How global warming actually affects the world
Michael Blackwood, Assistant Editor
Photo courtesy of unsplash.com
Whether we like it or not, global climate change is happening and it is having effects that are beginning to be very noticeable. Here are a few of the changes that are taking place.
1. River Piracy
River piracy is when the water from one river is moved to another due to receding glaciers. This recently happened for the first time in recorded history with Canada’s Slims River. The results of this “stream capture,” as it is also known, include not only an empty river bed, but also record low water levels in Kluane Lake. There are closed docks along the bank and they have affected traditional fishing habits of the locals.
2. Warmer Years
According to NASA, the 10 warmest years of the past 130 years have all happened, except 1998, since the year 2000. In 2016, the global average temperature was 0.99 degrees celsius, up from 0.42 degrees celsius in the year 2000.
3. Dying Coral
In 2016, scientists found that as much as 50 percent of the coral in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is dying. This is mainly due to coral bleaching which is caused when the water warmer than the coral is used to. This causes the small algea that give the coral its food and color to leave the coral.
