What Causes Thousands of Global Warming Deaths Each Year?You have probably been reading or hearing a lot about global warming in recent years, but perhaps you think of it as a threat in the distant future. If you reflect about where you live and you have been there a few years now, the weather has changed and become more violent, winters either warmer or much colder the springs bring huge storms, summers devastating droughts or floods.The truth is that global warming is happening right now, and we must live with the devastating effects of global warming each and every year. Global warming affects nearly ever aspect of our lives on earth, and each year there are many deaths that can be indirectly attributed to the effects of global warming. No matter where you live, chances are you will recognize some of the signs that can be undoubtedly attributed to global warming.There are many health effects that can be attributed to global warming each year. For instance, in the last two decades there have been more intense heat waves in places where heat waves were very rare, and many people have suffered because of these unusual heat waves. These more frequent heat waves have resulted in the death of many people, especially the very young and elderly. These deadly heat waves have resulted in many heat-related deaths in areas where heat-related deaths have been generally very rare. The warming temperature also contributes to our air quality and the spread of disease.
The global climate change is only expected to increase the potential threat that heat waves already pose for thousands of Americans each summer. The warming global temperature is also poised to cause harm to many people in other parts of the world as well as help the spread of many tropical diseases.
There has already been a historical precedence for this threat. In the summer of 2003, a massive heat wave caused the deaths of more than 20,000 people in
India. In the summer of 1999, over 250 people died in the Midwestern United States after a massive heat wave swept the
United States. Another problem that global warming that can already be found is the growth of disease-carrying mosquitoes that increase as the climate shifts to warmer temperatures. Many of these mosquitoes are surviving and even thriving in areas where they never existed before. Many of these mosquitoes carry such dangerous viruses as dengue fever. Although many of these mosquitoes were once limited to a certain geographic area, isolated at elevations of 3,300 feet, they have recently been detected in areas of even 7,200 fees in elevation, such as the famous
Andes Mountains in
Colombia.
Another serous threat caused by global warming is the appearance of warming water. What happens when water becomes warmer? In the oceans, warming water can have a serious impact on the weather. Think of global warming as a devastating kind of domino game. Global warming causes sea waters to warm, which in turn causes the appearance of more hurricanes. These projected hurricanes will be more frequent, more dangerous, and more powerful than the hurricanes we have dealt with historically. When the water in the ocean warms, this causes it to produce more energy and pump more energy into the tropical storms, which makes these storms stronger and more intense than they were before.What does this mean for us? This means that hurricanes, tsunamis and tornadoes will become more deadly than ever before. If the devastating effects of global warming continue to advance unchecked, we can be sure that the effects of global warming will be felt by all. No matter what part of the world you live in, global warming will not spare any corner of earth. The weather will become more intense, and global warming will continue to cause thousands, if not more, deaths each year that global warming continues unchecked.