12 - Past and present events of climate change: natural versus anthropogenic causes

Abstract

The phenomenon of climate change is posing a serious threat to the overall integrity of our planet and to the existence of life on Earth. Climate change, however, is not a new phenomenon as far as the history of Earth is considered. All the previous events of climate change were driven by the natural causes, and the environment of Earth was gradually restored back to normal during the course of time. However, in the present scenario, climate change is completely driven by anthropogenic factors and is occurring at a very fast rate. The abrupt and extreme changes that are occurring in the environment are beyond the buffering capacity of Earth, and there does not seem to be any possibility that the situation will come back to normal. This chapter discusses the natural as well as anthropogenic causes of climate change and compares the past and the present scenario of climate change.