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Climate Change (Reading Session)

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Ian Orbe
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32 views3 pages

Climate Change (Reading Session)

Uploaded by

Ian Orbe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Climate change is happening now. Evidence being seen support the fact that
the change cannot simply be explained by natural variation. The most recent
scientific assessments have confirmed that this warming of the climate system since
the mid-20th century is most likely to be due to human activities; and thus, is due to
the observed increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities, such
as the burning of fossil fuels and land use change.

Climate Change Impacts


Philippines is the third most vulnerable country to climate change according to
the 2017 world risk report. Impacts of climate change in the Philippines are
immense, including: annual losses in GDP, changes in rainfall patterns and
distribution, droughts, threats to biodiversity and food security, sea level rise, public
health risks, and endangerment of vulnerable groups such as women and
indigenous people.

Philippines To Lose 6% GDP Anually by 2100


The latest IPCC Assessment Report concluded that climate change will create
new poor between now and 2100. Poverty breeds disaster vulnerability, and those
who have least in life risk like most. Based on a study by the Asian Development
Bank on the economics of climate change, the country stands to lose 6% of its GDP
annually by 2100 if it disregards climate change risks. This same study found that if
the Philippines invests 0.5% of its GDP by 2020 in climate change adaptation, it can
avert losses of up to 4% of its GDP by 2100—clearly a short-term investment with a
long-term eight-fold gain.

Major Rainfall Changes in Patterns and Distributions


A 2011 PAGASA report suggests a decrease in rainfall by 2020 in most parts
of the country except Luzon. As far as extreme rainfall is concerned, however, the
number of days with heavy rainfall (e.g., greater than 200 mm) is expected to
increase with global warming by the year 2020 and 2050.

Threats To Natural Ecosystems


Approximately 1 million hectares of grasslands in the Philippines are highly
vulnerable to climate change in the future. Most grasslands in the uplands are prone
to fires particularly during extended periods of dryness and lack of rainfall during
summer.

Coral Loss
The 2016 Low Carbon Monitor Report foresees that 98 percent of coral reefs
in Southeast Asia will die by 2050, practically an extinction by the end of the century
if current global warming trends will continue. The IPCC projects that by years 2051
to 2060, the maximum fish catch potential of Philippine seas will decrease by as
much as 50% compared to 2001-2010 levels.

Declining Rice Yields


An analysis of temperature trends and irrigated field experiments at the
International Rice Research Institute shows that grain yield decreased by at least
10% for each 1°C increase in growing-season minimum temperature in the dry
season.

More Intense Droughts


Global warming exacerbates the effects of El Niño the most recent of which
was experienced in the country from 2015 to 2016. The Department of Agriculture
estimated that 413,456 farmers have been directly affected by El Niño-associated
drought and dry spells during the last El Niño period.

Higher Sea Level Rise


Observed sea level rise is remarkably highest at 60 centimeters in the
Philippines, about three times that of the global average of 19 centimeters. This puts
at risk 60% of LGUs covering 64 coastal provinces, 822 coastal municipalities, 25
major coastal cities, and an estimated 13.6 million Filipinos that would need
relocation.

Water Scarcity
Climate change, rapid urbanization, and population growth drives water
scarcity worldwide. A study conducted by the World Resources Institute predicts that
Philippines will experience a 'high' degree of water shortage by the year 2040. The
country ranked 57th likely most water stressed country in 2040 out of 167 countries.
The sector that will bear the brunt of water shortage by that year is agriculture, a
major component of the country’s economy and which currently employs x% of the
country's workforce.

Labor Productivity Declined


According to a 2016 United Nations study, climate change-induced heat in the
workplace is projected to render 1% loss in working hours by 2025, 2% by 2050, and
4% by 2085.

More Public Health Emergencies


Higher temperatures also trigger the surge of diseases such as dengue,
malaria, cholera, and typhoid. In 1998, when the Philippines experienced the
strongest El Nino phenomenon to-date, almost 40,000 dengue cases, 1,200 cholera
cases, and nearly 1,000 typhoid fever cases, were recorded nationwide.

REFERENCE
National Integrated Climate Change Database Information and Exchange Systems
(n.d). Climate Change Impacts Retrieved March 20, 2024, from
https://niccdies.climate.gov.ph/climate-change-impacts

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