Today is Earth Day but what about the other days?

Today is Earth Day, an annual reminder to protect where we live from climate change and the other disasters related to it since 1970. Unfortunately, current data on the issue does not allow us to celebrate Earth Day as a reminder of the past dangers. The dangers are still very real, and we have to remind those dangers to ourselves every day. The latest IPCC report indicates climate change still threatens the Earth. The report indicates that if we do not reduce the greenhouse gasses, climate change will gravely damage human health, the world’s ecosystem, nation’s economies, and food production. The report especially underlines that climate change threatens human well-being and planetary health. Moreover, it states that any delay in unified global action on adaptation and mitigation will prevent humanity from securing a livable and sustainable future.

The report indicates that Turkey is especially in danger in three areas. These areas are heat-related deaths, economic losses, and clean water. The report signifies that Turkey is in the region of Europe that will be affected the most by heat-related deaths. Secondly, the report shows that the endangered ecosystem will gravely affect fishery and agriculture in Turkey. Turkey will also be affected by climate change-related increased water levels. The increased water levels will significantly affect the coastal regions of Turkey by damaging the cultural heritage sites, tourism, and the people who live in the coastal areas. Lastly, Turkey will be unprotected against water shortages, especially in freshwater.

As the report reminds us, climate change is not a phenomenon we should remember in just one day. Climate change is a danger that threatens us as a species, and it must be remembered constantly. However, there is still time to prevent this threat and save the planet where we live. As TEDGA, we wanted to remind everyone what awaits humanity if we do not do something against that oncoming threat on Earth Day.