Day 3 – Q 3.What is the heat budget of the atmosphere? What can be the implications of any imbalance in the heat budget? Illustrate.
3. What is the heat budget of the atmosphere? What can be the implications of any imbalance in the heat budget? Illustrate.
वायुमंडल का ताप बजट क्या है? ताप बजट में किसी भी असंतुलन के प्रभाव क्या हो सकते हैं? उदाहरण देकर स्पष्ट करें।
Introduction:
Incoming heat being absorbed by the Earth, and outgoing heat escaping the Earth in the form of radiation are both perfectly balanced. This balance between incoming and outgoing heat is known as Earth’s heat budget.
Body:
This balance in incoming and outgoing radiation prevents excess heating or excess cooling of planet and thus average surface temperature of earth is maintained around 15 degree Celsius.
However, today anthropogenic factors like expanded agriculture, industrialization, increasing urbanization have resulted in deforestation, increased concentration of Green House Gases(GHG’s) which have caused imbalance in the heat budget of earth by causing variation in overall albedo of earth surface and amount of heat retained in atmosphere and in oceans at given point of time.
Illustration:
Recent IPCC report points out Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. This would mean increase in Mean temperature in most land and ocean regions, hot extremes in most inhabited regions, heavy precipitation in several regions with simultaneous drought and rain deficits in some other regions. This would affect living beings in various ways like
- Threatens Human security due to increasing frequency of extreme weather events like Heat waves, floods, cyclones.
- Food insecurity as crop yield declines due to increasing temperature, new pests and diseases.
- Economic growth of nation is affected.
- Melting ice, expanding sea water cause rise in sea level threatening submergence of small islands and low lying coastal areas.
Conclusion:
Today, with impacts of imbalances in the heat budget being increasingly felt, international efforts are underway to address challenges like Paris climate agreement, Kigali agreement, environment protection laws. Their implementation in letter and spirit is essential for existence of life on planet Earth.
Best answer: Shubh
