Reasons for the rising temperatures in Nairobi

There couldn’t be a greater confirmation that the world is headed for the wrong direction. The worrisome rising temperatures are among the many pointers that there is more than meets the eye.

It has been unusually warm in recent days and now we know climate change is here with us. This is no longer the scientific phenomenon ignored in the past. The conservative who doubted the hypotheses about Earth’s climatic changes taking place are on the back-foot.

The heightened temperatures can still be felt at night when most people are indoors. Adequate ventilation proves its importance.

All this comes at a time when farmers are actively preparing land for the long rainy season that often starts in the second half of March.

Unfortunately, the same annual ritual of burning dry leftovers has been adhered to as though the advice from agriculturalists was of no consequence.

Greenhouse gases have since the dawn of the industrial revolution in 1750 been a game changer responsible for the negative impact of atmospheric heating. Uncontrolled destruction of trees around the world is but one of the factors that has aided in global warming.

Forests have acted as sinks to carbon-dioxide which increased as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Other widespread human activities interfered with the natural carbon-cycle balance.

The soil, besides forests, is another sink to 75 per cent of carbon found on land. Erosion, prolonged application of synthetic fertilisers and salinisation of the soil become harmful to organic matter. Carbon that was supposed to remain in safe storage escapes into the atmosphere.

Of the five East African countries Kenya had the lowest percentage of land under forest in 2013. Somalia in the horn of Africa faired better with 10.4 per cent. Destructive wild fires over the past two years must have reduced our forests from the acclaimed 7.6 per cent on the available records. The UN recommended minimum is 10 per cent.

Concern has been raised the world over. Australia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, said a few days ago that the battle against Climate Change is being lost.

Dr James Hansen, formerly working for NASA, has in collaboration with others prepared a new report which postulates that coasts will be overran by seawater in mere decades rather than centuries as earlier predicted.

Evidence is out there. Melting glaciers and ice-sheets in the Polar Regions have led to the gradual rise in sea levels by about seven inches over the past one hundred years.

 

Global surface temperatures are now one degree Celsius higher than in the late 19th century. Add to that is 0.5 degrees of heat accumulated in the oceans and released cyclically into the atmosphere.

If 2016 will be the warmest in known history, as the meteorologists warn, then there’s cause to be cautious about food and water security. Last year’s downpours were erratic and the harvests were disappointing as many farmers attested.

Where do we begin now that more and more scientists seem to be throwing in the towel on an issue that affects everyone?