Climate change revision: Heat waves, droughts & wildfires - PDF

Heat waves How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent People may suffer from heat stroke, 2003 heat wave that hit Europe: heat waves. difficulties...

Heat waves How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent People may suffer from heat stroke, 2003 heat wave that hit Europe: heat waves. difficulties in breathing and death. - Around 70 000 people died from the Climate change leads to higher heat wave which lasted for two week temperatures, therefore making Heat waves have caused thousands of death - Harvest for agricultural crops such as heat waves more intense and worldwide. wheat, a staple crop, was affected as many crops died. This increased the more frequent. High temperatures can deplete the soil price of bread significantly and food moisture leading to widespread crop failure, became less affordable for people. affecting food supply. 2019 intense heat waves hitting Europe again: - Broke many temperature records. - Temperature of 45°C were recorded i France.  Droughts How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent droughts. - Shortage of clean water can lead to 2018-2019 drought in Afghanistan: dehydration and death. Warmer atmospheric - Affected more than two-thirds of the temperatures due to climate - Lack of water can cause crop failure, and people may die from hunger or be country. change increase evaporation, which reduces surface water and malnourished. - Over ten million people were affected dries out soil and vegetation. due to a lack of food, and many were People may be displaced. displaced. In areas with dry climate, the dry seasons may get even drier, - It is estimated that 700 million people resulting in droughts. are at risk of being displaced by Droughts are more likely to drought by 2030. occur in places such as the subtropics where most of the world’s deserts are located, and the mid-latitudes.  Wildfires How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent - Suffocation, injuries, and burns. 2019-2020 wildfires in Australia: wildfires. - Large amounts of carbon dioxide, - Widespread fires that affected the Climate change causes warmer carbon monoxide, and fine particulate entire continent. and drier condition, leading to matter are released into the - Difficult to get the fires under control more dead trees and vegetation, atmosphere, causing air pollution, due to persistent hot and dry. making it easier for wildfires to leading to respiratory illnesses and conditions induced by climate change start and harder to put out. deaths. - Air quality was hazardous and was a - Destruction of buildings and property human health risk. leads to homelessness and economic - In Sydney, the air quality measured losses. 11 times greater than what is set as a hazardous level. - In total, 34 people died and thousand of building were burnt down. - Many people were left homeless due to the wildfires.  Floods How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent Bangladesh: floods. Loss of human lives due to drowning and injuries. - Densely-populated, low-lying country with Climate change increases flood many people living near coastal areas. risk through the following ways: Destruction of buildings and properties by - Has a monsoon climate, and often experience seasonal flooding. fast-moving floodwaters, leading to - Receives meltwater from the Himalayan - Warmer temperatures homelessness and economic losses. icecaps and glaciers. lead to excessive - Vulnerable to coastal flooding brought about precipitation in parts of Food and water supplies are affected. by sea level rise. the world. - In 2020, Bangladesh experience its worst - Warmer temperatures Waterborne diseases such as cholera monsoon flooding due to intense rainfall: lead to more snowmelt, - Estimated to have caused the death of 260 become increasingly prevalent when people. leading to an increase in floodwaters enter sources of drinking water - 1.3 billion homes were destroyed. sea level. - Damage of agriculture crops estimated to be such as wells. - Sea level rise leads to valued at millions of dollars, which is higher coastal flood risk. especially substantial for Bangladesh which i a developing country  Tropical cyclones How does climate change cause Direct impacts on humans. Examples more severe and more frequent 2020 tropical cyclones in the Philippines: tropical cyclones. Strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surges brought by the tropical cyclones can result in - Over just four weeks in October to November 2020, the Philippines was hit by Climate change leads to warmer loss of lives due to flooding, landslides, and six tropical cyclones. oceans and more water vapour in collapsed buildings and infrastructure. - The strongest typhoon that hit the the atmosphere, which is Philippines was Typhoon Goni which brough Strong winds can also destroy buildings and about strong destructive winds and high believed to be a driving force for rainfall leading to: more intense tropical cyclone. crops, leading to economic losses, and - Loss of lives and massive destruction of threatening food security properties. - Evacuation of nearly one million people. - Estimated damage to crops was almost $36 million. - Power supplies were cut. - As a developing country, the Philippines’s infrastructure was not able to cope with the severe flooding. - Further, communities did not have time to recover before another cyclone hit again. Example questions Explain how changes in Earth's orbit tilt affect climate change. The Earth’s orbit stretches from [circular to an elliptical shape] and back again[ across a period of 100,000years].( 1 mark) When the Earth’s [orbit is the most elliptic], the Earth receives more solar radiation at its closest approach to the Sun than it does at its furthest departure from the Sun], which causes the [amount of incoming radiation received to vary] and therefore [impacts climate]. (1 mark) The Earth’s [angle of tilt varies back and forth between 21.5° and 24.5°] [across period of 41,000 years]. (1 mark) [Each hemipshere receives more solar radiation during its summer when it's titled towards the Sun]. Conversely, [each hemisphere receives lesser solar radiation during winter when it is tilted away from the Sun[, causing [seasons to be more extreme] (1 mark) Explain how the volcanic eruption can affect global temperatures. 1. A volcanic eruption releases [large volumes of dust and ash] into the atmosphere, which can [spread around the lower atmosphere] of the Earth, (1 mark). 2. The particles [absorb and reflect solar energy back into space], [reducing solar radiation reaching Earth's surface] [lowering the average global temperatures] (1 mark).  Explain why climate change affect disadvantaged communities and developing countries more. 1. Climate change places additional burdens/ mental distress on the disadvantaged communities as they are [more vulnerable to diseases] due to their [limited ability to get medical attention] for [insect borne diseases worsened by climate-change]. (1 mark) 2. As [climate change can disrupt global food production and increase food prices], the disadvantaged communities that are[ already in poverty would find it harder to afford food]. (1 mark) 3. [Developing countries often lack the financial ability to put in place measures to reduce potential impacts of climate change], leaving their population more exposed to climate impacts. (1 mark) 4. [Developing countries also lack the financial capability to rebuild quickly] after the effects of climate impacts (e.g. rebuilding infrastructure after a super typhoon hits) (1 mark)  Explain how food production and supply are affected by climate change. 1. Increase in ocean temperature causes [algae that live in corals to leave] them, causing [coral bleaching]. (1 mark) 2. When corals die, [species that depend on it for food lose their food source and reproduction habitat), and their [populations may decline], [affecting the other species higher up in the food chain that depend on them], thus [reducing seafood supply] (1 mark). 3. Climate change also causes the [slowing down of ocean circulation]. This [separates the near-surface aquatic life such as phytoplankton from the nutrients below], causing a drop in phytoplankton (1 mark). 4. Species [higher up in the food chain which feed on phytoplankton], such as fish and whales, [suffer from a lack of food] and this will affect seafood supply since there is lesser seafood (1 mark). 5. Climate change can also cause [wet regions are expected to get wetter due to increased precipitation] while [dry regions are expected to get drier due to decreased precipitation] (1 mark). 6. [During droughts, crops wither and die]. [Drier, weakened crops are also [more vulnerable to diseases and insects], thus causing [food production and supply to decline] (1 mark). 7. During [flood events, the excessive water can drown out and destroy crops] which causes food production and supply to decline [1 mark].