Surprising Impacts of Global Warming

Many people have heard that global warming will increase the temperature, melt the ice, and raise the sea level. This article will give other impacts of global warming that may surprise you.

#1 Allergies
The increase of seasonal allergies and asthma in recent years partly is because of global warming. Research showed that higher carbon dioxide concentration and higher temperature make plants blooming earlier and produce more pollen that may lead to allergies for some people.

#2 Animal migration
Some animals move to higher elevation because of the temperature changes in their natural habitat. Polar bears are threathened by global warming because of their habitat is melting away.

#3 The disappearance of lakes
125 lakes in the Arctic have disappeared in past decades. Researchers believe that higher temperature reduces permafrost underneath the lakes, which makes the water seeps through the soil and draining the lakes. Ecosystems disappear following the disappearance of lakes.

#4 Structural damages
Higher temperature reduces the layer of permanent frozen soil underground. This situation makes the ground shrinking and can lead to structural damages on the ground, such as railways, highways, and houses.

#5 Changing the natural clock
Global warming is responsible for shorter winter and the plants bloom earlier. Animals need to follow this change because if not they may miss their food season. This situation can change the genetic profile of the population.

#6 Growing mountains
Mountains are growing over the time. However, the weight of glaciers on top of them slows this growth. As glaciers melt due to global warming, mountains are growing faster.

#7 Lost of ancient artifacts
Rising of sea level and extreme weather condition due to global warming can bring potential damages to numerous ancient sites. For instance, floods due to global warming have created damages to 600-year-old site, Sukhothai, in Thailand.

#8 Forest fire
Global warming heats up the forests. Higher temperature brings early spring and shorter winter which makes forest areas dry for a longer period of time and increase the risk of forest fire.

Complete article concerning this issue is available in Live Science.