Life on Earth and human civilization, in general, is vulnerable to the ever-changing climate. Evidence has shown that global warming of 1.1°c is increasingly impacting nature and how people live across the planet (Tollefson, 2021). This is despite all measures put across to adapt to the changing climate. Severe climate extremes such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts have had adverse effects on ecosystems, the daily lives of the people, cities, and infrastructure. This has the ability to limit an enjoyable and livable future affecting settlements and the work environment. Climate will have the eventual effect on how we live and work in a number of ways.
1. Climate change is one if not the biggest threat to human health. According to Cnet, the people being affected the most are the vulnerable communities living in deplorable conditions and surprisingly contributing to the list to this menace (World Health Organization, 2021).
The change in climate affects health in a number of ways. This includes death through extremes of weather such as floods and heat waves. The continuous nature of mankind to wipe out forests and create more room for human settlement has also had a disruption of nature. This has exposed us to disease-causing vectors leading to a surge in zoonoses.
Disruption of the food systems will also lead to unprecedented levels of famine and starvation. It is indisputable that climate change has a toll on human health. What remains unproven is the extent this change in climate has an effect on human lives. It is however clear that the vulnerable including women, children, and those with underlying health conditions suffer the most.
2. The ever-soaring cost of living globally is bound to be pushed further by the effects of climate change. Floods have been known to cost billions of dollars when it comes to rebuilding destroyed economies across the world. These catastrophic events like forest fires, floods, and drought have been known to rob people of their income and cause the cost of living to surge (Bowman, 2021). Businesses are shut down and end up laying off staff if their environment becomes inoperable as a result of difficult climatic conditions.
Climate change will also inevitably lead to food insecurity. Where people cannot afford food, especially those from low-income communities the cost-of-living rises. The cost of living will also continue to rise due to soaring prices of energy globally. This calls for the adoption of more renewable sources of energy such as wind and sun to both protect our planet and tame the rise in the cost of living.
3. Climate change could make some properties uninsurable in the future. This is because there have been huge losses to insurance companies in compensation for losses caused by the effects of climate change. The effects of climate change are highly felt and will continue to hike in the future. Floods, wildfires, and tornadoes continue to destroy homes, businesses, and crops(Hutley, 2022). The frequency of these natural calamities has led to the need to increase insurance premiums which are unaffordable to consumers. Consumers, therefore, tend to go for cheaper options that do not provide enough security or do not insure their property. Some insurance companies will also make some assets uninsurable due to the expensive nature of the compensation and the frequency of the calamities. This is likely to make life unbearable due to unprecedented losses.
4. Climate change has led to increased temperature of oceans. Rising sea levels pose a danger to seaports and coastal infrastructure. This poses a threat to supply chains globally. The increase in temperature may also lead to an increase in storms and posing threat to human life and infrastructure inland. This is also home to a good amount of biodiversity. This increase in temperature and carbon emissions poses a huge risk to marine life. According to the United Nations, over 3 billion people rely on marine life for their livelihood (WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 2022). The disturbance of the balance in sea life poses a risk of the loss of millions of jobs.
5. Climate change raises conflict concerns. Global warming has been shown to change the physical landscape which led to geopolitical changes. These changes tend to destabilize already vulnerable regions such as the horn of Africa. Climate change is causing stress on natural resources and this has increased the chances of conflicts ensuing (UNESCO, 2018). The increase in sea levels and melting glaciers at the current level is something that has never been witnessed before. This is impacting the dynamics on which nations and world order is built and depend on for security, food, and survival. This has shown how it has presented itself in form of state instability and conflicts in regions such as the Middle East and parts of Africa.
All the above impacts of climate change show how the human race is going to be affected by the continuous change in the climate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that cities are going to be immensely affected by the change in the climate. The damage to human health and infrastructure by climate change will be felt by city dwellers in form of food insecurity due to the destabilization of supply chains.
To salvage the situation and avoid further damage to the environment which further poses a huge risk in form of global warming, a number of measures need to be undertaken. The world needs to protect our forests and avoid further destruction of the forests and also try to reclaim cleared forests. We also need to move away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Cities need to control the number of greenhouse gases being emitted into the environment. These are just but a few measures which can be undertaken to curb climate change.
Here are other ways climate change will affect us. How Climate Change Affects Our Daily Lives
You can also check out the links below on climate change;
Climate Change And The Environment: How Can You Eliminate Greenhouses Gases In Your Household?
Environmental Issues: How Climate Change Will Affect The Future Of Africa
The effects of climate change in Kenya
Environment: 6 Ways To Adapt To Climate Change
Environment: How Small-Scale Farmers Can Deal With Climate Change
