CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE
C h a p t e r 6
Weather
Weather refers to
conditions like rain,
temperature and wind
over hours to days
Climate
Climate refers to average
weather conditions over a
long period of time (30+ years)
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is a statistically significant
change in the state of the climate (average
weather) that persists for an extended period
of time (decades or longer)
W H AT C A U S E S
C L I M AT E C H A N G E ?
W H A T
C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
THE GREENHOUSE
EFFECT
• Sunlight passes through the
atmosphere to earth
• At earth’s surface it’s reflected
back through the atmosphere to
space
• However! After it is reflected,
greenhouse gases can trap heat in
the atmosphere
• We call this process the W H A T
greenhouse effect; as it is similar to C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
a greenhouse
• Greenhouse gases act like a big
blanket around the earth, trapping
heat
THE GREENHOUSE
GASES
• Greenhouse gases trap heat from
the sun in the atmosphere, after it is
reflected from earth
• Greenhouse gases occur naturally
in the atmosphere
• Without them, the earth would be W H A T
very cold – about minus 18°C ! All C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
water on earth would freeze, the
oceans would turn to ice and life
as we know it would not exist
HUMAN ACTIVITY
• Over the last 100 years, since the
industrial revolution, greenhouse
gases have rapidly increased in the
atmosphere
• This is due to human activities
which release greenhouse gases
W H A T
• Electricity from coal or diesel C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
generators and industry or pollution
from factories contribute the most
GLOBAL WARMING
• More greenhouse gases trap more
heat in the atmosphere, leading to
global warming
• Since 1880, global temp has
increased by almost 1°C
• How much this rises depends on
how much more greenhouse gas is
released W H A T
• Temp could rise by almost 5°C by C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
2100 (IPCC, AR5). However,
countries around the world agreed
to keep this below 2°C
GLOBAL WARMING
• Humans have added so much
greenhouse gas to the
atmosphere, that even if all
emissions stopped today, the
planet would still continue to warm
for decades to come
• 1°C or 2°C - might not sound like
much, but think about what W H A T
happens when your body C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
temperature is increased by 1 or 2
degrees?
• You would immediately fall sick
and get a fever
GLOBAL WARMING
AND WATER CYCLE
• Global warming intensifies the water
cycle
• Higher temps increase evaporation of
water from sea, lakes, rivers
• Warmer air holds more water vapour,
resulting in more intense rainstorms.
This can lead to flooding
• More floods where water runs off into
rivers and streams, does little to W H A T
dampen the soil. This and increased C A U S E S C L I M A T E
C H A N G E ?
temps can lead to drought
• Weather patterns across the world are
effected over time
• This results in CLIMATE CHANGE
01
02
Climate Change,
03
Hazards & Impacts
04
05
Climate Change is exacerbating a range of weather related hazards
01 around the world
02 Climate change makes some hazards more frequent
03 Climate change makes some hazards more intense
04 These hazards impact people around the world
05 The same hazard can have different impacts for different people
SCIENTIST PROJECT:
• Decreased snow / ice extent
• Rising sea level
• Warming and acidification of oceans
• Precipitation decreases in dry regions
• Increase in tropical cyclone wind speeds
• Temperature increase (0.3 – 4.8°C by 2100)
• Heat waves - more often and last longer
• Extreme precipitation events (rain, snow) - more often and more
intense
• Precipitation increases in wet regions
Climate Change,
Hazards & Impacts
HAZARDS
Heat stroke INCREASED TEMPERATURE
AND HEAT WAVES
Water
➢ People get sick or die
shortage
IMPACTS
➢ Animals get sick
➢ Crops may die
Increased ➢ Water shortage
malaria/dengue ➢ Food shortage
➢ Damaged forests
Sea level
rise
HAZARDS
WATER
SHORTAGE DRIER AND LONGER
DROUGHT
WIND ➢ Less or no crops
EROSION
IMPACTS
➢ Animals may die
➢ Less water supply
➢ Incomes are lost
DESRTIFICATION
➢ Financial losses
➢ People become sick
INCREASED RISK ➢ Migration
OF WILD FIRES
HAZARDS
CHANGING SEASONS
RAINY SEASONS
➢ Crops may die
ARE DELAYED
➢ Farmers may need to change crops
IMPACTS
SPRING MIGHT ➢ Incomes are lost
COME EARLIER ➢ Transportation is interrupted
➢ Financial losses
SEASON BECOME
MORE INTENSE ➢ Water availability
HAZARDS
MELTING GLACIERS AND
SEA LEVEL
POLAR ICE
RISE
IMPACTS
Less ice to ➢ Flooding in low lying coastal areas
reflect sunlight ➢ Coastal areas & cities threatened
➢ Loss of wildlife / biodiversity
INCREASED
WARMING
HAZARDS
Sea level
SEA LEVEL RISE
has risen 17
cm in the ➢ Coastal erosion
last 100
➢ Higher risk of storms leading to
IMPACTS
years.
coastal flooding
➢ Salt water intrusion in coastal areas
In the last 10
years, it has – impacts drinking water and
risen twice health risks such as diarrhoea
as fast as in
the previous
90 years
HAZARDS
FLOODING More intense rainfall &
increased likelihood of
FLASH floods
FLOODS
IMPACTS
➢ Vector-borne diseases (esp. malaria and
dengue fever)
➢ Water-borne diseases (esp. diarrhoea)
LANDSLIDES ➢ Extreme floods and population
displacement
EROSION
HAZARDS
Extreme winds AND
SEVERE WIND stronger storms
➢ People die
IMPACTS
➢ Animals die
STORM SURGE
➢ Loss of income
➢ Financial losses
FLOODING
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Climate Change Mitigation:
Action taken to stop climate change by
reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses
in the atmosphere
Climate Change Adaptation:
Action taken to deal with climate change
impacts and reduce the effects on lives,
livelihoods and ecosystems
CLIMATE CHANGE
