Recently, the world has been on fire.
That is meant in a literal sense. From a smoke-congested June to the news of a Hawaiian beach town burned to the ground, wildfires have been simmering all summer. Tall grass catches and burns, the smoke thick and black, hungry flames gorging themselves on plants that are dead and dry. This has been happening in California every year for the past half-decade or so—maybe even longer—but wildfires and other natural disasters seem more common now. Almost frequent. It is an unsettling trend.
In the ocean, hurricanes like Hurricane Idalia inflicted mass destruction upon Florida and other states. It is easy to say that the weather changes happening in 2023 are abnormal and unprecedented. The question is, why is this happening?
NASA says that global temperatures, carbon dioxide levels and sea levels have been rising. These are all marks of global warming. But that is just the beginning.
In June, smoke from Canadian wildfires gave America a taste of some of the worst air quality on earth. On June 6, the skies in New York City were a dystopian orange and the air quality there matched New Delhi, which is known as the most polluted city in the world. Even in Central Ohio, there were a string of weeks when the sky did n0t seem as blue. When people stared at the haze, their eyes burned.
“I remember when the air quality was really bad,” said sophomore Savya Majmudar. “I was training for cross country. I’d feel out of breath and my eyes would burn.”
Bad air quality is a direct result of global warming, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Trapped heat and pollutants in the atmosphere make the air unsafe for many to breathe, threatening lives in some cases.
“I think that the bad air quality is a problem for certain people,” Majmudar said. “Mainly for people with preexisting conditions as well as elderly people.”
Natural disasters are becoming more frequent, according to the UN. This has to do with rising temperatures, which impact the climate in more ways than one. A hotter climate means the chances of fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters increases.
“The Earth is already changing,” science teacher Alexandra Van Echo said. “We need to stop it from changing too much, before food and water becomes unsustainable.”
The wildfires and hurricanes are a reminder that the world is changing. 2023 is not the last time these things will happen, by any stretch of the imagination. They will be worse in the future, and more numerous. Scientists already tell us that the world will be changed forever, with natural disasters becoming the norm. Food and water will be scarce. Species will become extinct. This is the world of the future.
“Global warming impacts us all so much,” said Van Echo. “Rising sea levels, so many species going extinct. It’s heartbreaking.”
Earth is a living thing, and like all living things, it will die. Things are changing for the worse, and the fate of our planet will be decided by the actions of the future.
