Tag: global environmental change

Global warming is the biggest challenge for the developing countries like India. The rapid increase in human population and the increased levels of pollution are the major contributors of global warming.The percentage of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO$ _2$) increases due to the burning of  fossil fuels to generate electricity, fuel our cars, and heat our homes. Deforestation also increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Modern human activities are responsible for the release of huge quantities of CO$ _2$ in the atmosphere. The major activities, which contribute towards this, are burning of fossil fuels and cultivation of the soil. Although CO$ _2$ is not considered as a pollutant, an increase in its proportion in the atmosphere can lead to global warming through increased greenhouse effect. 

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. In this accident, large quantities of radioactive particles were released into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. It was the worst nuclear accident in history.

The greenhouse effect is caused by the greenhouse gases. The gases methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapour trap the solar radiations which need to be reflected back to the atmosphere and increase the temperature of the earth. The greenhouse is considered as the direct cause of global warming.

CFCs are used as coolants in refrigerators, coolers, etc. The CFCs causes the breaking of the ozone molecule which forms the oxygen radical and O$ _2$. So, the presence of CFCs in the atmosphere results in the depletion of the ozone layer and allowing the penetration of the harmful UV radiations from the sun into the Earth's atmosphere.