EARTH DAY
FACTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
ARCTIC SEA ICE AND GLACIERS ARE MELTING
One of the most well-known effects of global warming is that sea ice and glaciers in the Arctic are melting. In 1910, the Glacier National Park in Montana in the United States was filled with approximately 150 glaciers. When the glaciers were recounted in 2017, this number had dropped to 26. This melting ice will cause rises in sea level, and will increasingly affect people in areas that depend on water from melting glaciers for their drinking water. AVERAGE SEA LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO RISE BETWEEN 0.5 AND 1.5 METRES BEFORE THE END OF THE CENTURY As oceans continue to warm and expand, and land-based ice in Greenland, parts of the Antarctic, and mountain glaciers continue to melt, sea levels will rise. This will have an impact in many countries across the world, especially low-lying areas with high risk of extensive flooding. RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF CARBON DIOXIDE RELEASE Trees and forests are known as 'carbon sinks', because they store carbon dioxide as they grow. When humans cut down rainforests or they are destroyed by wildfires, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. This contributes to the greenhouse effect and increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, contributing further to global warming.
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