We will have to adapt to climate change as soon as possible

Do you remember how the Karst burned last summer?

This year violent fires are plaguing Greece, Canada, Portugal, and Corsica.

The world is also facing increasingly severe heat and drought.

Among other factors, these phenomena are caused by climate change, which you may have had to deal with already.

Experts believe we don’t have much of a choice; we will have to adapt to climate change as soon as possible.

Climatologist and environmentalist, Lučka Kajfež Bogataj, also warns that climate change is already causing problems.

What is climate change?

We feel climate change most when our weather patterns change.

It is getting warmer – both in the winter and in the summer. The ground, rivers, and sea are warmer, too. When it’s warmer much more water evaporates, it rains more abundantly, and there is less snow in the winter.

Very often, climate change brings real weather hazards, from storms to floods.

Lučka Kajfež Bogataj

What affects climate the most?

Climate is most affected by the composition of the atmosphere, which contains more and more carbon dioxide due to the burning of coal and oil.

Gases reduce the radiation of energy into space so that more heat remains within the Earth’s atmosphere. Consequently, the Earth warms up.

Deforestation and forest fires contributed greatly to this. Unfortunately, we humans are to blame for all this.

How will we need to deal with climate change in the future?

Two big steps will be necessary.

The first is to replace fossil fuels, i.e. oil and coal, with other energy sources – preferably solar, wind, and wood energy.

We must become more economical in our use of energy.

Lučka Kajfež Bogataj

Another important step is to start adapting in different ways to hotter summers accompanied by violent storms.

Taking caution and monitoring weather warnings are essential.

Glossary

Karst is called “Kras” in Slovenian. It is a type of landscape where the rock below, such as limestone, has created sinkholes, caves, springs, and other such features.

Points to Consider

1. Do you know what the greenhouse effect is?
2. What are fossil fuels?
3. How can you save energy?

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The original version of this article was published on August 16^th.