An online event on “Climate Change and Disasters” was held by Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services. Instructor Tuğçe Yılmaz Karan, Head of the Emergency and Disaster Management Program at Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services, participated as a speaker in the event held within the scope of the University Culture course.
“Climate change is anthropogenic”
Instructor Tuğçe Yılmaz Karan, making evaluations about climate change and disasters, said: “Climate changes have occurred in different ways, in different periods, throughout history since the Earth came into existence, and will continue to occur. Looking at the approximately 4.5 billion-year history of the Earth, changes have occurred in the climate system in different years, at different time intervals, and on different scales due to both natural factors and natural processes. The significant drops in temperatures on the Earth's surface and in the atmosphere over long periods, the occurrence of ice ages, and changes in sea levels have been experienced extensively. Unfortunately, due to the occurrence of ice ages and changes in sea levels, permanent changes have been experienced both geographically and ecologically on the planet. This natural process of permanent changes is actually a different situation from the climate changes discussed today. The climate change we are currently discussing today is largely anthropogenic. Human activities, especially, unfortunately create a greenhouse effect. They generate gas emissions, and consequently, cause the climate changes we are experiencing extensively today.”
“Climate change is now a permanent fixture”
Karan, mentioning that the thinning of the ozone layer also affects climate change, said: “Climate change is now a permanent fixture. Thanks to these gases, which we categorize as greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, methane, and water vapor, some of the sun's rays reflected from the Earth's surface are sent back to the Earth, ensuring that the average temperatures on Earth allow living creatures to continue their lives at a suitable heat level. There is the ozone layer. It is also quite important in climate change. The ozone layer is a vitally important layer located approximately 20-30 km above the Earth's surface, in the upper part of the stratosphere, which varies from region to region and over time, filtering out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and preventing living beings from being adversely affected by radiation. The emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides, in particular, lead to more harmful rays from the sun reaching the Earth as a result of the erosion of natural surfaces. In other words, they cause the thinning of the ozone layer. As a result, climate change is experienced again.”
“Climate change has now become a global problem”
Tuğçe Yılmaz Karan touched upon the issue of the ozone layer's depletion becoming a major problem towards the end of the 20th century. Karan stated: “Unfortunately, climate change has been showing its effects much more intensely, especially in recent years, because emissions into the atmosphere have increased significantly since the industrial revolution, and consumption by society has become much higher. The industrial revolution is often cited as the beginning of ozone layer depletion, but it actually became a significant problem more towards the end of the 20th century. Global climate change has now become a global problem. In this regard, international initiatives have been undertaken. Particularly in the 1960s, issues related to ozone layer depletion gained significant attention, and after climate change became an international problem, an environmental declaration and an environmental summit were held in 1992. At the Rio Earth Summit, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was established.”
“A climate change adaptation strategy is in place”
Karan, stating that necessary measures must be taken to prevent the harmful effects of climate change, said: “In this regard, domestic and foreign policies need to be determined by reviewing the country's conditions. We also have an adaptation strategy and action plans for climate change, prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Furthermore, as it is a global problem, intergovernmental panels on climate change are being held. These panels are not held every year, but at specific intervals in certain years. According to the reports of this panel and 2016 data, research conducted from the beginning of the industrial revolution to the present day shows that the temperature has increased by approximately 0.9 degrees Celsius. It is stated that for every decade to come, there will be an approximate warming of 0.3 degrees Celsius as long as carbon emissions in the atmosphere are not reduced and the production-consumption system continues this way.”
“Significant economic losses are experienced due to disasters”
Karan, speaking about the most common disasters and types of disasters in the world, said: “As a result of climate change, many factors emerge. Natural disasters occurring in nature, such as floods, storms, droughts, and desertification, often bring with them problems like climate migration and climate refuge. I am trying to show you what the most frequent disasters in the world are, what these disaster types are, and their distribution, based on research conducted. Events like floods, storms, and earthquakes appear as the most frequently occurring disasters worldwide. In addition, significant economic losses are experienced worldwide due to disasters, categorized by their types. When we look at these economic losses, we observe that high economic losses occur mostly due to natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, and floods. Unfortunately, situations like hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods occur very frequently worldwide, resulting in high economic losses.”
“Even one person's carbon footprint is very high”
Tuğçe Yılmaz Karan addressed the topic of carbon footprint and its calculation. Karan stated: “The carbon footprint is generally an important concept. It is a measurement that shows the share and impact degree of all elements — including individuals, societies, states, and companies — in the global context. It is the measure of the environmental damage caused by activities in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, measured in carbon dioxide equivalent. When we calculate the carbon footprint, we are essentially measuring how much harm is being done to the environment. Considering all the food a person consumes throughout their life, all resources used for heating and transportation, all durable and non-durable consumer goods, and the waste they generate, the footprint left by one person on the world is actually quite substantial. It is an unignorable amount. Carbon footprint calculation measures the total amount of carbon dioxide a person emits into nature within a year, and a calculation is made accordingly. When we look at how much carbon dioxide is generated over time, from the production of all products to their consumption by us, very high rates of carbon dioxide emissions occur.”