The impact of human activities on the climate. How does climate affect people? Abrupt climate change, consequences
Almost invariably, a person is subject to the influence of the climate of the area where he lives. Over the years, the already established weather regime affects the health and performance of a person. Even if a person is already accustomed to local climate, all the same, his body reacts to the change of seasons, and some people who are affected by climate variability even with small fluctuations can take it quite painfully. And in this case, the dependence of a person on the climate becomes obvious, which, under the influence of certain factors, may be more active or may be in a depressed state.
By climate, it is necessary to mean not only changes in meteorological factors, but also solar and terrestrial radiation, atmospheric electricity, landscape and magnetic fields, that is, the whole complex of climate factors that can have a direct impact on the human body.
organism
The influence of climate on human health has long been proven. At high temperature air, peripheral vessels expand, blood pressure decreases, blood is redistributed in the body and metabolism is inhibited. At low temperatures, peripheral vessels contract, blood pressure rises, the pulse quickens, and metabolism and blood flow increase.
- With temperature fluctuations, changes occur in the human nervous system. So, at a high temperature, there is a decrease in excitability, and at a low temperature, excitability increases. The reaction of the rest of the body systems directly depends on the reactions of the nervous and circulatory systems as well as metabolism. But the scheme of reactions can vary depending on the degree, duration and rate of change in ambient temperature, and the individuality of each person and the level of his acclimatization to certain conditions also play an important role. Experiencing all the processes of climate variability, the body develops thermoregulatory reflexes that provide resistance to various temperature fluctuations.
- Air humidity, first of all, affects heat transfer, which affects the body's thermoregulatory functions. Air masses can cool the human body if they are cold, and if they are hot, they will therefore heat the body. Under the influence of wind, the thermoreceptors of the skin are irritated first of all, and irritation can be pleasant, or it can cause negative sensations. At an altitude after 300-800 meters above sea level, to replace barometric pressure, a person may react with hyperventilation of the lungs, as well as changes in the circulatory system. When the height increases, all these reactions become even more pronounced, the content of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in the blood increases. When a person is at a height with a pressure of 500-600 mm Hg. Art. in combination with low temperature and solar radiation, it enhances the metabolic process, which can have a beneficial effect on certain pathological processes. Therefore, sick people are not recommended a sharp change in climate and barometric pressure.
- Seasonal fluctuations, as a rule, cause a change in the activity of physiological functions in a person, with a change in the reactions of the nervous system, the activity of the endocrine glands, metabolic processes and heat transfer. If a person is healthy, then he practically does not react to such changes as, for example, the change of seasons, due to the adaptability of the organism to this. On the contrary, sick people can take it very painfully, with a deterioration in their general condition and exacerbation of diseases.
Doctors can compare this or that effect of climate on a person's life, depending on his type. Also different types climate can have a variety of physiological effects on humans.
Climate
- The maritime climate, with fresh, humid air saturated with sea salt, combined with blue distances and continuously running waves, in almost any case has a beneficial effect on the nervous system. beautiful shores, especially southern seas or oceans, where solar radiation is reflected and there are no sharp fluctuations in temperature, contribute to the activation of the normal balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system, and also normalize various physiological processes of the body if pathological changes are present in it. As therapeutic measures, these climatic conditions have an effect on trophic and metabolic processes, which contributes to the elimination of a disease state, and in the body of a healthy person they can enhance adaptive physiological reactions.
- Mountain climate, low pressure, great height, a sharp change in the temperature of day and night, and fresh air can prove that the influence of climate on human activity can become stimulating. Under such conditions, the excitability of the nervous system increases, the activation of psychological processes, and, consequently, labor productivity can increase. No wonder so many people of a creative nature are gaining inspiration precisely in mountain settlements, with beautiful nature and fresh air.
- The desert climate is dry and hot air, hot dust, and makes adaptation processes work in an enhanced mode, which is not a favorable factor. Dry and hot weather causes a person to increase fluid excretion, up to 10 liters per day.
- The climate of the north, with the monotony of the plains, winter cold and cold, is considered a good hardening agent. Metabolism is enhanced by increased heat generation. All body systems are stabilized.
Based on these data, one can imagine how the climate affects a person, and what consequences it can cause to our body.
For thousands of years, human economic activity has adapted to the surrounding climatic conditions, but did not take into account how it affects. When the population of the Earth was relatively small and the energy supply of man was relatively small, it seemed that the anthropogenic impact of human activity on nature could not affect the stability of the climate. But in the XX century. human activity has grown to such an extent that the question of unintended impacts has arisen. economic activity person to climate. Climate is affected by the following global character processes:
- the plowing of huge tracts of land, causing a change in albedo, a rapid loss of moisture, and the rise of dust into the atmosphere;
- destruction of forests, especially tropical forests, affecting oxygen reproduction, albedo and evaporation changes;
- overgrazing, which turns steppes and savannahs into deserts, as a result of which the albedo changes and the soil dries up;
- combustion of fossil fuels and release of CO 2 , CH 4 into the atmosphere;
- emission into the atmosphere industrial waste, changing the composition of the atmosphere, increasing the content of radiation-active gases and aerosols.
The last two processes increase the greenhouse effect.
Of particular concern is the progressive increase in CO 2 , chlorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone, which create a greenhouse effect. Estimates made in 2001 show that in the atmosphere from 1750 to 2000, the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2) increased by 31%, methane (CH 4) - by 15%, nitrous oxide (NO 2) - by 17%. Since 1995, the growth of small gaseous impurities has continued, which also have a greenhouse effect and contribute to the reduction of ozone. An increase in the concentration of these gases results in a radiative increase in the temperature of the atmosphere.
On the other hand, natural (volcanic eruptions) and anthropogenic (economic emissions) aerosol emitted into the atmosphere contributes to lowering the temperature of the atmosphere. However, individual volcanic eruptions do not have a long-term effect, but anthropogenic aerosol, which is constantly emitted during the industrial era, increases the concentration of aerosol and mainly CO 2 , especially in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
In addition to these radiation impacts, one must also take into account the change in the influx of solar radiation, which has increased by 0.3 W/m 2 since 1750 (S.P. Khromov, M.A. Petrosyants, 2004).
All of the above radiative forcings contribute differently to climate change, resulting in either warming or cooling. Moreover, the spatial scale of this contribution is different: a change in the influx of solar radiation or an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide act globally, while anthropogenic aerosol emissions initially have a local distribution and act locally.
It is quite clear that CO 2 and other radiatively active gases, due to the greenhouse effect, lead to heating of the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere, and this will undoubtedly lead to climate change. In order to imagine what will happen to the climate in the future, it is important to estimate the amount of emissions of these gases into the atmosphere. The amount of CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere depends on the combustion of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal),
Long-term observations at the background monitoring station of Mauna Loa in the Hawaiian Islands showed an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Fig. 6.1).
Rice. 6.1. Average monthly concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for 1957–1993
in the Hawaiian Islands (Mauna Loa) and the South Pole (G.N. Golubev, 2006)
Human activities over the past 200 years have resulted in an ongoing increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. The subsequent reaction of the atmosphere is the anthropogenic enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect. The total anthropogenic increase in the greenhouse effect according to the data International Committee for climate change is estimated as of 1995 at +2.45 W/m 2 .
Thus, climate issues have come to the fore among all areas of international environmental policy.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was opened for signature at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The main goal of the UNFCCC is to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at this level to prevent dangerous anthropogenic impact on the climate system.
In December 1997, a legal protocol was adopted in Kyoto (Japan) to numerically reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions. By the name of the city, the adopted protocol became known as Kyoto. For the first time in the history of environmental international relations The Protocol introduced economic market mechanisms - all countries of the Kyoto Protocol are divided into two groups:
- Organization countries economic cooperation and development and countries with economies in transition that have quantitative commitments not to exceed the established level of emissions (for the first period from 2008 to 2012 it is defined as a percentage of the 1990 level).
- All other countries (developing) with no quantitative commitments.
Thus, quotas for greenhouse gas emissions were introduced.
Real volume of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by European enterprises
in 2005 was 2.5% below the quotas issued by the EU under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce the greenhouse effect. Such data was published by the European Commission, based on statistics in 22 of the 25 countries of the European Union. Germany and Britain, the main industrial powers of the EU, are raising the issue of changing quotas. Since last year, businesses that pollute less have been able to sell their carbon emissions rights on the Climate Exchange.
| Table of contents |
|---|
| Climatology and meteorology |
| DIDACTIC PLAN |
| Meteorology and climatology |
| Atmosphere, weather, climate |
| Meteorological observations |
| Application of cards |
| Meteorological Service and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) |
| Climate-forming processes |
| Astronomical factors |
| Geophysical factors |
| Meteorological factors |
| About solar radiation |
| Thermal and radiative equilibrium of the Earth |
| direct solar radiation |
| Changes in solar radiation in the atmosphere and on the earth's surface |
| Radiation Scattering Phenomena |
| Total radiation, reflected solar radiation, absorbed radiation, PAR, Earth's albedo |
| Radiation of the earth's surface |
| Counter-radiation or counter-radiation |
| Radiation balance of the earth's surface |
| Geographic distribution of the radiation balance |
| Atmospheric pressure and baric field |
| pressure systems |
| pressure fluctuations |
| Air acceleration due to baric gradient |
| The deflecting force of the Earth's rotation |
| Geostrophic and gradient wind |
| baric wind law |
| Fronts in the atmosphere |
| Thermal regime of the atmosphere |
| Thermal balance of the earth's surface |
| Daily and annual variation of temperature on the soil surface |
| Air mass temperatures |
| Annual amplitude of air temperature |
| Continental climate |
| Cloud cover and precipitation |
| Evaporation and saturation |
| Humidity |
| Geographic distribution of air humidity |
| atmospheric condensation |
| Clouds |
| International cloud classification |
| Cloudiness, its daily and annual variation |
| Precipitation from clouds (precipitation classification) |
| Characteristics of the precipitation regime |
| The annual course of precipitation |
| Climatic significance of snow cover |
| Atmospheric chemistry |
| The chemical composition of the Earth's atmosphere |
| Chemical composition of clouds |
| Chemical composition of precipitation |
| Precipitation acidity |
| General circulation of the atmosphere |
Only lazy people don't complain about the weather. But the matter is much more serious than "hot-cold".
climate and natural processes govern human life- the birth of geniuses and villains, diseases, behavior and feelings.
RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET
We swing like on a swing between cold and warm. fluctuations average temperature occur with different rhythms: for example, there are half-century and five-year ones. Grandmothers, who love to remember the fierce winter of 1949, do not exaggerate: at that time it was really cold in winter. And since the beginning of the 60s of the XX century, warming began. And according to scientists, there is a possibility that this process is reflected not only in our well-being, but also, for example, in the ability to be creative.
Confirmation of this theory can be found in the work of Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Petrov on the pulsating nature literary life. Remember the old debate about lyricists and physicists? So these idols periodically (more precisely, every time in the same plus or minus 50 years) change places: for half a century, the right hemisphere of the brain and the fine arts subordinate to it dominate in society, and the next half century - the left hemisphere and strict calculation. Statistics show that poets thrive in colder times, while physicists love warmth.
So maybe a descendant of the Ethiopians Alexander Pushkin would not have written a single line if he had not been born in cool Moscow.
Scientists have not only hypotheses, but also proven facts about some cyclic patterns. It is known that patients with schizophrenia are sensitive to lunar ebb and flow: exacerbations occur at intervals of about 13 times a year. Those suffering from cardiovascular diseases are sensitive to the sun and its periods of activity.
Even alcoholics have their own cycle - the peak of the disease often occurs in the hot summer months.
Alexander Nemtsov, Candidate of Medical Sciences, an employee of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, sees the reason precisely in the weather. He considers summer air to be one of the main provocateurs of alcoholic psychoses: there is little oxygen in it, which provokes malfunctions of the psyche and brain activity. In addition to warning to drink less in the summer, the scientist gives a forecast: the future global warming for drinking people becomes an additional risk factor.
IN FULL HAIR
In winter we are alone, in summer we are completely different. And it's scientifically proven. Scientists Nikolai Agadzhanyan and Anatoly Skalny conducted a large-scale study and found out that the ratio of microelements in the human body changes from season to season. Confirmation - hair analysis: during the experiment, samples were taken from 1800 children 3-6 years old and 3000 women 26-35 years old.
It turned out that the expression "I always miss something" is completely true..
For example, the calcium content decreases in winter and reaches a maximum in summer. This is because in warm climates, the parathyroid glands work more intensively, and the sun helps to produce and absorb vitamin D, which regulates calcium metabolism.
. In the heat, the level of iron, manganese, and silicon in the blood plasma is also high. Their deficiency in winter causes allergic reactions and hematopoietic disorders.
. The content of zinc and copper in the body decreases slightly in the spring, and we feel it: immunity decreases, skin diseases become aggravated.
. The level of chromium, on the contrary, rises in the spring.
. Selenium is a "winter" trace element. This is also connected with nutrition - in the cold, cabbage, nuts, and garlic rich in them reign on the table ...
. But seasonal changes in the level of tin (at the maximum - in winter and early autumn, at a minimum - in late autumn and early summer), scientists have not yet found an explanation.
Seasonal fluctuations in chemical composition organism experts call acclimatization deficit. Knowing its patterns, it is quite possible to soften the blow. Thanks to drugs and vitamins, you can correct your "inner world" and fill it with everything you need despite the calendar and weather forecasts.
SPOTTY WINTER
Sun spots can predict what winter will be like. The more of them, the more active the sun and the warmer it will be on Earth. According to statistics, it is during these periods that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur more often. Today we live in a period of active sun, so in winter we practically do not freeze. But perhaps in the future, when there are fewer spots on the star, we will experience what our ancestors had to experience. The period from 1640 to 1700 was called the "small ice age"- at that time the volcanoes calmed down, there were no earthquakes, but the whole of Europe literally froze, and the shallow part of the Black Sea was often covered with ice.
WEATHER SIMULATOR
Each climate shapes its inhabitant, forcing them to adapt. Northerners have to adapt to strong winds, low humidity, long cold ... However, few native northerners complain: it is worth remembering Lomonosov's assurances that in the north "life is more bearable for our body."
Southerners have their own problems: droughts, increased levels of radiation, low humidity and thermal overload. At the same time, most of them are sure that they live in paradise.
But the inhabitants temperate climate all they know is that they're complaining about the weather. Sometimes they suffer from the sun, cold and wind more than northerners or southerners who have adapted to extreme living. Why? It can be said - from lack of training.
THERE IS NOT ENOUGH HEAT FOR LOVE
Because of the cold climate, the Russians need additional sources of energy and comfort much more than, for example, the Americans. Our demographic gap warm countries scientists explain not only social reasons, but also by the fact that most of the year is occupied by irritating and acute seasons unfavorable for childbearing.
If we are healthy, any climatic adversity will only harden us.
And if not, the climate will go through the most vulnerable places. In the north, the respiratory organs are most often affected, nervous system. In the south, the risk of infectious diseases and neoplasms is high.
Specialists of the St. Petersburg Clinic of Maxillofacial Surgery named after I. P. Pavlov proposed to introduce the weather sensitivity coefficient into use. It is determined by the results of a blood test. After all, wind, air and water affect us at the cellular level, and a drop of blood reflects the ability to tolerate heat and high humidity.
For example, in weather-sensitive people, the number of leukocytes in adverse weather increases significantly. A sharp hit from the cold into the heat can cause an exacerbation of a chronic disease, and a cold snap can slow down acute course disease and improve immunity. But not extreme: an experiment during which animals lived at -5-7 ° C for 3 days showed that in this case reactions similar to exhaustion occur. So it is necessary to be treated with cold, as well as with heat, carefully.
The wind also turned out to be useful: it has been experimentally proven that with an increase in its speed, the number of immune cells increases.
SOLAR BEHAVIOR
Light, heat and magnetic radiation coming from the sun reach different corners The earth is far from being in equal doses. The closer to North Pole, the stronger the magnetic influence of the star. Therefore, the northerners live under great pressure from the sun, and this determines their behavior, character and characteristics. For them, laconicism and slowness are organic, their nervous system is simply not adapted to the temperamental Italian scandals.
Any emotional breakdown under the northern sun is experienced more sharply and more dramatically.
In calm Finland, an increase in suicides in certain periods is associated precisely with an increase in solar activity. A special committee has been set up to forecast solar storms and warn the public about them.
In addition, most northerners suffer from a lack of light and vitamin D, which is also called the vitamin of joy. Many compensate for its shortage with a massive summer pilgrimage to the south and alcoholic beverages, which, according to Vladimir Nuzhny, Doctor of Medical Sciences at the Research Institute of Narcology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, in a moderate dose play the role of an adaptogen to difficult climatic conditions.
The life of southerners at first and even at second glance is easier, but they are not physically hardy and less vulnerable to disease. In addition, the northerners, having moved to a milder climate, successfully adapt and easily make a career. Not in vain most of political and creative elite - come from northern latitudes. But the inhabitants of the south, moving to cool zones, often suffer, become more aggressive, quick-tempered.
Climate and health
Climate is a long-term weather regime, one of the main geographical characteristics one area or another. The main features of the climate are determined by the influx of solar radiation, circulation processes air masses, the nature of the underlying surface. The various influences of climate on life, well-being, habits and work of a person are well known. harsh and cold climate has an adverse effect on humans. soft and warm climate(for example, in the mountains or on the sea coast) can improve the overall resistance of the body and many of the processes occurring in it. Such a climate can have a very favorable effect on the body of a person who has undergone serious illnesses and operations, as well as accelerate the restoration of his strength and the return of health. The science that studies the impact of climate on human health is called climatology. The use of favorable climate features in the treatment of certain diseases and increasing the body's resistance is called climatic treatment or climatotherapy. About how they influence climatic factors(i.e. climate, seasons and weather) per person, scientists began to study in the 17th century, especially this science began to develop with the foundation Russian Academy Sciences in St. Petersburg (1725). Theoretical basis This science was created by many outstanding domestic scientists, including I.M. Sechenov, I.P. Pavlov and others. Climate can affect a person directly and indirectly. Basically, climatic factors affect the conditions of heat exchange of the human body with external environment: on the blood supply of the skin, respiratory, cardiovascular system and sweating system. Our sensations of heat and cold depend on body temperature. We are warm when the vessels expand, a lot of warm blood flows through them and the skin becomes warm. And warm skin, according to the laws of physics, gives off more heat to environment. With a strong narrowing of the vessels, the amount of blood flowing in them decreases sharply, the skin cools, we feel cold. Heat loss from the body is reduced. AT cold weather heat transfer is regulated almost exclusively by the expansion and contraction of the vessels of the skin. Human skin has a remarkable property: at the same air temperature, its ability to give off heat can change dramatically. Sometimes the skin gives off very little heat. But it is able to give off a lot of heat, even if the air temperature is higher than body temperature. This property of the skin is associated with the work of the sweat glands. In hot weather, when the air temperature becomes higher than body temperature, the skin should not give off heat, but itself heat up from excessively warm air. This is where the sweat glands come to the fore. Sweat secretion increases dramatically. Evaporating from the surface of the body, sweat cools the skin and takes away a lot of heat from it. The human body is usually affected not by one isolated factor, but by a whole set of factors. Moreover, the main effects on the body are sudden, abrupt changes in climatic conditions.
The human body can in various ways operate according to the season. This applies to body temperature, metabolic rate, circulatory system, composition of blood cells and tissues. In summer, a person's blood pressure is lower than in winter period, due to the redistribution of blood flow to various organs. At higher summer temperatures, blood flow changes from internal organs to the skin. For any living organism
The climate is exclusively big influence on the lives and economic activities of people. On the territory of Russia there are no such regions where climatic conditions would serve as an insurmountable obstacle to human life and economic activity.
A person adapts (adapts) to adverse natural conditions. To a large extent, he is helped in this by the development modern production, techniques, improvement of methods of protection against adverse natural conditions. Of course, with an increase in the severity of the climate, the material costs of providing normal conditions for the life and economic activity of people in these areas increase sharply.
The climate must be taken into account during construction, during the operation of transport, but it is especially important for agricultural production, for which it is one of the most important resources. Therefore, of great interest is the production assessment of the climate, i.e., the establishment of the degree of compliance of the climate with the requirements that are imposed by a certain type of activity or direction of the economy.
Especially great importance has a climate resource assessment for Agriculture, i.e. agro-climatic assessment.
Agro-climatic resources are the properties of the climate that support agricultural production. The determining factors for the growth of crops are heat and moisture, as well as their ratio, therefore, in agro-climatic assessment and zoning, the most important indicators are the duration of the period average monthly temperature over 10°C (active vegetation period), the sum of temperatures for this period and the ratio of heat and moisture (moisture coefficient).
The change in all these indicators on the territory of Russia fluctuates quite widely, which ensures the cultivation of a wide variety of crops: from fiber flax to tea, from sunflower and sugar beet to rice and soybeans, although many of them can be grown only on very small areas.
In the economic (and especially agricultural) development of the territory, it is necessary to take into account not only climatic resources, but also adverse climatic phenomena, such as droughts and dry winds, hurricanes and dust storms, frosts during the growing season and very coldy in winter, hail and ice, fog and black ice. No wonder most of the arable land in Russia is classified as a zone of risky farming.
The climate played, perhaps, a role in the sequence of development and settlement of the vast territory of Russia. From the point of view of natural and climatic conditions, five zones are distinguished on the territory of Russia: from the extremely unfavorable to the most favorable. Areas with the most favorable human health climatic conditions are used for health purposes, climatic resorts are created here.
Temperature is one of the important abiotic factors affecting all physiological functions of all living organisms.
Temperature at earth's surface depends on geographical latitude and height above sea level, as well as the time of year.
For a person in light clothing, the air temperature will be comfortable + 19 ... 20 ° С, without clothes - + 28 ... 31 ° С. What happens to the human body when the temperature parameters change? In this case, he develops specific adaptation reactions with respect to each factor, that is, he adapts. Adaptation is the process of adapting to environmental conditions.