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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

EFFECT OF GLOBAL WARMING TO CLIMATIC CHANGES.



"Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.






Impacts of Global Warming

Global warming is already underway with consequences that must be faced today as well as tomorrow. Evidence of changes to the Earth's physical, chemical and biological processes is now evident on every continent.

To fully appreciate the urgency of climate change, it's important to understand the ways it affects society and the natural environment. Sea levels are rising and glaciers are shrinking; record high temperatures and severe rainstorms and droughts are becoming increasingly common. Changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns alter plant and animal behavior and have significant implications for humans. In this section, explore the connections between the climate data and the changes happening around you—and those you can expect to see in the future—in all parts of the globe, including your own backyard.
Not only are global warming-induced changes currently underway, but scientists also expect additional effects on human society and natural environments around the world. Some further warming is already unavoidable due to past heat-trapping emissions; unless we aggressively reduce today's emissions, scientists project extra warming and thus additional impacts.
The Climate Hot Map arranges current and future climate impacts into five main groupings:
  • People
  • Freshwater
  • Oceans
  • Ecosystems
  • Temperature
Each of these major groupings, in turn, is divided into specific categories that describe more fully some of the consequences we may face.

Health

As our climate changes, the risk of injury, illness, and death from the resulting heat waves, wildfires, intense storms, and floods rises.



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    Heat exhaustion overcomes bicyclist and others on a hot day in Amsterdam.
  • Extreme heat. If high temperatures, especially when combined with high relative humidity, persist for several days (heat waves), and if nighttime temperatures do not drop, extreme heat can be a killer. Of all climate-related projections by scientists, rising temperatures are the most robust. Higher temperatures are also the most influenced by human behavior: the fewer heat-trapping emissions we release into the atmosphere, the cooler we can keep our planet. Because winter temperatures are rising faster than summer ones, cold-related deaths are likely to decline.
  • "Natural" disasters. Projected changes in temperature and precipitation under global warming are likely to lead to other effects that threaten human health and safety. For example, changing precipitation patterns and prolonged heat can create drought, which can cause forest and peat fires, putting residents and firefighters in danger. However, a warming atmosphere also holds more moisture, so the chance of extreme rainfall and flooding continues to rise in some regions with rain or snow. In many heavily populated areas, sea-level rise is more likely to put people in the path of storm surges and coastal flooding. Warmer ocean waters may spawn more intense tropical hurricanes and typhoons while ocean cycles continue to be a factor in the frequency of tropical cyclones.
  • Poor air quality. Three key ingredients—sunlight, warm air, and pollution from power plants and cars burning coal and gasoline—combine to produce ground-level ozone (smog), which humans experience as poor air quality. Higher air temperatures increase smog, if sunlight, fossil fuel pollution, and air currents remain the same.
  • Allergens and other nuisances. Warmer temperatures and higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere stimulate some plants to grow faster, mature earlier, or produce more potent allergens. Common allergens such as ragweed seem to respond particularly well to higher concentrations of CO2, as do pesky plants such as poison ivy. Allergy-related diseases rank among the most common and chronic illnesses that can lead to lower productivity.
  • Spreading diseases. Scientists expect a warmer world to bring changes in "disease vectors"—the mechanisms that spread some diseases. Insects previously stopped by cold winters are already moving to higher latitudes (toward the poles). Warmer oceans and other surface waters may also mean severe cholera outbreaks and harmful bacteria in certain types of seafood. Still, changes in land use and the ability of public health systems to respond make projecting the risk of vector-borne disease particularly difficult.
People do not bear the health risks of climate change equally because:
  • Climate trends differ by region. People who live in floodplains, for example, are more likely to see river or coastal flooding. Similarly, people who live in regions with poor air quality today are at greater risk from poor air quality days in the future.
  • Some people are more vulnerable to illness or death. Young children, the elderly, and those who are already ill are less able to withstand high temperatures and poor air quality, for example. Temperature extremes and smog hit people with heart and respiratory diseases, including asthma, particularly hard.
  • Wealthy nations are more likely to adapt to projected climate change and recover from climate-related disasters than poor countries . Even within nations, less economically fortunate individuals are more vulnerable because they are less likely to have air conditioning and well-insulated homes, and because they have fewer resources to escape danger.
Better planning—through investments in infrastructure and public health strategies—can help communities become more resilient in a warming world. However, the costs of coping with health risks linked to severe climate change are often higher than the costs of curbing heat-trapping emissions in the first place.

Food

Climate-related threats to global food production include risks to grain, vegetable, and fruit crops, livestock, and fisheries.

Vietnamese women working in rice fields
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  • Reduced yields. The productivity of crops and livestock, including milk yields, may decline because of high temperatures and drought-related stress.  
  • Increased irrigation. Regions of the world that now depend on rain-fed agriculture may require irrigation, bringing higher costs and conflict over access to water.
  • Planting and harvesting changes. Shifting seasonal rainfall patterns and more severe precipitation events—and related flooding—may delay planting and harvesting.
  • Decreased arability. Prime growing temperatures may shift to higher latitudes, where soil and nutrients may not be as suitable for producing crops, leaving lower-latitude areas less productive.
  • More pests. Insect and plant pests may survive or even reproduce more often each year if cold winters no longer keep them in check. New pests may also invade each region as temperature and humidity conditions change. Lower-latitude pests may move to higher latitudes, for example.
  • Risks to fisheries. Shifts in the abundance and types of fish and other seafood may hurt commercial fisheries, while warmer waters may pose threats to human consumption, such as increasing the risk of infectious diseases. Extreme ocean temperatures and ocean acidification place coral reefs-—the foundations of many of the world's fisheries-—at risk.
As with health risks, nations and individuals do not bear threats to the global food supply equally.