World Climate Day
World Climate Day is celebrated, a key date to reflect on the challenges facing our planet due to climate change and the urgent need to take measures to protect our ecosystems.
In recent decades, significant climate variations have been recorded, as a result of the rapid industrial development and population growth, generating various consequences such as the greenhouse effect, global warming, environmental pollution, overexploitation of natural resources, and the depletion of the ozone layer, negatively impacting Earth’s natural cycles.
Therefore, on March 26, World Climate Day is commemorated, declared in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in 1992, to raise awareness and sensitize people globally about the importance and influence of the climate, as well as the impact of climate change on humanity.
What is the climate?
Climate is defined as the set of meteorological and atmospheric conditions of a geographic area over an extended period of time: wind, precipitation, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and temperature.
There are many factors that naturally influence the climate, such as the accumulation of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, changes in solar intensity, volcanic eruptions, among others.
Climate is a vital element in human activities that require specific environmental conditions, such as agriculture, hunting, and legal fishing.
Climate Curiosities
- Since 1977, each year has been hotter than the average temperature of the entire 20th century, driven by emissions generated by oil and coal.
- The electrical energy capacity of hurricanes is half of that existing worldwide.
- The main cause of global warming is the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
- Raindrops fall at a speed between 8 and 32 kilometers per hour, depending on their diameter and thickness.
- The wettest place on Earth is Mawsynram (India), with a record of 11,000 millimeters of rainfall per year. The driest place on the planet is the Atacama Desert, in northern Chile, with an average of one millimeter of annual precipitation.
- Aerosols can contribute to trapping heat or reflecting solar energy back into space, depending on their composition and color.
- The electrical discharge of lightning is generated on Earth, pointing towards the sky, discarding the popular belief that lightning starts from a cloud.
Actions to Improve Climate Conditions
There are various natural threats linked to climate variations, which is why it is pertinent for governments and nations to adopt measures for prevention:
- Promote the approval and implementation of legal instruments that protect the environment.
- Invest in technologies to capture CO2.
- Promote the use of alternative energy sources: wind and solar energy.
- Rationalize the use of chemicals in agriculture.
- Efficiently manage the use of drinking water.
- Invest in efficient irrigation systems.
- Participate in international agreements on the environment, complying with all aspects agreed upon in such agreements.
- Promote environmental education.
- Eradicate the indiscriminate practice of deforestation, logging, and burning of forests and protected environmental areas.
You can participate in the celebration of this day every day with simple actions: reducing the use of single-use plastics, planting a tree, performing preventive and corrective maintenance on your vehicle to reduce the emission of toxic gases, and avoiding the use of aerosols.
Have you already checked out our YouTube channel? Subscribe now!
