Imagine 50 years from now, you live in Massachusetts and wake up in January, only for it to be 70 degrees outside. The long term effects of climate change are beginning to set in. Rising global temperatures, increased severe weather, increased drought, rising sea level, and unfortunately more effects. 

“In the future, Earth will be hotter, the weather will become more intense, air quality will be reduced, ice will melt, and sea levels will rise, contributing to the mass extinction of many unique species.” said Addison Planz(10)

Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate say that during the past 100 years, the world’s surface air temperature has risen with an average of 1.1°F. Climate models predict that Earth’s global average temperature will rise another 7.2°F during this century if greenhouse gas levels continue to rise. 

This generation of teenagers will grow up and have to live with the long term effects of climate change. “People should care more about the effects of climate change because we are destroying the earth and making life worse for the next generation,” said Addison Planz(10). This includes possibly growing up in a warmer world with increasing food shortages, infectious diseases, and increased floods and severe weather. One example is COVID-19, and the increasing number of hurricanes.

“I am worried about how the effects of climate change will affect the world in the future because it will make the quality of life worse for anyone growing up in the future.” said Addison Planz(10)

In fact, climate change is already harming people’s health by increasing severe weather, and worsening air pollution. According to Save the ChildrenⓇ, by 2050, a further 24 million children are projected to be undernourished as a result of the climate crisis.

The increased global temperatures will leave families to live in poverty, along with less food, clean water, lower incomes, and decreasing health. Increased severe weather due to climate change also leaves families without homes, schools, child care centers, hospitals, and more. 

Climate change will also affect the biodiversity in our ecosystems, causing this generation of teens and younger to miss out on the experience of seeing all of the different unique species we have today. “The effects of climate change could cause the end of the world and endanger many species, as well as us humans, in the future,” said Ella Marchand(9)

Teens in the future will have to live with the long term effects of climate change. “The changing climate will make it so that we won’t be able to enjoy as many outdoor activities as we do now,” said Addison Planz(10). 

As a teen now, I am nervous how the future world will look for me. Will the current world look completely different? Will some coastal cities be completely underwater? Or will we reverse the effects of climate change before substantial damage to our Earth is done? Only time will tell how our world will look in the future.  

You can clink on this link to learn more about climate change

(https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/)

Save the Children. “Effects of Climate Change on Future Generations.” Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/climate-change. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.

Kelland, Kate. “Climate Change Exposes Future Generations to Life-Long Health Harm.” Reuters, 13 Nov. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-health/climate-change-exposes-future-generations-to-life-long-health-harm-idUSKBN1XN2WQ. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.

UCAR. “Predictions of Future Global Climate | UCAR Center for Science Education.” Scied.ucar.edu, 2021, scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-change-impacts/predictions-future-global-climate. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.