Effects of Climate Change

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Effects On the world around us

Biodiversity loss
Thousands of species risk extinction from disappearing habitat, changing
ecosystems and acidifying oceans. According to the IPCC, climate change will
put some 20% to 30% of species globally at increasingly high risk of
extinction, possibly by 2100.
Decline in polar bears

Arctic sea ice is the polar bear's feeding habitat. As sea ice disappears,
bear mortality rises. In 2008, the polar bear became the first animal to be
added to the Endangered Species Act list of threatened species because of
global warming.
The U.S. Geological Survey has warned that two-thirds of the world's
polar bear populations could be lost by mid-century as sea ice
continues to retreat.
Acidifying oceans
About one-third of the CO2 pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes is
absorbed by the world's oceans, where it forms carbonic acid. A 2010
study published in Nature Geoscience warns that unchecked greenhouse
gas emissions could cause oceans to acidify at a rate unprecedented
in at least the last 65 million years.
Coral bleaching
Coral reefs are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature.
Heat triggers corals to shed the algae that nourish thema bleaching
event that leaves coral white.
In 1998, the world's coral suffered its worst year on record, which left 16%
bleached or dead. (ISRS statement [PDF]) Continued warming could cause
mass bleachings to become an annual event within the next few decades,
wiping out many reef ecosystems.
Shifting habitat
As the mercury rises, plants and animals are shifting their ranges toward
the poles and to higher altitudes, and migration patterns for animals as
diverse as whales and butterflies are being disrupted.
Threats to Western forests

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that slight changes in the climate may
trigger abrupt ecosystem changes that may be irreversible.
All told, the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the U.S. have seen nearly
70,000 square miles of forest die an area the size of Washington
state since 2000 due to outbreaks of tree-killing insects.
Thinning ice, rising seas

Rising seas are one of the most certain effects of global warming as warming
ocean waters expand and melting glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets add more
water to the oceans. The IPCC estimates that melting ice caps and glaciers
which are some of our most visible indicators of climate changeaccounted
for about 25% of sea level rise from 1993 to 2003.
Arctic sea ice is shrinking

Satellite images show that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has
decreased by almost 9% per decade since 1979. The Arctic summer could
be ice-free by mid-century, according to a study by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
Video: The three lowest minimum extents of Arctic sea ice were reached
in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Source:NOAAVisualizations
Sea level rise

During the 20th century, sea level rose an average of 7 inches after 2,000
years of relatively little change. The2007 IPCC report conservatively
predicts that sea levels could rise 10 to 23 inches by 2100 if current
warming patterns continue.
In the U.S., roughly 100 million people live in coastal areas within 3 feet of
mean sea level. Low-lying cities such as Boston, Miami and New York are
vulnerable.
The U.S. Geological Survey, EPA and NOAA issued a joint report [PDF] in
2009 warning that most mid-Atlantic coastal wetlands from New York to
North Carolina will be lost with a sea level rise of 3 feet or more. North
Carolina's barrier islands would be significantly breached and flooding
would destroy the Florida Everglades.
Melting glaciers
A 2005 survey of 442 glaciers from the World Glacier Monitoring
Service found that 90% of the world's glaciers are shrinking as the planet
warms.
Glacier National Park now has only 25 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. At the
current rate of retreat, the glaciers in Glacier National Park could be
gone in a matter of decades, according to some scientists.
EFFECTS TO PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE

Extreme weather will become more frequentand more dangerous.
The World Meteorological Organization reported that 2000-2009 was the
hottest decade on record, with eight of the hottest 10 years having occurred
since 2000.
It's not just the heat that poses threats. Scientists say global warming is
speeding up the cycling of water between the ocean, atmosphere and land,
resulting in more intense rainfall and droughts at the same time across the
globe.
A surge in wildfires
Hot, dry conditions create a tinderbox ideal for wildfires. This could have a
devastating impact on America's Southwest.
Increased flooding
The 2007 IPCC report concludes that intense rain events have increased in
frequency during the last 50 years and that human-induced global
warming has been a factor.
Increased drought
There have also been increased periods of drought, particularly in faminestricken areas of Africa and Asia. According to the National Center for
Atmospheric Research, the percentage of Earth's surface suffering drought
has more than doubled since the 1970s. In Africa alone, the
IPCC projects that between 75 and 250 million people will be exposed to
increased water stress due to climate change.
More intense hurricanes

As the oceans warm, scientists predict that hurricane intensity could
increase. The associated storm surge poses particular risk to low-lying
coastal cities like Miami, Charleston (SC) and Wilmington (NC).
EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

A warming planet threatens people worldwide, causing deaths, spreading
insect-borne diseases and exacerbating respiratory illnesses. Extreme
weather will also put more people in harm's way.
The World Health Organization believes that even the modest increases in
average temperature that have occurred since the 1970s are responsible for
at least 150,000 extra deaths a yeara figure that will double by 2030,
according to WHO's conservative estimate.
Devastating heat waves

Recent studies show extreme heat events that now occur once every 20
years will occur about every other year in much of the country, if current
trends continue.
In 1995, Chicago suffered a heat wave that killed more than 700 people.
Chicagoans could experience that kind of relentless heat up to three times
a year by 2100.
Spread of disease
Diseases such as malaria and dengue fever could become more difficult to
control in areas where it's currently too cold for them to spread yearround. The malaria parasite itself is generally limited to certain areas by
cooler winter temperatures since it is not able to grow below 16C. As
temperatures rise, diseases can grow and disease vectors (the carriers
that transmit disease, such as mosquitoes) will mature more rapidly and
have longer active seasons.
Worsening air quality

More hot days mean ripe conditions for ground-level ozone, or smog,
which forms when pollutants from tailpipes and smokestacks mix in sunny,
stagnant conditions. Higher temperatures cause higher emissions of one
type of pollutant, namely hydrocarbons and other volatile organic
compounds, as well as speeding up the chemical reactions that form
ozone smog.
Smog triggers asthma attacks and worsens other breathing problems. The
number of Americans with asthma has more than doubled over the past
two decades to 20 million. Continued warming will only worsen the
problem.

Effects of Climate Change

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Effects of Climate Change

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EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Effects On the world around us

Decline in polar bears

Threats to Western forests

Thinning ice, rising seas

Arctic sea ice is shrinking

Sea level rise

EFFECTS TO PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE

More intense hurricanes

EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

Devastating heat waves

Worsening air quality

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