What is Climate Change?
Climate is the average weather experienced over a long period. This includes temperature, wind and rainfall patterns. The Earth’s climate is not fixed, and in the past has changed many times in response to a variety of natural causes. However, the Earth’s surface has warmed by about 0.754°C on average since around 1900 and by around 0.4°C since the 1970s. Climate change refers to long-term changes in climate, including average temperature and precipitation.
What causes Climate Change?
The temperature on Earth is controlled by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which make life on Earth possible. These gases balance the amount of energy from the sun that enters the atmosphere and the amount of energy from the sun that is released back into space. Without naturally occurring greenhouse gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, the Earth's surface temperature would be 33°C cooler - a chilly -18°C rather than the tolerable 15°C.
There is now more carbon in the atmosphere than at any time previously recorded. This is resulting in a changing global climate. Since the beginning of industrialization, 200 years ago, concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere has increased substantially. It is estimated that the Earth's average temperature has risen by 0.5 to 0.6°C since 1880 because of emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity.
Since carbon dioxide is a primary greenhouse gas, many scientists argue that the increase in atmospheric CO2 from human activities has resulted in an enhanced greenhouse effect and could result in corresponding changes in our global climate, including higher global temperatures.
Human activities on Earth are beginning to interrupt and upset the balance between the levels of carbon stored in the geological carbon cycle and the biological carbon cycle.
Human beings tap into the geological carbon cycle by extracting oil and coal, which are both hydrocarbons, for use in automobiles and power plants. A by-product of this combustion is CO2 gas. Since the Industrial Revolution began, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased measurably, mostly as a result of human use of fossil fuels.
Humans have also altered the biological carbon cycle, increasing atmospheric CO2 levels, through forest clearing and land use. Trees store large amounts of carbon; when they die and decompose, much of this stored carbon is released as CO2. However, when humans clear large expanses of forest, primarily through the use of fire, the levels of atmospheric carbon are increased in two ways. First, during combustion, stored carbon is released directly into the air as CO2, and second, the clearing of land takes away a key mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (through photosynthesis).
What are the effects of Climate Change?
If we do nothing about the increased levels of carbon in our atmosphere then the climate will continue to change. In Britain this means that we will see changes in the weather patterns that we are used to.
The North East Climate Change Adaptation Study and UKCIP10 projections show that in the UK we can expect:-
- Temperatures will increase
- Winter rainfall will increase
- Summer rainfall will decrease
- Increased frequency of extreme events
For more information about the effects of climate change visit Adapt NE [external link] and UKCIP [external link]
Global Climate Change
Climate Change will change weather patterns and effect people all over the world.
- Rising Sea Levels
- Flooding in poor countries
- Food shortage and disease
- Water shortage
- Loss of tropical forest
It is likely that, in the short term, climate change will impact most upon the lives of people in developing countries.
Adapting to Climate Change
What does this mean?
Responding to the threats and opportunities created by a changing climate.
Adapting to climate change is a response that seeks to reduce vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate effects. To find solutions to changes in climate to enable us to cope with potential changes.
Adaptation focuses of ensuring services, assets, communities, businesses, infrastructure and the economy are resilient to the realities of a changing climate.
There is considerable inertia in the earth's climate system and we are already tied into the inevitable consequences of this through the climate changes that will occur over the next 30 to 50 years.
These changes have largely been governed by the greenhouse gas emissions that have already occurred over recent historic time and remain ongoing.
Adapting to climate is important now, as greenhouse gas emissions that have already occurred over recent time, now beyond our control, will cause inevitable changes in climate.