We shape future climate
By Kim Sun-ae
Recently I held an online discussion about the climate crisis with my book club. Each of us introduced a book on the issue, and we talked about what we can do to deal with it. Sharing our opinions helped us to be more aware of the seriousness of the current situation, and make better choices for us and for future generations.
Climate change, which has resulted from the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, has raised the frequency of heat-waves, and heavy rain and snow, among other weather incidents, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This has increased the occurrence of natural disasters. Data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety shows that in Korea, natural disasters caused the deaths of 162 people and property damage of more than 6 trillion won between 2007 and 2016.
The change in the climate of the country has been drastic. Korea's summer lengthened by 19 days while winter shortened by 18 days over the past 106 years (1912-2017), according to a 2018 report from the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, “100-Year Climate Change on the Korean Peninsula.” The report shows that when 30 years from the past (1912-41) were compared to the 30 recent years (1988-2017), the number of tropical nights grew by about 196 percent, and the frequency of tropical nights in August rose from 1.8 to 6.2 days.
Furthermore, future climate change is expected to be more serious if our carbon emissions don't decline. According to “The Korean Peninsula's Climate Change Outlook,” a 2018 report from the Korea Meteorological Administration, the warming of the Korean Peninsula is forecast to increase climate extremes indices related to hot temperatures, including the number of heat wave days and the number of tropical nights. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the current level, the report says that both the number of heat wave days and the number of tropical nights will rise to about one month in late 21st century Korea.
Moreover, the growing volatility in precipitation is forecast to lead to frequent extreme precipitation phenomena such as torrential downpours followed by drought. Korea's precipitation in summer has already increased greatly over the past 100 years. In addition, the longest period of non-precipitation on the Korean Peninsula, which is now 36 days, will become longer in the late 21st century. Frequent heavy rains and droughts will damage agricultural production. This means that climate change could bring about grave food crises.
We already know many ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions to curb the climate crisis. Now is the time to practice what we know, such as reducing our consumption of energy and goods and urging the government to implement more active policies for net-zero carbon emissions. We can also talk about this issue with our families and friends, and encourage one another to change our lifestyles for a sustainable ecosystem.
I hope young children including my nephew will be able to live in a safe world. Their future is in our hands.
Kim Sun-ae is a writer and translator.