Climate change is happening slowly in a long enough period of time, between 50-100 years. Although slowly, the impact is most of Earth’s surface gets hot. Here is the data from the IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) which describes the conditions of climate change is happening now.
There has been an increase in average temperature of 0.76 degrees Celsius between the period 1850 to 2005.
11 of the last 12 years (1995-2006) were years with an average temperature of the warmest since temperature measurement was first performed in 1850.
There has been a global sea level rise on average by 1.8 mm per year between the period 1961 to 2003.
There has been more intense droughts in the wider region since the 1970s, mainly in tropical and sub-tropical.
Related to these data, the impact of climate change will lead to a strongly felt by humans, among others;
Increased Sea Level
because of rising world temperatures could melt the ice in the polar regions. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), in the last 100 years has been an increase as high as 10-25 cm of sea water. Meanwhile, according to Greenpeace’s report, expected in the coming year 2100 will increase as high as 19-95 cm of sea water. Increasing sea water as high as 1 meter will result in the loss of the island or the mainland of the world;
The loss of mainland Egypt 1%, Netherlands 6%, Bangladesh 17.5% and 80% of atolls in the Marshall Islands. Sinking of the islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanutu, Japan, Philippines, and Indonesia. This means tens of millions of people living in coastal areas must evacuate to higher ground.
Rising sea levels will lead to lack of endurance, so vulnerable tehadap coastal erosion. This also resulted in the destruction of infrastructure and housing on the waterfront. This phenomenon could lead to displacement.
Climate change also resulted in a shift in the season due to a change in pressure and temperature. The implication dry season will last longer so and cause droughts.
Countries expected to experience droughts are Africa, Europe, North America and Australia. While on the other hand, the rainy season will last for a short time with a higher intensity rainfall causing floods and landslides.
Disaster Humanitarian Crisis
Due to lack of food supplies due to the high potential for crop failure due to erratic temperature changes, resulting in lower agricultural productivity. Agricultural productivity in the tropics will decrease if global average temperature rise 1-2 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, melting of polar ice will cause the mass expansion of sea water and sea water rising, so this will reduce the production of fish and shrimp ponds. The accumulative impact of this situation is widespread famine and widespread malnutrition.
Water Crisis
This water crisis is caused by the prolonged drought since the dry season. The condition, caused by change of seasons that are not stable, so that water rarely threatened areas experiencing water crisis. Sources of fresh water needs of dry one-third of world population in 2100. And in the middle of this century, the subtropical and tropical dry will experience water shortages as much as 10-30 percent so threatened drought.
Widespread Disease Threatens Many Species of Man.
This is caused by rising temperatures that cause the shorter the incubation period of mosquitoes. The impact, which disease is transmitted by mosquitoes will breed more quickly. The spread of these diseases especially in tropical areas, such as dengue fever, diarrhea, malaria and leptospirosis due to increasing populations of insects (mosquitoes) as vectors of disease.
Heat wave that hit Europe in 2005 increased the “heat stroke” (a strong heat stroke) is lethal, salmonella infection, and “hay fever” (allergic hay fever).
Loss of Various Types of Biological Diversity.
Changes in the earth’s temperature is erratic results in loss of species of flora and fauna because it can not adapt, and about 20-30 percent of plant and animal species will become extinct if global average temperature rose from 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius. In addition, rising temperatures will increase the acidity of sea water. Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is estimated to have negative impacts on marine organisms such as coral reefs (cloral bleaching) and the extinction of other species that depend on these organisms. Thus estimated to be about 80% of plant and animal species will be extinct within a century to come. Increasing temperature resulted in the dry twig or leaf flammability due to friction thereby increasing the chance of forest fires.
Loss of Non-Matter and Materials.
Global warming, catastrophic, due to typhoons, floods and storms, approximately 150,000 people died each year. In 2003, the heat wave in Europe claimed 25,482 lives in the next 20 years (data source WHO, UNEP, and World Meteorology Council). In addition, in 2080 estimated there will be millions of people affected by floods every year due to rising sea levels. The greatest risk occurs in the densely populated lowlands, particularly the deltas of Asia and Africa and small islands. While estimates of material losses from climate change mencapi USD 11 billion, or about 110 trillion annually.
Melting of ice in the Arctic.
Climate change caused by rising surface temperatures can cause melting of ice sheets and glaciers around the world, especially in the North Pole and South Pole. Since the 1960s, the ice at the poles of the world has decreased by 10%, while the thickness of ice in the Arctic has decreased 42% in the last 40 years (Prench, 2001). Other data mentioned 10-20% loss of glaciers in the Alps also marks the result of global warming. The impact of melting of the polar North and South poles will result in the mass expansion of sea water and sea water rise.
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