Nature & Environment

Climate Change And Administration Change; Where Is America Headed For?

Tripti
First Posted: Jan 11, 2017 04:20 AM EST

Lately many people have started questioning whether climate change is a hoax or real. President elect- Donald Trump has out rightly rejected the concept of climate change and is planning to shut down the climate change research facility of NASA.

In the meantime, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially declared that 2016 was the second warmest year ever recorded in the history of America after the record-breaking temperature rise in 2012, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

On Jan. 9, 2017, NOAA made a public announcement, according to which, the average atmospheric temperature in 2016 in the 48 states increased by 3 degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperature in Alaska was almost 6 degrees above average and the state was depicted as "baked," according to NOAA.

"On the statewide level, 2016 was a year of temperature and precipitation extremes. Every state in the union had an average annual temperature that was among the warmest seven of their historical records, and all but Iowa, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Utah had one of their warmest five years," NOAA said.

It was also found that 2016 witnessed the second highest number of natural climatic disasters, which totalled to 15. These disasters included the famous Hurricane Mathew, along with several other floods, droughts and wildfires. These disasters caused the death of 138 people across the country with a financial liability exceeding $46 billion, Huffington Post reported.

In the past, President Barack Obama made many efforts to limit the environmental and financial consequences of the growing impacts of climate change. He is known worldwide for his efforts to conserve natural habitats. Recently, he banned oil drilling activities in the Arctic and the Antarctic region to safeguard the marine habitats and biodiversity in the polar region.

Given the present circumstances and the incoming change in administration, experts are worried about the future of America. Incoming President Donald Trump is a non-believer of climate change, and it is obvious that he is not going to encourage the allotment of funds and human resources towards climatological research.

Furthermore, he has threatened to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, which works on an international scale to address the issue of climate change and its possible consequences.

Only time will tell what will be the fate of America under the presidency of Donald Trump and how it is going to impact the natural habitats, resources and biodiversity of the nation as a result of climate change.

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