Implications of climate change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeAn organisation set up between Governments to monitor the causes, effects and management of climate change. comprises of over 1,300 scientists from around the world. They widely agree that climate change is a global issue, and estimate that atmospheric temperatures could rise by 1.4° to 5.8°C in the next 100 years, with 2°C the perceived critical level before irreversible damage and harm comes to many populations.
It is evident the effects of global climate change are very serious and it has already had observable effects on the environment.
Effects of climate change
The effects of climate change incude:
- Increased temperatures are causing polar ice capsA large area of land covered in ice. to melt. As a result, wildlife habitatsThe place where wild plants and animals live. for animals including polar bears and emperor penguins are shrinking. This threatens the survival of these species.
- As global warmingThe rise in the average temperature of the Earth's surface. melts the world's ice caps and glaciers, this leads to an increase in sea levels. These have risen 24cm since 1880. Some scientists estimate that over the next 100 years sea levels could rise by between 10cm and 90cm. This will make many coastal areas around the world uninhabitable, including in Bangladesh, Japan, island nations of the Pacific including Tuvalu and Kiribati, and the Shetland Islands in Scotland.
- An increase in sea temperatures causes the water to expand, compounding the problem of flooding.
- Global warming also affects weather patterns, leading to more intense heatwaves, droughts (leading to crop failure), flooding (causing the extinction of species) and extreme weather, such as HurricaneA large tropical storm system with high-powered circular winds. (impacting human life)
- As temperatures rise, tropical diseases like malariaA potentially fatal disease spread by mosquitoes. are spreading to previously unaffected areas
- Tourism problems are increasing, as there is less snow in some mountain resorts, more heat in other areas, eg the Mediterranean, and loss of beaches, accommodation and other infrastructure in low-lying islands and coastal resorts, eg the Maldives.
- In the UK, climatologists understand our climate is changing with the highest temperature and rainfall levels recorded in recent years. These extremes have increased the risk of more floods, water shortages and extreme weather conditions.