Global Citizenship

My name is Hiya Chopra, I study in Year 11 and I am currently the Innovation Coordinator for my year group. I have a wide range of hobbies, including dancing, swimming, athletics, and debating. I also enjoy taking my time out to volunteer and give back to my community. In this column, Global Citizenship, I will discuss various global concerns in sectors ranging from the environment to the economy, laying emphasis on the fact that each and every individual has a global responsibility to contribute towards the betterment of the world.

Global Warming is the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s surface mainly due to greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane, CFC’s, and other harmful pollutants. Stephen Hawking, who was a theoretical physicist predicted that the earth will turn into a ball of fire by 2600 due to overcrowding and energy consumption, which are prominent factors of global warming. This prediction sure does seem to be coming true and the evidence is the rising temperatures around the world.

The heat wave in Europe began on 8th July, where the Met Office released the first health warnings in response to rising temperatures. On 15 July, it declared a national emergency as the UK's first red extreme heat weather warning. Scientists have stated that these heat waves are more intense, longer, and more frequent due to climate change. Usually, temperatures in Europe are around 20 degrees Celsius or below, however, due to the heat waves, temperatures are topping to 40 degrees Celsius! Furthermore, ferocious wildfires ravaged the land of France and Spain, where dozen local temperature records were broken. The prime minister of Spain linked it to global warming, saying “climate change kills”. Moreover, glaciers have been falling off, melting, and increasing the sea levels. This is also one of the reasons why the number of floods is increasing. Temperatures are rising as cold winds from these arctic places aren’t blowing due to melting of glaciers, while the hot winds are travelling from North Africa and the Sahara. This is also impacting the arctic ecosystem and biodiversity.

These heat waves need to be taken as a wake-up call for all of humanity. Global warming and carbon emissions do not just affect the country or region they are emitted from, it affects the whole world. Therefore, each and every one of us has the global responsibility to do our bit to combat it.