Summer may be fun and games, but people won’t be enjoying it because they’re complaining about the rain or sweltering heat. Little do they know, it is a result of precipitation change. Precipitation change is when rain and snow become too excessive or too insufficient. It has become a factor of the problem in climate change. More precipitation is slowly but surely affecting everyone on a global scale. The cause of precipitation change has made many effects on a global scale. Rising temperatures are affecting flooding homes, agriculture, and natural disasters.
Rising temperatures have caused the planet to evaporate more water and is the main cause of precipitation change. The water cycle also explains why Earth is getting hotter leads to more rain and snow. The water cycle begins as liquid water, and then when that water is getting heated up, the molecules expand and eventually evaporate into the clouds. Clouds then store these little water molecules until a rain or snow storm happens. It comes back to the land as liquid again and the cycle restarts. Earth already has an abundant amount of water, but as the temperature rises, more of the ocean water and groundwater than needed is being evaporated. More water in clouds come more blizzards, rainstorms, and droughts on the way. “As temperatures rise and the air becomes warmer, more moisture in the air generally means we can expect more rain and heavy downpours. But this extra precipitation is not spread evenly around the globe, and some places might actually get less precipitation than they used to get. That’s because climate change causes shifts in air and ocean currents, which can change weather patterns.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency) As climate change worsens over time, so do the living conditions of areas that are greatly affected by this. Some cities are getting too dry and hot to live in, other too cold or too flooded. Venice, Italy is sinking due to the extra rain. Mumbai, India might experience sea levels rise. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will have its airports, beaches, and neighborhoods underwater in the next century if the temperature keeps increasing. Cities across the globe are in danger because of the population within one secluded area. Unless there is something done about this, this will be the inevitable future.
Rain has been a recurring problem for humans. Only this time with climate change involved, rain has become a bigger issue than ever. The United States has many cities where they combine stormwater and wastewater to be reused or released to the ocean. It may not seem like a huge deal at first, but having more water in the sewers due to more rain could lead to catastrophic long term effects. “Heavy rainfall can overwhelm such systems, sending excess stormwater, wastewater, and untreated sewage directly into the environment, risking public health and disrupting local fisheries,” (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Extreme Precipitation and Climate Change) More rain equals fewer jobs. Due to the untreated water being mixed in with the rainwater being drained in the sewers, bodies of water are getting more polluted. The filthy water will eventually seep into aquatic habitats and kill many fish and other marine life. This will not only affect marine biologists and people who want to save the ocean, but it also affects the fishermen. Marine biologists don’t have anything to study if there are no aquatic life. Fishermen will have nothing to catch. People who enjoy eating fish would either have to pay more for its rarity or not eat it at all anymore. More rain also means more storms, hurricanes, and flash floods. Homes are being destroyed, lives are being taken, and money is being wasted. Rain is eventually affecting everyone.
Agriculture is at risk due to precipitation change. Farming areas are heavily dependent on the weather to ensure they have an equal amount of rain and sunshine to make their crops flourish. Farmers cannot control the weather, so the uneven spread of precipitation will negatively affect their income. “Some research indicates that warmer temperatures lengthen growing seasons and increased carbon dioxide in the air results in higher yields from some crops. A warming climate and decreasing soil moisture can also result in production patterns shifting northward and an increasing need for irrigation.” (Jeff Schahczenski and Holly Hill, 3) Everyone may not realize it, but everyone depends on agriculture to bring them food. Farmers are doing the hard work of harvesting and planting crops while raising cattle so they safely go into families’ grocery bags at the end result. Not only is carbon dioxide affecting the crops, but severe flooding and droughts kill it too. The location is a huge factor in whether or not farmers have this in their favor. No crops will equal no pay for farmers and no food for the people.
Natural disasters are becoming more severe since precipitation was starting to alter. Wildfires will continue to become a threat because of the heatwaves becoming more frequent and serious, eventually reaching to the forests. More floods will result in more money being paid to recover and animals getting washed up. The Conservation in a Changing Climate states that “Floods and droughts will become more frequent and severe, wildfires are expected to become stronger and common.” (Conservation in a Changing Climate, Altered Precipitation, Implications for Land Trusts) Hurricanes and rain storms are getting more expensive to pay. More wildfires affect not only the forests, but the people that inhale the smoke and the houses being burned down in the woods. People at risk of being severely injured or dead in these natural disasters. More landslides will happen as “above-normal precipitation raises the water table and saturates the ground, slopes can lose their stability, causing a landslide.” (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Extreme Precipitation and Climate Change) Landslides will also cost a lot of money due to repairs of possible construction and highways. Soon enough, many countries’ governments will have to spend a lot of money into natural disaster recovery and its own people would be angry for their losses because of such events. This could easily be avoided if countries unite to fix this problem. Too many lives are at stake when these natural disasters are coming back as a result of too much or too little precipitation.
Therefore, precipitation change has greatly affected the Earth by disrupting weather patterns, agricultural needs, and worsening natural disasters. The water cycle has been altered due to more heat which evaporates more water. It brings catastrophic damages to our planet and there is more to come. Lives will be the price paid until something is majorly done about this issue. People cannot wield absolute power over the weather like a higher being, but research is being done to spread the awareness and solutions.
