The concept of global warming and its effect on the Earth’s climate is known by almost everyone in today’s times. It is talked about widely on the internet, on news channels and newspapers. Scientists have been conducting vast research on this subject. They share their findings about this concept with the general public every now and then.
Phenomenon of Global Warming Dismissed in the Past
The phenomenon of global warming was not known until a few decades back. In fact, the scientists and researchers who studied the subject closely and suggested change in the climate in the future were not taken seriously. Their theories were often taken lightly or dismissed completely. It was argued that human activities cannot be strong enough to create a huge impact on the planet. Around a century back, it wasn’t expected that this will become a cause of serious concern.
Inception of the Concept of Global Warming
Though, the research involving the impact of human activities on the climate was not given much importance largely, however, those interested in the subject kept a close watch on the Earth’s temperature and the changes it was going through. They kept a track of the noticeable changes. It was in the year 1896, that a Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius, suggested that Earth’s climate was changing due to the increasing amount of carbon emission in the atmosphere. However, not much weightage was given to his study as the scientists during that time emphasized that Earth has its own way of maintaining the ecological balance and thus this cannot have any widespread impact on the environment or life on our planet.
It was in the late 1930s that an engineer collated and studied the data of the Earth’s temperature and noticed that it had actually increased substantially over the last 50 years. This was the first time that the subject was taken seriously and researchers actually suspected that this could be a cause of concern in the coming years.
However, the next three decades saw a decrease in the temperature by around 0.2 degree centigrade. This was a result of the volcanic eruptions and the industrial activities that took place around that time. This resulted in high amount of sulphate aerosols concentration in the atmosphere. Sulphate aerosols scatter light from the Sun and reflect its heat and energy back in the space. This has a calming effect on the Earth’s climate.
However, the amount of sulphate aerosols was brought down by lowering the activities resulting in the same to ensure a cleaner atmosphere. This led to the warming of Earth in the 1970s. The rise in the temperature of the Earth’s surface became a cause of concern and researchers started monitoring it intently.
Concept of Global Warming Finally Recognized
It was a research paper in 1975 that first mentioned the term global warming. The temperature kept rising through the 1980s and became a cause of growing concern. This was the time when the general public also became aware about this new phenomenon. The problems that could be underway owing to the change in the climate were shared by the media around that time. The effect of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere was also discussed around the same time. Studies suggested that the temperature was likely to rise higher in the twenty first century.
The scientists during that time anticipated a number of changes in the atmosphere owing to global warming. Many of the anticipated changes such as rise in the ocean levels, frequent wildfires and intense heat waves began showing up since the beginning of the twenty first century and are a common sight now.
Conclusion
Global warming has become a cause of growing concern. It is damaging our atmosphere year after year and will lead to mass destruction if not controlled on time.
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History of Global Warming
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