Exponential growth is a concept that many people are happy to leave to experts as most minds are still puzzled over how the data related to it can be helpful in the real world.
But the pandemic has enabled many of us to start wrapping our heads around the concept, if still incompletely. Experts consider viruses an example of exponential growth in the real world. Case in point: the number of those infected began at the single-digit level, so people weren’t very concerned about it, at least not in the early days.
However, as 2020 progressed, cases began doubling every couple of days, and the numbers grew significantly over the next several weeks before declining.
Exponential Growth in Climate Change Studies
Climate change is another key area wherein the concept of exponential growth may prove instrumental in helping formulate solutions to help mitigate the potential damage it may cause over the next several years.
In this particular context, studying the exponential growth of days wherein the average temperature in a specific city goes beyond 30°C in a given year is important. This is true especially in temperate areas like the United Kingdom and much of Western Europe. It can give us a clearer idea of how the significant rise in temperatures stands to affect life in the region.
It may not seem like much at the onset, but when you take into account an increase in the number of those adversely affected by the heat in terms of health conditions related to their intolerance of rising temperatures, then even the most oblivious of researchers will sit up and take notice.
Similar monitoring is being done with regard to other climate-related issues such as the constant rise in sea levels, the rate at which polar ice caps are melting, as well as the growing severity of flooding and monsoons. If scientists are able to keep abreast of the exponential growth in adverse climatic effects, then they may well be on their way to developing viable solutions for their mitigation.
Any solutions or preemptive action that stems from this analysis of exponential growth in terms of climate change will be beneficial for a broad spectrum of industries. Indeed, a business that looks into a climate-centric scenario wherein the impact of environmental conditions on their supply chains and task structure is setting itself up with a serious advantage that can take it far in the future.
