CLIMATE CHANGE
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
• Identify the causes of climate change;
• Understand the effects of climate change on the society;
and
• illustrate how the community helps in mitigating the
hazards caused by climate change.
What is Climate Change?
• It is a natural phenomenon and has been
occurring since the Earth came into being.
• It is a change in the average weather of a
given area or region.
• It has something to do with significant
changes in global temperature, precipitation
wind patterns and other measure of climate
change that occur over several decades or
longer.
Global Warming:
Global warming as we all know is
an increase the temperature of
Earth's atmosphere. This gradual
increase in the overall temperature
of the earth atmosphere is due to
GREENHOUSE EFFECTS.
Green House Effect:
Is the process by with radiation
from the sun is absorbed by
greenhouse gases and not
reflected back into space. Carbon
dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane,
water vapor, chlorofluorocarbon
are some of the greenhouse gases
that are responsible for the
existence of life on earth.
Causes Of Global Warming:
1. Burning of fossil fuels
➤ It refers to the burning of oil, natural gases and coal to generate energy. When fossil are burned, they release large amount
of carbon dioxide. A greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere causing warming.
2. Intensive farming to produce crops and livestock's raising
➤ Producing more food out of the land that is already used for agriculture often requires heavier use of nitrogen-based
fertilizers which is turn release nitrous oxide emissions and contribute to climate change.
3. Deforestation
➤ Loss of trees can cause climate change. Moreover, it may also cause soil erosion fewer crops, flooding and increase
greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change.
4. Human Activities
➤ May lead to the increase of greenhouse gases, pollution, over consumption, destruction of the reefs and emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Introduction:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) reports that the Earth's climate has
changed significantly over the past century, mainly
due to human activities. If this trend continues,
global temperatures could rise by 1°C to 3.5°C by
2100.
Even a small temperature increase can have severe
consequences, potentially altering life on Earth
more than anything except nuclear war. Climate
change refers to long-term shifts in climate
patterns, caused by natural processes, external
forces, or human activities such as changes in land
use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Causes of Climate Change
The causes of climate change could be natural or by human activities.
• Volcanic Eruptions
• Orbital Changes
• The Carbon Dioxide Theory
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are one of the natural causes of
climate change. When volcanoes erupt, it emits
different natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxides, salt crystals, volcanic ashes or dust, and even
microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. The volcanic
eruption can cause a cooling effect to the lithosphere
because its emitted aerosol can block a certain
percentage of solar radiation. This cooling effect can
last for one to two years. What happens in violent
volcanic eruptions is the release of ash particles in the
stratosphere.
The volcanic ashes which have sulfur dioxide combine with
water vapor. It then forms to sulfuric acid and sulfurous
aerosols. The sulfurous aerosols then are transported by
easterly or westerly winds. Volcanoes located near the
equator are more likely to cause global cooling because of
the wind pattern. Volcanoes located near to north or south
poles are less likely to cause cooling because of pole wind
pattern, the sulfurous aerosols are confined in pole area.
There are several recorded major volcanic eruptions that
cause climate change. Mount Tambora of Indonesia erupted
in 1816. It was considered as the largest known eruption in
human history. The eruption caused snowfall in the
northeastern United States and Canada. It affected their
agricultural lands, losing crops that caused food shortage
and increased human mortality. The eruptions of Mount
Krakatau of Indonesia in 1883 and Mount Pinatubo of the
Philippines in 1991 contributed, too, to the cold years of
planet Earth.
Orbital Changes
Earth's orbit can also cause climate change. This was proposed by the Milankovitch theory. The
Milankovitch theory states "that as the Earth travels through space around the Sun, cyclical variations
in three elements of Earth-Sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount of solar energy
that reaches Earth (Academic Emporia, 2017).
The three elements that have cyclic variations are:
• Eccentricity
• Obliquity
• Precession
Eccentricity is a term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun. The impact of the
variation is a change in the amount of solar energy from perihelion (around January 3) to aphelion
(around July 4). The time frame for the cycle is approximately 98,000 years (Academic Emporia,
2017). Currently Earth's eccentricity is 0.016 and there is about a 6.4% increase in insolation from
July to January (Academic Emporia, 2017).
Academic Emporia (2017) states, "The
eccentricity influences seasonal
differences: when Earth is closest to
the Sun, it gets more solar radiation. If
the perihelion occurs during the
winter, the winter is less severe. If a
hemisphere has its summer while
closest to the Sun, summers are
relatively warm."
Obliquity is the variation of the tilt of
Earth's axis away from the orbital plane.
As this tilt changes, the seasons become
more exaggerated. The obliquity
changes on a cycle taking
approximately 40,000 years. Academic
Emporia (2017) states "the more tilt
means more severe seasons-warmer
summers and colder winters; less tilt
means less severe seasons-cooler
summers and milder winters."
Precession is the change in orientation of Earth's rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about
19,000 to 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of Earth's axis and a turning
around of the elliptical orbit of Earth itself (Academic Emporia, 2017).
Obliquity affected the tilt of Earth's axis, precession affects the direction of Earth's axis. The change in the
axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from Sun) and aphelion (farthest distance
from Sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other
hemisphere (Academic Emporia, 2017). Currently,
Earth is closest to the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere winter,
which makes the winters there less severe (Academic Emporia,
2017). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the
celestial poles. Five thousand years ago, the North Star was
Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently, the North Star is
Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor. During the 1940s and
1950s, the theory fell into disrepute due to radiocarbon dating,
indicating a lag in cooling versus insolation and to a scale
problem with high frequency glacial advances (Academic
Emporia, 2017). The theory was revived several times
throughout the late 1960s to the present (Academic Emporia,
2017).
The Carbon Dioxide Theory
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is added when power and heat are
produced by burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels. Carbon
dioxide is transparent to sunshine but not invisible to infrared
(heat) radiation leaving the ground. Carbon dioxide absorbs
part of the infrared radiation in the air and returns it to the
ground keeping the air near the surface warmer than it would
be if the carbon dioxide did not act like a blanket. Doubling the
carbon dioxide raises the temperature to 2°C to 3°C.
Human Activities
Human activities contribute to climate change. The largest known
contribution comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which
releases carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere. Greenhouse
gases and aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar
radiation and outgoing infrared (thermal) radiation that are part of
Earth's energy balance. Changing the atmospheric abundance or
properties of these gases and particles can lead to a warming or
cooling of the climate system. Since the start of the industrial era
(about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on climate has
been a warming influence. The human impact on climate during
this era greatly exceeds that due to known changes in natural
processes, such as solar changes and volcanic eruptions. Human
activities result in emissions of four principal greenhouse gases:
carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and
the halocarbons (a group of gases containing fluorine, chlorine,
and bromine). These gases accumulate in the atmosphere,
causing concentrations to increase with time (www. [Link]).
The greenhouse gases-mentioned are natural gases. However, the high level of these gases in the
atmosphere contributes to the greenhouse effect. The increasing amount of these gases is due to
human activities. High level of carbon dioxide comes from fossil fuel use in transportation; and the
building, heating, cooling, and manufacture of cement and other goods.
Deforestation releases carbon dioxide and reduces its
uptake by plants. High methane emission is related to
agriculture, natural gas distribution, and landfills. High
nitrous oxide is also emitted by human activities such as
fertilizer use and fossil fuel burning. Halocarbon gas
concentrations have increased primarily due to human
activities. Principal halocarbons include the
chlorofluorocarbons (e.g., CFC-11 and CFC-12) which were
used extensively as refrigeration agents and in other
industrial processes before their presence in the
atmosphere was found to cause stratospheric ozone
depletion. The abundance of chlorofluorocarbon gases is
decreasing as a result of international regulations designed
to protect the ozone layer (The Encyclopedia of Earth,
2016).
Ozone is another greenhouse gas that
is continually produced and destroyed
in the atmosphere by chemical
reactions. In the troposphere, human
activities have increased ozone
through the release of gases such as
carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and
nitrogen oxide, which chemically react
to produce ozone.
Halocarbons released by human activities destroy ozone in
the stratosphere and have caused the ozone hole over
Antarctica. While water vapor is the most abundant and
important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, human
activities have only a small direct influence on the amount of
atmospheric water vapor. Indirectly, humans have the
potential to affect water vapor substantially by changing
climate. For example, a warmer atmosphere contains more
water vapor. Human activities also influence water vapor
through CH₁ emissions, because CH, undergoes chemical
destruction in the stratosphere, producing a small amount
of water vapor, and aerosols, the small particles present in
the atmosphere with widely varying size, concentration, and
chemical composition. Some aerosols are emitted directly
into the atmosphere while others are formed from emitted
compounds.
Aerosols contain both naturally occurring
compounds and those emitted as a result of
human activities. Fossil fuel and biomass
burning have increased aerosols
containing sulphur compounds, organic
compounds, and black carbon (soot).
Human activities such as surface mining
and industrial processes have increased
dust in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2007). On
September 16, 1986, an international
treaty was adapted. It is called the Montreal
Protocol. The treaty aimed to regulate the
production and use of chemicals that
contribute to Ozone layer depletion
(Britannica, 2017).
Effects of Climate Change on Society
Climate change could cause severe affects to all life forms
around our planet. It direct affects the basic elements of
people's lives like water, food, health, use of land, and the
environment. With the average global temperature which is
predicted to rise by 2 to 3°C within the next fifty years, glaciers
will continue to melt faster. Melting glaciers will increase flood
risks during the wet season and strongly reduce dry-season
water supplies to one-sixth of the world's population,
predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, parts of China, and
the Andes in South America.
Declining crop yields due to drought,
especially in Africa, are likely to leave
hundreds of millions without the ability to
produce or purchase sufficient food. At mid
to high latitudes, crop yields may increase
for moderate temperature rises (2 to 3°C),
but then decline with greater amounts of
warming. Ocean edification, a direct result
of rising carbon dioxide levels, will have
major effects on marine ecosystems, with
possible adverse consequences on fish
stocks (Stern, 2007).
Climate change will increase worldwide
deaths from malnutrition and heat stress.
Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and
dengue fever could become more
widespread if effective control measures
are not in place. Rising sea levels may result
in more flooded areas each year with a
warming of 3 or 4°C. There will be serious
risks and increasing pressures for coastal
protection (Stern, 2007).
Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable
to climate change, with one study
estimating that around 15-40% of species
face extinction with 2°C of warming.
The consequences of climate change will
become disproportionately more
damaging with increased warming. Higher
temperatures will increase the chance of
triggering abrupt and large-scale changes
that lead to regional disruption, migration,
and conflict. Warming may induce sudden
shifts in regional weather patterns like the
monsoons or the El Niño. Such changes
would have severe consequences for water
availability and flooding in tropical regions
and threaten the livelihood of billions.
Melting or collapse of ice sheets would
raise sea levels and eventually threaten at
least 4 million km² of land, which today is
home to 5% of the world's population
(Stern, 2007).
THANK YOU !!
Stephanie Calang
Roanne Alfaro
Rhea Abella
Mistica Dipa
