“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing uncompetitive.” Though this Donald Trump quote does not perfectly describe the troubles with climate change, it does draw attention to the dangers that rising temperatures bring. Rising temperatures are beginning to affect everyone in the world in more ways than one, making this a very hot topic. Rising temperatures have an extreme effect on people, in ways that we did not even know possible until just recently. One of the most well known effects of rising temperatures is the melting of ice in the Arctic, which opens up new trade routes, but poses bigger problems for the world; in new studies, it’s been shown that not only do rising temperatures have effects on the climate, but they also have powerful effects on the mind and body.
Over the past 10 years, temperatures have been steadily rising all across the world, and new records are being set every year. The rise in temperatures has caused several droughts and wildfires in the United States. Not only are we entering wildfire season for the west, these rising temperatures are also causing trees and nature to die. But no one is so effected as the Arctic at this time. Ice caps and glaciers are melting, so much so that the Arctic is even becoming a cruiseable vacation destination, something scientists never thought possible. According to studies, the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Walt Meier of NASA relates the melting of the ice to like going from “a big ice cube to crushed ice.” And, some oceanographers are even predicting completely ice-free Arctic summers during our lifetime. Not only does this have a huge effect on the Arctic, this is also going to have strong effects on the weather patterns in the United States.
The effects of rising temperatures go farther than just the climate; new studies have found that they also have strong effects on the mind and body. Jisung Park, a Ph.D student at Harvard conducted a study of 4.6 million students in New York. Students who took the exam on a 90 degree day had a 12 percent higher rate of failing than those who took the same exam on a 72 degree day. Park also found a correlation between a large number of hot days and a decrease in learning. According to The New York Times, the average Indian endures about 33 days a year with temperatures higher than 90 degrees. This number is expected to increase by as many as 100 days by the year 2100. Not only do these increase in temperature effect studies and minds, heat also affects our bodies in more ways than one. According to Olivier Deschenes, just a single day above 90 degrees in America increases the monthly mortality rate by one percent. In addition to all of this, an increase in temperatures also decreases work productivity, and shows us increases in violence.
So, not only is ice melting in the Arctic and affecting weather patterns in the United States, but these rising temperatures are also affecting the everyday life of people everywhere. Climate change and specifically these rising temperatures are having huge impacts on the world, in some relatively newfound ways.
