1.1. Climate Change is a phenomenon that is affecting the world. Colombia is not considered one of the countries that contributes most to this problem, however, it has lost thousands of hectares of forest that produce oxygen to the planet. Although we do not produce large amounts of greenhouse gases, the country is one of the most vulnerable in the world for the purposes of this phenomenon.
2. Climate change in Colombia
2.1. 1. Melting of glaciers
2.2. In the country, 84% of the area of the glacier that existed in the territory has disappeared. And Ideam warns that if the temperature continues to rise, the snow will not resist. In three or four decades Colombians will have only a memory of what were the masses of ice in their mountains.
2.3. 2. Coral bleaching
2.4. When the sea temperature rises, whitening usually occurs in ecosystems. This occurs when the coral is "stressed" by the high temperature and expels a protozoan responsible for coloring. According to Natural Parks of Colombia this has been seen in the Gorgona Park and in the Rosario Park
2.5. 3. Beach losses and coastal erosion
2.6. Marine-coastal ecosystems are among the most vulnerable. When the water temperature rises, the movement of the sea changes, generating erosion processes. This also causes the loss of the beaches.
2.7. 4. Extreme events
2.8. Heavy rains, hailstorms where they had not before, drought where they had regular rains and large windows are a consequence of climate change. Carolina Jarro says that in the Amazon and Orinoquia it has been shown that summers are much more intense and droughts are stronger. In rivers that were once very large, such as Cravo Norte, water levels have decreased.
2.9. 5. Animals in danger
2.10. The figures are blunt. For each degree Celsius that increases the temperature 10% of the species could have a higher risk of extinction, according to the IPCC.
2.11. Some will wonder why the species would disappear if they have the ability to adapt. The short answer is presented by the Humboldt Institute in one of its documents: it is due to the rapidity of current warming in which species do not have time to adapt
3. Countries most affected by global warming
3.1. Puerto Rico is not exactly a country: it is a Commonwealth, which enjoys self-government, but is politically dependent on the United States. Even so, due to its geographical location and socioeconomic indicators, Puerto Rico presents an exposure to extreme climatic events much higher than those of the rest of the American states. In any case, it is the only nation on this list that is classified as a fully developed country, depending on the United States.
3.2. Honduras To the serious structural problems of Honduras is added its geographical location, in the tropical hurricane zone. The worst suffered between October and November 1998: Hurricane Mitch, which caused severe flooding and landslides that killed 6,500 people and left several thousand missing. Nearly 1.5 million people were left homeless, 70% of the crops were lost leaving starvation to many peoples and lack of sanitation caused outbreaks of dengue, malaria and cholera.
3.3. Myanmar (Birmania) Myamar is therefore also located in the tropical zone of the world, very vulnerable to cycloexplosive storms that are called cyclones in that region. The most devastating was undoubtedly, Nargis: at the beginning of May 2008, this storm touched the coast of Burma generating a giant wave that penetrated up to 35 kilometers on the mainland, causing at least 78,000 dead and 56,000 missing.
3.4. HaitíThe most serious has been Hurricane Matthew, which killed 600 people in the Afro-Caribbean country. According to Germanwatch, Haiti has had 280 deaths and has lost 2.8 GDP points a year in the last decade because of extreme weather events, which only aggravate the terrible moment that has passed since 2010. It is important to remember that Haiti has 98% of its deforested territory, something that not only causes more virulent rains, but has partly motivated the mass exodus of the population towards urban areas. There they are crammed into low quality buildings, very vulnerable to weather.
3.5. FilipinasTo these socio-economic problems is the complicated geographical situation of the Philippines: it has a tropical climate and the islands settle in the Pacific belt of fire, causing earthquakes and typhoons to suffer quite frequently. In the last decade, the Philippine archipelago has been plagued by a total of 307 natural disasters that have affected some 130 million people. This represents an increase of 14% over the previous decade and leaves an enlightening fact: 90% of them were related to climate change.
4. What causes Climate Change
4.1. There is an overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming is mostly caused by humans: 97% of climate scientists have reached this conclusion. One of the biggest determining factors, by far, is the burning of fossil fuels - coal, gas and oil - which has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases - such as carbon dioxide - in our atmosphere. This, coupled with other activities such as logging for agricultural purposes, is causing an increase in the average temperature of our planet. In fact, the scientific community is so sure that greenhouse gases cause global warming that smoking causes lung cancer. This conclusion is not new. The scientific community has been collecting and analyzing data on this issue for decades. Warnings about global warming jumped into the press in the late 1980s.
5. What effects does climate change have?
5.1. The effects of climate change are already being noticed, and will get worse. Global warming has already reached approximately 1 ° C with respect to pre-industrial levels. Every half degree (or even less) of global warming counts. It is important to remember that none of the lists of effects of climate change is exhaustive. It is very likely that heat waves occur more frequently and last longer and that rainfall becomes more intense and frequent in many regions. The oceans will continue to heat and acidify, and the global average sea level will continue to rise. All this will have - and is already beginning to have - a devastating impact on human life.
6. Why do we have to stop climate change?
6.1. Because all people deserve the same protection. Human beings are born with fundamental human rights that, however, are seriously threatened by climate change. While climate change endangers the lives of all people in one way or another, it is more likely that those who suffer its worst effects are discriminated people. All people deserve protection from this universal threat. Because with acting we lose nothing and we can win everything. Fighting against climate change gives us the opportunity to put forward the well-being of people by guaranteeing the right to a healthy environment. In turn, this will allow us to improve human rights, for example, by allowing more people access to cleaner and cheaper energy resources and creating employment opportunities in new sectors.
