HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AFFECTING ORDINARY ZIMBABWEAN

Zimbabwe, just like other African countries is suffering more from the impact of global warming showing that poorer countries carry the heaviest burden when it comes to climate change.

A report complied by the meteorological services of Zimbabwe show that weather patterns in Zimbabwe are changing thereby affecting  frequency and severity of rainfall.Droughts and floods are now the order of the day in the country.

The meteorological service(2011) goes on to say temperatures indicate that there is a consistent trend of an increase in the occurrence of  maximum temperature extremes in most areas,the observed rate  of warming  averages  as high as 2.7 degrees Celsius  in most areas and cold day seem to be decreasing at a rate of 14-17 days per century  whereas the number of warm days are increasing.Water resources are dwindling and the evergreen forests  of the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe may be reduced  to seasonal forests.

All this shows the impact of climate change and how climate change affects agricultural productivity and helps in the spread of water borne diseases,outbreaks of fires and increased flooding from sea level.All this is due to climate change.

The Newsday of Wednesday of 22 February 2012 carried an article about how Matebeleland is one of the most affected areas in terms of drought this season.The article went on to say that a lot of people in the region are going to face starvation.However this is not limited to Matebeleland only but to the rest of the country.

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This shows how climate change is affecting everyone especially those in third world counties.

Story taken from NEWSDAY,22 FEBRUARY 2012 and meteorological services of Zimbabwe.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 2012 ?

Last year South Africa hosted  195 parties(which are binded by the Kyoto Protocol) in the seveneteenth session of  the conference of the parties which took place from the 28th of November to the 9th of December.The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed countries to emission reducation targets and the first commitment period stated in 2008 and ends in 2012.

Some of the major objectives raised were to ensure that the post-2012 agreement  will include the rules in the kyoto protocol.european member states have promised to adhere  to second commitment  of the kyoto protocol.they also promised to close the gigatonne gap which is the difference between  the current ambition level and the required to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

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The question now is will they be able to stick to these objectives since greenhouse emission is still high?What will the post-2012 agreement  bring that will be different from the previous agreement?Unless there is real change,unless all heads of states take this matter seriously we are heading for disaster.The second  commitment of the Kyoto Protocol should include stiff penalties for those countries which do not honor their promises.It should also included  all African states as climate change is affecting everyone.

CLIMATE CHANGE OR BEHAIVOUR CHANGE

What do skinny polar bears,drowned seal puppies, the melting of Kilimanjalo s famous snow, the  floods in Thailand and the heat waves in Russia all have in common?Climate change.It is believed all these signs of climate change which has become the most critical issue in enviroment studies today.All these signs are also believed to  have been caused by humans beings.

Summits have done by the G8,G20 and the most recent one in South Africa,which have all tried to solve this issue.Findings and research have all showed that gases emmited into the atmosphere especially by the developed countries have greatly contributed  to climate change.Countries like china ,usa,germany, uk to mention  a mention have emmensely contributed to climate change.Nations may host summits and enviromentists may protest all they want but as long as these countries do not stop to think about the repercussions of their actions and as long as they keep on chasing the dollar and ignoring  the warnings, we will wake up one day  and realise  we no longer have the enviroment that we have today.However as much as we would like to put all the blame on developing countries,developing countries have also contributed to climate change through uncollected refuse,burst sewer pipes and the cutting down of trees.I truly believe it is not too late to start restoring our beautiful plate.

ENVIROMENT IN AFRICA

Burst sewers,uncollected refuse,electricity outages and persistant water shortages have become the order of the day in most residentical surburbs in many African countries.After watching an episode about rodents in Alexandra township,South Afria on SABC1 s Cutting Edge , I knew my article would not have done any justice if I focused on Zimbabwe only.When it comes to the enviroment African countries are affected the same way despite different economic,political and social standings.Poor management by relevant authorities in many African states have left  the enviroment in a state that will take another million years to restore.What this is all contribiting to is climate change, a topic I will exaplain in detail in my next article