Due to climate change, the weather has been off during the changes of the seasons. Every day our human population increases by 200,000 people globally, resulting in climate change that is reflected not only in the U.S but the entire world. I am referring to how all these natural disasters will soon add up over many years because of its long-term effect on the earth. Our country is facing many natural disasters like sea levels rising, heat waves, droughts, and more due to these major threats.
The arctic has experienced a decline in ice levels due to global warming. This has been going on for decades. Oceans have risen by about seven centimeters due to global warming. Global warming is a problem for the U.S. because it is the cause for climate change, which is a threat to many other problems that we will face as a whole. Sea levels rising were always a concern for New York, and according to a Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience survey, 37 percent of lower Manhattan will be in danger due to storm surges by the year 2050. Also, according to The Verge, scientists say that by 2100 the sea level will have risen by about six feet. The current mayor however has come up with a $10 billion dollar plan to try and resolve this issue and protect Manhattan the best that they can.
Aside from sea levels rising, heat levels are increasing as well. A heat wave is when there are more than 3 days that the temperature is higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to globalchange.gov, there were an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s, and they have increased to more than 6 per year during the 2010s. This is a problem that we also face because this means warmer nights. The use of air conditioners during warmer nights will increase gas. Because of this, the human body will strain itself as the heart pumps harder to try and regulate temperature in the body. A study from 2004 examined North America and Europe and found that heat waves in the future will be projected for the second half of the 21st century. This means heat waves will be fiercer and more intense than they were in previous years.
In addition to heat levels, droughts are also a big problem. A drought is when a place has been in a period of dry weather long enough to cause problems like water supply shortages and crop damages. The thing about droughts is that these dry areas will grow to be even dryer. In Texas there has been a drought going on since October 2010. According to State Impact, the reason for this drought was La Nina, a weather pattern where the temperatures on the surface were cooler in the pacific. This resulted in El Nino creating dry and warmer weather in the southern part of the United States. Studies found that if greenhouse gases continue to rise as they are, there is an 80% chance that there will be a long drought. This means that to get water, these areas need to dig at least 100 miles to receive it.
As a result, there are many major natural disaster threats that the United States will face due to climate change. Sea levels will keep on rising, Antarctica will keep on melting, heat waves will increase all over the U.S., and droughts will get dryer. The U.S. will always be a victim to these natural disasters and the long-term results of this will not in any way be helpful towards us.
