Head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Professor Dwikorita Karnawati, urged the younger generation, including students of the UGM Faculty of Engineering, to contribute to reducing the rate of greenhouse gas emissions as an effort to mitigate global warming and the impacts of climate change.
She conveyed this message while delivering a lecture for UGM Faculty of Engineering undergraduate students on Monday (8/14) at Grha Sabha Pramana.
The temperature of the Earth’s surface has been rising steadily, according to Professor Karnawati. The rise in global temperatures after the industrial revolution gained particular significance.
“This temperature rise began in the 1980s, following the Industrial Revolution. The trend for rising temperatures continues, and the global temperature rise until 2022 reached about 1.2 degrees Celsius,” she explained.
She stated that the years from 2015 to 2022 have been the hottest eight years in history. 2022 ranked the 5th hottest year in history since the industrial revolution.
BMKG predicts that by the year 2100, surface air temperatures will rise significantly compared to before the industrial revolution.
“By the end of the 21st century, surface air temperature rise could jump from 1.1 degrees Celsius to 3.5 degrees Celsius compared to before the industrial revolution. This will occur across major Indonesian islands like Kalimantan, Sumatra, Java, Papua, and Sulawesi if we do not mitigate,” she explained.
Professor Karnawati mentioned that there are currently 33 atmospheric monitoring stations worldwide. One of them is managed by BMKG at the Bukit Kototabang station, West Sumatra. Monitoring results have shown increased greenhouse gas concentration from 1996 to 2023.
“The increase is nearly 40 ppm in a relatively pristine location like the forest. Imagine if it’s in urban areas; it would be even higher,” Professor Karnawati said.
Considering this situation, the professor called on all parties to participate in efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts are crucial to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
Climate change leads to increased occurrences and intensities of floods, water scarcity worldwide, rising temperatures, droughts, and even food insecurity.
“Almost the entire world, including Indonesia, will experience this around the year 2050, assuming that our way of life continues to use energy that produces greenhouse gases,” she concluded.
Author: Ika
Photo: UGM Faculty of Engineering