CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT

 CLIMATE CHANGE
 MITIGATION
 ADAPTATION
 IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE2y

WHAT IS CLIMATE?
 The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period of time.
 Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Weather can change
from hour-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year. A region’s
weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate.
 Topography and vegetation influence climate by helping determine how the Sun’s
energy is used on Earth. The abundance of plants and the type of land cover (such as
soil, sand, or asphalt) impacts evaporation and ambient temperature.
 Human activities can also change earth’s climate, and are presently driving climate
change through global warming. There is no general agreement in scientific, media or
policy documents as to the precise term to be used to refer to anthropogenic forced
change; either “global warming” or “climate change” may be used.

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

 Climate Change is the catch-all term for the shift in worldwide weather phenomena
associated with an increase in global average temperatures. It’s real and temperatures
have been going up around the world for many decades.

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

 Climate Change Mitigation consists of actions to limit the magnitude or rate of long-
term global warming and its related effects. Climate change mitigation generally
involves reductions in human emissions of greenhouse gases.
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
 Climate Change Adaptation is a response climate change, that seeks to reduce the
vulnerability of social and biological systems to relatively sudden change and thus
offset the effects of climate change. Adaptation is especially important in developing
countries since those countries are predicted to bear the brunt of the effects of climate
change or global warming.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT
 Scientists expect the earth’s average surface temperature to rise by 1.4 to 58’C
between 1990 and 2100. This rise could cause numerous environmental changes, such
as melting of ice, changing wind movement and occurrence of hurricanes, floods in
certain areas and drought in others, and the occurrence of climatic phenomena such as
tsunami.
 El Nino, sea level rise, ocean acidification is just some scenarios PH cities face due to
climate change.
 Scientist say human activities are largely responsible for the continued increase in
average global temperatures, which causes climate change. Global greenhouse gases
emitted by the fossil fuel industry (which gives us electricity and fuels our cars) trap
heat in the Earth’s atmosphere thus warming the entire planet.
 IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

1. More intense El Nino

 the El Nino phenomenon occurs when the surface of ocean waters in the southern
Pacific becomes abnormally warm. The energy created by this warming is so great that it can
create an imbalance in the weather in different parts of the world. El Nino can also make other
weather events like storms highly unpredictable.
2. Sea Surface Temperature to Rise
 By the end of the century, sea surface temperatures are expected to rise 1 to 4 degrees
Celsius. This can lead to more powerful storms because storms get their strength from heat rising
from the sea. In the Philippines 4 and 5 degrees’ Celsius spike above the normal sea surface
temperature have been recorded.
3. Ocean Acidification
 The shift in the PH levels of our ocean can lead to widespread coral reefs death.
Because of the imbalance, shrimps are not able to develop skins, oyster cannot develop shells.
Fish larvae may not be able to develop bones. This further endangers food security and the
livelihood of fishermen.
4. Sea level to rise by 4 to 6 meters
 Current data show an increase in sea surface heights. Scientists say this is due to the
melting of the ice sheets in northern portions of the globe like Antarctica and Greenland. Sea
level rise by 4 to 6 meters can submerge low-lying communities like Tacloban City which stands
only 3 meters above sea level.
5. Tropical Cyclones to Intensity
 The creation of tropical cyclones is already being recorded in areas where the
phenomenon had never been observed. On Nov. 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda (Halyan), said
to be the strongest storm in recorded history, devastated cities in the Vigas.
6. Rainfall, River Flow, and Flooding to Intensity
 Monsoon rainfall in the Philippines will reach new high and lows. Some parts of the
country will experience an upward trend in rainfall while other parts will experience an
intensification of drought. These two extreme poles of weather will make it more difficult for
agriculture and aquaculture sectors which are highly dependent on weather.
To further explore the causes and effects of global warming and to predict future warming,
scientists build climate models–computer simulations of the climate system.
The model predicts that as the world consumes ever fossil fuel, greenhouse gas
concentrations will continue to rise, and Earth’s average surface temperature will rise with them.
 Greenhouse gases are only part of the story when it comes to global warming. Changes to
one part of the climate system can cause additional changes to the way the planet absorbs or reflects
energy. Theses secondary changes are called climate feedbacks, and they could more than double
the amount of warming caused by carbon dioxide alone. The primary feedbacks are due to snow
and ice, water vapor, clouds, and the carbon cycle.
Snow and Ice
 Perhaps the most well-known feedback comes from melting snow and ice in the
Northern Hemisphere. Warming temperatures are already melting a growing percentage of
Arctic sea ice, exposing dark ocean water during the perpetual sunlight of summer. Canada’s
Athabasca Glacier has been shrinking by about 15 meters per year In the past 125 years, the
glacier has lost half its volume and has retreated more than 1.5 kilometers.
Water Vapors
 The largest feedback is water vapor. Water Vapor is a strong greenhouse gas. In fact,
because of its abundance in the atmosphere, water vapor causes about two-thirds of greenhouse
warming, a key factor in keeping temperatures in the habitable range on Earth.
Clouds
 Closely related to the water vapor feedback is the cloud feedback. Clouds cause
cooling by reflecting solar energy, but they also cause warming by absorbing infrared energy
(like greenhouse gases) from the surface when they are over areas that are warmer than they are.
Clouds can both cool the planet (by reflecting visible light from the sun) and warn the planet (by
absorbing heat radiation emitted by the surface).
The Carbon Cycle
 Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and warming temperatures are
causing changes in the Earth’s natural carbon cycle that also can feedback on atmospheric carbon
dioxide concentration. About half the carbon dioxide emitted into the air from burning fossil
fuels dissolves in the ocean.
Emission Scenarios
 Scientists predict the range of likely temperature increase by running many possible
future scenarios through climate models. Although some of the uncertainty in climate forecasts
comes from imperfect knowledge of climate feedbacks, the most significant source of
uncertainty in these predictions is that scientists do not know what choices people will make to
control greenhouse gas emissions. It takes decades to centuries for Earth to fully react to
increases in greenhouse gases.

CLIMATE CHANGE SYSTEM

1. Different parts of the world have different climates. Some parts of the world are hot and
rainy nearly every day. They have a tropical wet climate. Others are cold and snow-covered
most of the year. They have polar climate. Between the icy poles and the steamy tropics
are many other climates that contribute to Earth’s biodiversity and geologic heritage.
Climate is determined by a region’s climate system. A climate system has five major
components: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the land surface, and the biosphere.
The Atmosphere
2. The atmosphere is the most variable part of the climate system. The composition and
movement of gases surrounding the Earths can change radically, influenced by natural and
man-made factors.
The Hydrosphere
3. Changes to the hydrosphere, which include variations in temperature and salinity, occur at
much slow rates than changes to the atmosphere.
The Cryosphere
4. The cryosphere is another generally consistent part of the climate system. Ice sheets and
glaciers reflect sunlight, and the thermal conductivity of ice and permafrost profoundly
influences temperature. The cryosphere also helps regulate thermohaline circulation. This
“ocean conveyor belt” has an enormous influence on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
The Biosphere
5. The biosphere, the sum total of living things on Earth, profoundly influences climate.
Through photosynthesis, plants help regulate the flow of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. Forests and oceans serve as “carbon sinks” that have a cooling impact on
climate. Living organisms alter the landscape, through both natural growth and created
structures such as burrows, dams, and mounds. These altered landscapes can influence
weather patterns such as wind, erosion, and even temperature.
There are Five Types of Climate Change
 Tropical Rainforest Climate
 Tropical Monsoon Climate
 Tropical Savanna Climate
 Humid Subtropical Climate
 Oceanic Climate

Tropical Rainforest Climate

 A tropical rainforest climate is a tropical climate usually found within 10 to 15 degrees’
latitude of the equator, and has at least 60 mm (2.4 inches) of rainfall every month of the
year. Regions with this climate are typically designated Af by Koppen Climate
classification. A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot and wet.
Tropical Monsoon Climate
 An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a tropical wet climate or a
tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a type of climate that corresponds to
the Koppen Climate Classification category “Am”. Tropical monsoon climates have
monthly mean temperatures above 18 ‘C (64.4 ‘F) in every month of the year. Tropical
monsoon climates are the intermediate climate between the wet Af (or tropical rainforest
climate) and Aw (or tropical savanna climate).
 Less pronounced dry seasons. Regions with this variation of the tropical
monsoon climate typically see copious amounts of rain during the wet
seasons(s), usually in the form of frequent thunderstorms.
 Extraordinary rainy wet seasons and pronounced dry seasons. This variation
features pronounced dry seasons similar in length and character to dry
seasons observed in tropical savanna climates.
Tropical Savanna Climate or Tropical Wet and Dry Climate
 is a type of climate that corresponds to the Koppen Climate Classification categories “Aw”
and “As”. Tropical savanna climates have monthly mean temperature above 18 ‘C (64 ‘F)
in every month of the year and typically a pronounced dry season, with the driest month
having less than 60 mm (2.36 inches) of precipitation and also less than 100 – [total annual
precipitation {mm}/25] of precipitation.
Humid Subtropical Climate
 is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters.
These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents, generally between
latitudes 25’ and 40’ and are located poleward from adjacent tropical climate.
Oceanic Climate
 also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the Koppen Classification of climate
typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, and generally features of
continents, and generally features mild summers and mild winters, with a relatively narrow
annual temperature range and few extremes of temperatures, with the exception for
transitional areas to continental, subarctic and highland climates.