Rising temperature

A new study led by a controversial physicist Richard Muller claims that the global land temperature has risen by 1C since the 1950s. Richard Muller and his team from the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperatures project (BEST) from Berkeley University in California used data from 1800 to 2009 to present their "irrefutable" proof in the form of an alarming video.

Melting glaciers

Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting due to increased global warming caused by changing climatic conditions. They are the largest source of fresh water on the planet. An example of it is the glaciers in southwest China’s Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Results from the studies conducted show that a large area of the glaciers has melted in the 2,400-square-kilometer region.

Arctic ice melting

A leading ocean expert in Britain, Prof Peter Wadhams has claimed that Arctic Sea could be ice free by the summer of 2015. According to the new measurements, the amount of ice covering the Arctic hit its lowest point late last week, covering just 1.67 million square miles.

Coral reefs and climate change

Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffer the worst due to climate change. As temperatures warm, species may either move to a cooler habitat or die. There are many causes of local and global coral loss but human-induced climate change is one of the main and undeniable threats.

Marine life and climate change

Global warming could leave some marine species virtually homeless. Experts believe that when temperatures rise, species such as fish will be able to move into deeper water to find the cooler environments they prefer -- but other species, such as marine plants or slow-moving corals, will have to move further to find suitable habitats and could become trapped.

Factors leading to global warming

Patterns of land degradation like deforestation, overgrazing, overcultivation, urban sprawl, desertification, and salinization reduce the net uptake of carbon dioxide, indirectly contributing to global warming.

Weather and Climate change

An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change. Human induced activities are largely believed to be the sole reason for such a change. However, there is no proof of it. Weather is highly variable and extreme weather events have always happened.

Vehicular pollution contribute to climate change

Motor vehicles like cars, trucks, buses, and scooters account for 80% of all transport-related energy use. Carbon dioxide is undoubtedly, the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Roughly 75% of the annual increase in atmospheric CO2 is solely due to the burning of fossil fuels. About 20% of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere comes from the gasoline burned in motor vehicle engines.

Most risky areas

According to a ranking of 193 nations by Maplecroft, a British firm specialising in risk analysis, Africa and South Asia, face the biggest risks from climate change but rich nations in northern Europe will be least exposed. Bangladesh, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among 30 countries with "extreme" exposure to climate shift. Five Southeast Asian nations – Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia – are also in the highest category, partly because of rising seas and increasing severe tropical storms.

By Shruti Saxena