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Climate Change

Written by Lim Chai Phey

Climate change
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What is Climate Change?

What are the main causes of climate change?
What effects will climate change have on the earth?
Climate change
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What is Climate Change?

Climate change is how the weather in various parts of the world have changed within the last 200 years. Most
Scientists agree that this is caused by large amounts of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) gas that have been released
into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Climate change is believed to cause an increase in severe weather systems ie. Hurricanes and Typhoons. It is
also believed to be causing the spread of deserts which has an effect on ecosystems around the world.
One of the effects of Climate change is Global Warming. It is a way of describing how our planet’s global air
temperatures are increasing. Scientists have found that our planet has warmed up by approximately 1⁰C over
the last century. This has had a massive impact on people, the environment and wildlife. Some of the changes
we have seen across the world include:
melting glaciers- which can lead to increased sea levels and coastal flooding. Melting glaciers may also disrupt
ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream which could also cause colder winters for countries like Great Britain.
increased land temperatures can contribute to increased droughts and the spread of deserts.
Increased sea temperatures can lead to millions of plants and animals in the Earth’s Oceans and Seas being
killed.
Changes in Ocean temperatures and global air temperature has led to many more severe weather incidents
such as hurricanes, typhoons and droughts.
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What are the main causes of climate change?

● Burning fossil fuels- Fossil Fuels when burned release large amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere
which can lead to an increase to the GreenHouse Effect.
● Farming- Farming usually requires the clearing of forests. The farming has also led to an increase in
the GreenHouse Gas Methane being released into the atmosphere.
● Deforestation- Deforestation means that trees and plants which remove CO₂ from the air are being
destroyed. This means that they can no longer carry out Photosynthesis and so can’t remove as much
CO₂ from the air as before. As less CO₂ is being taken out of the atmosphere by plants more is able to
build up in the upper atmosphere.
● These three factors lead to an increase in the amount of Carbon Dioxide being released into the
atmosphere.
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What effects will climate change have on the

earth?
As humans continue to release more and more harmful gasses into the earth's atmosphere the global
temperature will continue to increase and lead to a warmer climate leading to:-
more rain and increasing sea levels – as sea levels rise this will affect coastal habitats, it will affect soil and
agriculture and mean reduced habitats for some birds and plants and other animals.
melting glaciers – as glaciers melt this will reduce the amount of freshwater available for animals in colder
habitats, it will lead to increased sea levels and the extinction of some animals who rely on those habitats for
survival
unpredictable and changing seasons – unpredictable and changing lengths of seasons can have an impact on
plant and animal life across the plant. All plants and animals need food, water and sunlight to grow. As
seasons shift this will change living conditions for some plants and animals which can affect the food available
to other plants and animals in coming years.