Effect of Climate
Change and Future
What we learn today………
1. Introduction
2. What causes climate change?
3. Hazards and impacts
Introduction
Weather
Weather refers to conditions like rain,
temperature and wind over hours to
days
• LOOK out the window now. What is
the weather like?
Climate
Climate refers to average
weather conditions over a long
period of time (30+ years)
• THINK about what the
weather is normally like on
your birthday? - Is it
normally dry or wet / hot or
cold?
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)
• ASK an elder what the weather
was normally like 30 years ago, in
your birthday month? Has it
changed?
What causes climate change?
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 greenhouse effect;
as it is similar to a greenhouse
• Greenhouse gases act like a big blanket
around the earth, trapping heat
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 very cold
– about minus 18°C ! All 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
• Electricity from coal or diesel 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
• Temp could rise by almost 5°C by 2100. However,
countries around the world agreed to keep this
below 2°C
• 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 warmer sounds small?
• 1°C or 2°C - might not sound like much, but think about what
happens when your body temperature is increased by 1 or 2
degrees?
• You would immediately fall sick and get a fever
Global warming & the 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 dampen the soil. This
increased temps can lead to drought
• Weather patterns across the world are effected
over time
• This results in CLIMATE CHANGE
Hazards and impacts
Climate change, hazards &
impacts
• Climate Change is exacerbating a range of weather related hazards
around the world
• Climate change makes some hazards more frequent
• Climate change makes some hazards more intense
• These hazards impact people around the world
• The same hazard can have different impacts for different people
Scientists project:
• 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
• Precipitation decreases in dry regions
• Increase in tropical cyclone wind speeds
• Decreased snow / ice extent
• Rising sea level
• Warming and acidification of oceans
Reference:- IPCC Special Report on Global Warming, UNEP Emissions Gap Report, World Bank "Turn Down Source:
the Heat" Series
IPCC 2014, AR5
Thanks
