Tuesday August 6, 2024
Balkan Green Energy News —
The ocean makes our planet habitable. Some of its irreplaceable roles include regulating global temperatures, producing oxygen, and absorbing carbon dioxide. Marine habitats can store ten times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial ecosystems.
Climate change has a very negative impact on the oceans. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions leads to water warming, so there is more evaporation, storms are stronger, and there is heavier rainfall. Additionally, ocean water expands with rising temperature which, combined with melting glaciers, raises sea levels.
As much as 10% of the world’s population (more than 680 million people) lives at or close to the ocean. The rise in temperature increases the acidity of the ocean, causing habitat changes and species loss, threatening the food supply and the livelihoods of those living in coastal areas.