1.1 What is Climate Change? Causes and Consequences
According to NASA: Climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change in how much rain a place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place’s usual temperature for a month or season. (Stillman, 2017)
What causes changes in climate?
A natural function of the Earth’s atmosphere is to keep in some of the heat that is lost from the Earth. This is known as the greenhouse effect. (BBC, 2021)
The natural causes of Climate Change:
- Volcanic eruptions
- Ocean currents
- Earth orbital changes
- Solar variations
- Internal variability
The human made causes of Climate Change:
- Burning fossil fuels
- Deforestation
- Dumping waste in landfill
- Agriculture
The direct consequences of man-made climate change include (Myclimate, Foundation, 2020)
- rising minimum temperatures
- rising maximum temperatures
- rising sea levels
- higher ocean temperatures
- an increase in heavy precipitation (heavy rain and hail)
- shrinking glaciers
The indirect consequences of climate change, which directly affect us humans and our environment, include (Myclimate, Foundation, 2020)
- an increase in hunger and water crises
- health risks through rising air temperatures and heat waves
- economic implications of dealing with secondary damage related to climate change
- loss of biodiversity due to limited adaptability and adaptability speed of flora and fauna
- ocean acidification
- the need for adaptation in all areas (e.g. agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, tourism, etc.)