Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

 5.2.2.  Global warming 
Climate is the statistical summary of weather and meteorological 
phenomena and occurrences over a long period of time, ranging 
from a few years or decades to thousands of years. Climate is 
expressed in averaged long-term atmospheric physical parameter 
values characteristic of the Earth as a whole (global climate) or of 
a  specific  territory  (a  country  or  region).  Like  many  other  issues 
relating to climate change, the extent and character of human 
influence on climate are still studied and analysed, but, to say the 
least, there is no doubt that human activities do influence climate.
There is conclusive evidence that the consequences of human 
activities – such as air, water and soil pollution, overpopulation – 
also cause climate change. However, it is quite difficult to distinguish 
clearly and unambiguously the climate change processes stimulated 
by human activities from those that are part of natural development. 
A sharp increase in the concentration of various gases (their source 
is human activity) in the atmo sphere is indicative of the increase in 
anthropogenic influence (Figure 5.7). It is evident from the diagram 
that the concentrations of gases were considerably lower in the 
period when industrial production was not yet intense, while they 
have substantially increased during the last centuries.
The concentration of greenhouse gases has increased just within 
the last 300 years – beginning with the Industrial Revolution. There 
are reasons to believe that the sharp increase in environ mental 
pollution since the beginning of industrialisation has been affecting 
climate change. Consequently, the current climate change process