Our earth and the environment that we all live in, are undergoing a lot of problems. The climate is changing and the issues related to it are accelerating at an unprecedented rate. Unless we look into them seriously and take steps to protect our environment, our future generation is going to suffer.
Some of the problems that needs our special and immediate attention are as follows.
Air Pollution
According to the figures released by WHO shows that the death due to air pollution worldwide every year is about 4.2 to 7 million. At least nine out of ten people breathe air that contains high levels of pollutants.
Plastic Pollution
Reports show that the world produced more than 2 million tons of plastic in the year 1950 which increased to 419 million tons by 2015.
The Science Journal report says roughly 11 million tons of plastic make its way into oceans every year. This causes serious threat to various living organisms in them. And research shows that this will grow to 29 million metric tons per year by 2040. Microplastics when included, this figure could reach 600 million tons by 2040.
Deforestation
Forests are cut down about the size of 20 football fields every minute. Reports show that by 2030, the planet might have only 10% of its forests unless the deforestation is stopped. Agriculture is identified as the leading cause of deforestation and one of the biggest environmental problems.
Three countries experiencing the highest levels of deforestation are Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia.
Global Warming from Fossil Fuels
The Carbon Dioxide emission is around 410ppm (Parts Per Million) and the global temperature rise is around 0.89 degrees Celsius. The Temperature rise is due to the increased emission of Greenhouse Gases. It creates catastrophic events all over the world like Bushfire Seasons (in Australia), Locusts Swarming (across parts of Africa, Middle East and Asia). The climate crisis causes tropical storms and weather events like Hurricanes, Heat Waves and Flooding.
Other problems
Only few are mentioned above. But the list contains more such as Poor Governance, Food Waste, Biodiversity Loss, Agriculture, Melting Ice Caps etc. Food and Water Insecurity is another important aspect. Rising temperature and unsustainable farming practices have resulted in the increasing threat of Food and Water Insecurity.
Source of information – Earth.Org. Read more details here
