. Experts have projected further increases of 1.4 – 4.6 degrees by the end of the century.
Such temperature changes characterise global warming; another term that is often used to describe climate change. Note that there is a distinction between the 2 terms. Climate change encompasses effects much more than just an overall increase in Earth’ temperature, but this warming is the primary driver of its effects.
There has been excessive human activities that release greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. These gases enter into the atmosphere and trap excess of Sun’s heat – the result is Earth’s warming.
Given its significant impact, CLIMATE CHANGE has been a buzz-word in recent worldwide environmental conservations efforts. I will begin by describing the effects of climate change – that goes beyond mere warming of the Earth. Following which, I will analyse the root causes of this problem and current solutions to tackle this. Lastly, I will evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions and propose possible ones.