Before jumping on the misconceptions about climate change, one needs to get acquainted with what climate and climate change are. Climate is more than just rain, shine, or stormy days. Climate refers to the weather patterns that may be expected in a certain location at a given time of year. The climate of an area is determined by observing its weather over a long time—usually 30 years or more. A few days or weeks of rain, for example, would not change the fact that Dubai is known for its dry, desert climate. Just because hot and dry regions get a few splashes of rain or cold regions to get a few days of hot summer does not eliminate the fact that the region has a hot or cold climate respectively. Climate change is a permanent or long-term change or shifts in the weather patterns and temperature which may be natural, for example, variations in the solar cycle or human-induced, for example, it can be caused by burning excessive fossil fuels, industrial emissions, green-house gases, etc.
Now coming to the common misconceptions about climate change here are some of these:
1. CLIMATE NOT WEATHER
The most usual and common of them all. One needs to know the difference between climate and weather, it’s like genus and species. Climate is more of a long-term or permanent atmospheric condition as compared to weather which is a short-term or temporary one. For example, the climate in Russia is frigid in totality and the weather could be some days sunny or stormy or snowy on a particular day. But people generally take into account the weather change as a worry of concern as against climate change. Climate change is more of a bigger, permanent, and actual worrying concern that could change humanity and the living conditions on earth, weather is a temporary event for a day or week. But climate change could and does lead to changing weather patterns as we are all witnessing. This common misconception needs to take a sway if one is expecting to be educated about climate change.
2. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HOAX
Most people are sleeping over the fact that climate change is a hoax or a myth. People believe that it is a part of the natural cycle that there ought to be climate change but most of us forget that it is mainly human-induced Climate Change that is going to cost us and our future generations. People also believe that Climate Change is insignificant and not potent and will eventually find its way out. But we must remember that Climate Change is hazardous, irreversible, and may lead to mass human extinction if some appropriate action is not taken by the governments and individuals. People also believe that there is no solid scientific evidence or consensus about the fact that Climate Change is happening and the tools or technology involved in measuring or assessing the same are unreliable and scientists manipulate the data or statistics on the same. People also believe that Climate Change is a conspiracy or a fake claim or propaganda to serve the ulterior motives of the government or people in authority. This mindset needs to change and people need educating over the same to take action and spread awareness rather than deeming it as a hoax. We only have one planet and there is no planet B or spare planet where we can take shelter once Climate Change shows its ugly phase which is already on its way as we are seeing a lot of draughts, wildfires, melting of the Arctic, extinction of the species and much more.
3. CLIMATE CHANGE CAN BE REVERSED
People usually don’t take action or come to senses until it is a do-or-die situation but unfortunately Climate Change waits for none and it does not believe in giving second chances. Climate Change is essentially an irreversible and inevitable chain of events such as Global Warming, raising of oceanic levels, Greenhouse effect, depletion of ozone, etc. which will lead to permanent and damaging environmental changes. According to Susan Solomon, who is one of the world’s top climate scientists, says, as carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, the world will experience more and more long-term environmental disruption. Even if and when emissions are reduced, the damage will be irreversible. So we have to bear in mind that Climate Change is not a whim or to be taken lightly and will lead to irreversible and devastating consequences such as mass extinction of humans and other species, uninhabitable planet, depletion of stratospheric ozone leading to the increasing number of cancers, decreased crop yield and destruction of forests due to long term exposure of UV-B radiation, affecting aquatic ecosystems, aggravating photochemical pollution in troposphere increasing low-level ozone which is harmful to plants, animals and humans.
4. CLIMATE CHANGE IS JUST GLOBAL WARMING
Climate Change and Global Warming are not interchangeable terms. Global Warming is an aspect of Climate Change and is caused by excessive concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which tends to raise the global temperature while Climate Change is the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period which includes temperature, weather patterns, etc. Global Warming means only the heating up of the planet due to greenhouse gases like methane, carbon dioxide, etc. while Climate Change includes Global Warming itself, melting of icebergs and Arctic, drastic weather change over a long period, wiping or extinction of flora and fauna, wildfires, long-term droughts, extreme weather i.e., too much heat or too much cold, depletion of ozone due to substances like CFCs, halons, etc. One must look at Climate Change as a whole including different phenomena as mentioned above and Global Warming as only a part of the effect of Climate Change.
5. CLIMATE CHANGE WILL WIPE US OUT BY 2030
This particular misconception is based on a remark from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 Special Report (IPCC). Here’s what the quote says in its entirety:
“The report finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require ‘rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.”
To summarize, the study finds that if the planet is to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, emissions must be drastically reduced by the end of the decade by significantly lowering the use of fossil fuels. At this time, the planet has warmed by slightly more than 1 degree Celsius, and the vast majority of scientists agree that warming will not be limited to 1.5 degrees. This statement however does not infer that humanity will meet its end by the year 2030. The objective of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is frequently regarded as the upper limit for avoiding the worst effects of climate change. However, 1.5 degrees is not a magical cut-off point. There is no clear distinction between “normal” and “catastrophic.
6. CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY THE SUN
The sun has 11-year cycles, which means that its activity peaks and then declines. When there are fewer sunspots (active zones on the sun’s surface), solar minimum occurs, while solar maximum occurs when there are more sunspots. The sun’s activity has reduced over the last 35 years. That is to say, if the sun’s activity has dropped as the earth’s atmosphere has warmed, the sun cannot be the cause of the warming. Some people who blame the sun for global warming cherry-pick statistics by pointing to a graph that indicates the earth’s temperature and the sun’s brightness are on par. They overlook the statistics from the last few decades, which demonstrate the opposite effect and draw a false conclusion based on the facts.
7. IT CAN’T HURT TO BE A FEW DEGREES WARMER
The repercussions can be devastating. The global average temperature was just 5–10°C cooler than it is currently since the last ice age ended 12,000 years ago. The consequences were dramatic: sea levels were 110 meters lower than they are today, and parts of the United Kingdom were nearly 2 kilometers under the ice. The worst thing is that today’s rate of rising average global temperature is considerably higher. The average global temperature has risen by 2 degrees Celsius over the twentieth century, which may not seem like much, but even small changes in the environment can have major repercussions. Scientists predict increasing sea ice loss, rising sea levels, and more intense, prolonged heatwaves will occur soon. The severity of these effects and the extent of climate change will be determined mostly by the number of greenhouse gases emitted annually and the Earth’s climate sensitivity. Various regions will benefit in some ways, but the consequences for others will be tremendous. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the global cost will be negative on an annual basis
8. WE CAN QUARANTINE WHEN CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES OVER
Unlike pandemics, Climate Change is no disease and certainly will not have any vaccine or instrument to cure it. Once it takes over, no one will be able to take shelter or quarantine themselves to escape the consequences it will have. Every human including other species will taste the consequences of Climate Change, so the bad news is that staying home will not save us. Physical and mental health effects, environmental devastation, forced displacement, mass migration, crisis over water and food, internal and international security, and the potential breakdown of society, energy, and transportation are just a few of the consequences of climate change on humans. Climate change has wreaked havoc on Earth’s geological, biological, and ecological systems, with potentially irreversible consequences. These shifts have resulted in the rise of large-scale environmental threats to human health, including extreme weather, increased wildfire risk, biodiversity loss, stress on food-producing systems, and the global spread of infectious diseases.
CONCLUSION
Overall, Climate Change is a real thing that we humans should never overlook and the common misconceptions and myths about the same making it very difficult for us to take proper action or even bat an eye, so it is incumbent upon us to educate ourselves and others as well as spread awareness regarding the same so that all the misconceptions about the Climate Change can be minimized and help save our planet.