Have you ever thought about how the world will end? And have you ever even reflected upon the fact that you could be the cause of it?

Well, some of us might think that the end of the world would be caused by a meteor shower, may be a volcanic eruption, or a massive tsunami. But you might be thinking how can I cause these disasters, or bring the end to this world? Well friends, it’s because the world is most likely to end due to global warming and all of us are a major contributor to it.

What is ‘global warming’? What are the causes and effects of it? How are we contributing to the ‘end of the world’? These are important questions whose answers hold the key to solving the problems arising due to global warming.

Global warming is the rise in global temperature, that is earth’s atmosphere, and one of its primary causes is the burning of fossil fuels, like coal, to generate electricity. This causes air pollution and depletion of the ozone layer, resultantly ending up with multiple life-threatening diseases and millions of deaths of humans, animals, birds and all the other living things. It was reported by WHO (World Health Organisation) that approximately 4.6 million deaths are caused by air pollution. The use of diesel cars also contributes to this crisis.

This and multiple other human activities are the main reasons behind the rise in temperature, but many of us thing that the rise in temperature isn’t such a bad thing. Well, it is because the intensity of that heat would give you sunburn, not tan and there is a rise in skin cancer due to the lack of increase intensity of sun’s rays hitting us now.

And if we talk about it globally, it also causes melting of the Arctic ice and the rate of melting was four times higher in 2019 than in 2003, loosing almost four million square feet of area since 1979.

But how is it a threat? The answer is simple. When ice melts, the sea level raises causing floods and other natural disaster resulting in more deaths. Secondly, when ice melts, it shrinks the natural habitats for several animals living in the Arctic, like Arctic foxes, polar bears, musk oxen and many more. We should look after animals too as they are a part of the ecosystem and these creatures are endangered and highly vulnerable to extinction.

We contribute to these killings by driving petrol/diesel cars, working in fossil burning firms and promoting them. We should altogether change our lifestyle, try to use electric cars and at least limit the use of diesel cars. Secondly, we should generate electricity using renewable resources like wind energy and solar energy, which may be a little expensive, but are safer for the environment.

And last but not least, we must limit deforestation. Trees can help us save the earth and we must spread awareness about planting trees and should plant trees ourselves too.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 16th, 2021