Effects of global warming

 
Generally, global warming has caused many impacts, especially on the environment and economy. Global warming is the increase of world temperatures resulting in melting of glaciers, increase in flooding because of increase in precipitation, and numerous health diseases. However, the benefit of global warming is the improvement of climate within some parts of the world e.g. Russia and Serbia in that deaths associated with cold climate have decreased and production of crops has increased.


Ecological systems
The effects of global warming are also to be felt in the ecological system. Global habitat loss has been identified as a major cause of species extinction and endangerment. In his book, Ichikawa (2004) comments that climate change will result in shifts in habitat conditions. This will be accompanied by the eventual loss of existing habitats in many regions. New habitats may reappear in other places, but in many cases only if the requisite biotic or living elements are able to track the abiotic or physical change. If climatic conditions shift, but suitable biotic elements fail to migrate, then new habitat areas may be of lower quality for many species. An example would be the failure of trees to migrate pole-ward despite the fact that suitable conditions for forest cover have shifted towards higher latitudes. Species dependent on forest conditions for food, nesting, or cover would be unable to utilize the new area.

Social systems
In his studies, Fikret, (2003) states that the reduction of water may affect agriculture in low latitudes.The American sociologist Lee Clarke states that ?Modern social organization and technologies bring other new opportunities to harm faraway people, nuclear explosions, nuclear accidents, and global warming are examples. We are increasingly ‘at at risk’ of global disasters, most if not all of which qualify to be worst cases.?

It is clear that global warming is no longer a vague problem of the future since its effect can be attributed to the damage visible in our planet at an alarming rate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the evidence is “unequivocal” and concludes that human activities like the burning of fossil fuels have almost certainly caused most of the warming of the past 50 years, bringing extreme weather, stronger storms, and more frequent droughts.