Week #2: Introducing Climate Change

GEOG1003
Week Date Coursework Topics Lectures

1 01-Sep Introduction Introduction to global environmental issues

#1 released
2 08-Sep Climate Change Introduction to climate change
(Due 22-Sep)

3 15-Sep Climate Change Causes of climate change

4 22-Sep Climate Change Climates of the past

5 29-Sep Climate Change Global atmospheric change
Progress Report
6 06-Oct Climate Change Consequences of climate change
(Due 20-Oct)
7 13-Oct NO CLASS! Reading Week
#2 released
8 20-Oct Water resources crisis Water resources and pollution
(Due 3-Nov)
9 27-Oct Overpopulation Overpopulation and urbanization

10 03-Nov Air/land pollution Air pollution, acid deposition, land pollution

Earthquake, Tsunami, Thunderstorm and

11 10-Nov Natural hazards
Tornado
12 17-Nov Energy crisis Energy sources and crisis
Final Project
13 24-Nov Course review Course review
(Due 3-Dec)
14 01-Dec NO CLASS! Revision Period
Check “Moodle” regularly
Weather vs. Climate
 Weather vs. Climate
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place. It is constantly changing,
sometimes from hour to hour and at other times
from day to day.
• Weather systems arise mainly due to atmospheric
instabilities, the evolution of which is governed by
non-linear chaotic dynamics.
 Weather vs. Climate
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place. It is constantly changing,
sometimes from hour to hour and other times from
day to day.
• Weather systems arise mainly due to atmospheric
instabilities, the evolution of which is governed by
non-linear chaotic dynamics.
• That is why weather is not really predictable beyond
a week or two into the future.
 Elements of Weather

The most important elements are:

(1) air temperature (hot/cold…)
(2) air humidity (dry/wet)
(3) cloudiness, type and amount of
(4) precipitation, type and amount of
(5) air pressure (High clear sky, fair weather; Low  cloudy,
rainy)
(6) wind, speed and direction of (air movement)
 Cloud Types

Picture taken from:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_types.jpg
A Typical “Weather” Map
 Weather-Related Disasters
 Extreme change in weather elements could lead to
natural disasters: e.g.,
Air temperature (heat waves, cold waves…)
Precipitation (drought, flood…)

 Most weather-related disasters are related to extreme

changes in several elements: e.g., Hurricane/Typhoon,
Tornado.
Temperature, Precipitation, pressure, wind, humidity, cloudiness are
often inter-connected and change simultaneously.
 Weather vs. Climate
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place. It is constantly changing,
sometimes from hour to hour and other times from
day to day.
• Climate is the average of daily weather parameters
over many years (typically >30yrs) and characterizes
seasons as well as geography.
Hong Kong Climate (1981-2010)
 Weather vs. Climate
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place. It is constantly changing,
sometimes from hour to hour and other times from
day to day.
• Climate is the average of daily weather parameters
over many years (typically >30yrs) and characterizes
seasons as well as geography.
Climate = What you expect Climatology, Climatologist
Weather = What you get Meteorology, Meteorologist
Climate tells what clothes to BUY, but
weather tells what clothes to WEAR.
 Weather vs. Climate
• Interactions between weather & climate.
• Their status are not fixed (i.e., changeable).
 Weather versus Climate

Review questions: Which of the following statements relate more to

weather (A) and which relate more to climate (B)?
1. Summers in Hong Kong are hot and humid.
2. It is 26°C outside, partly sunny, and south winds 10 to 20 miles
per hour.
3. The pressure now is 1010 mb and steady, and humidity is 84%.
4. Although winters in Hong Kong are on the average mild by China
standards, cold outbreaks sometimes come, in some years
more frequent than in others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lXRM2rg2Sc The Guardian
• The amount of summer sea
ice in the Arctic has been
steadily shrinking over the
past few decades.
• The 15 summers with the
lowest amount of ice have
all been in the past 15
years.
• Summer 2013 is the tenth-
smallest extent of Arctic
sea ice on record.
 Global Warming vs. Climate Change
• “Climate change” and “global warming” are often used
interchangeably but have distinct meanings.
 Global Warming vs. Climate Change
• “Climate change” and “global warming” are often used
interchangeably but have distinct meanings.
• Global warming refers only to the Earth’s rising surface
temperature since the early 20th century, and most notably since
the late 1970s, due to the increase in fossil fuel emissions since
the industrial revolution.
The Godfather of Global Warming

Wallace S. Broecker, Newberry Professor

Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Columbia University (1931-2019)
 Global Warming vs. Climate Change
• “Climate change” and “global warming” are often used
interchangeably but have distinct meanings.
• Climate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena caused
predominantly by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping
gases to Earth’s atmosphere. These phenomena include
temperature increase as described by global warming, and
encompass other changes such as sea level rise, snow/ice melting,
more drought/flood and extreme weather.
 Global Climate
Change

• Identifiable change in the climate of

Earth as a whole that lasts for an
extended period of time (decades or
longer)
– When due to natural processes, it is usually
referred to as climate variability or natural
climate change.
– Nowadays often refers to changes forced
by human activities.
 Global Warming vs. Climate Change
• “Climate change” and “global warming” are often used
interchangeably but have distinct meanings.
• Climate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena caused
predominantly by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping
gases to Earth’s atmosphere. These phenomena include
temperature increase described by global warming, and encompass
other changes such as sea level rise, snow/ice melting, more
drought/flood and extreme weather.
• Global warming refers only to the Earth’s rising surface
temperature, while climate change includes warming and the “side
effects” of warming.
• The 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–
2001).
• Democratic Party's nominee for President and lost
the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
• Received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his work
in climate change activism (along with the IPCC).
• Two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best
Original Song
• The 9th highest grossing documentary film to date in the U.S.
( $24 million in the U.S. and $26 million in the foreign box office)

Questions to ponder
 Coursework #1:
Big Names and Climate Change
 Coursework #1:
Big Names and Climate Change
• Choose two celebrities (politician, movie star, singer,
writer, etc.) in the same field, but with opposing views
on climate change.
• Find evidence supporting their views on climate
change.
• Do your own reasoning and explain why they take
different stance.
• Organize what you get and write a short essay (~500
words). (Due: 22-Sep, 5:00PM)
Notes:
1. Details for coursework submission:
• Submit soft copy on course Moodle.
• Penalty for late submission: 5% per day.
• Any assignment submitted ten calendar days after the deadline will
not be accepted for assessment and will therefore be awarded a zero
mark.

2. Plagiarism and copyright: Please DO NOT copy materials from internet or

any other sources.
• Penalty for plagiarism : Fail grade.
Notes:
3. Guidelines on the use of reference materials in course assignments:
https://www.geog.hku.hk/intro-to-undergraduate-curriculum

Book
Qu, Geping and Li, Jinchang (1994) Population and the Environment in China. Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO, 217 pp.

Book chapter
McGee, T.G. (1991) The emergence of desakota regions in Asia: expanding a hypothesis. In: N. Ginsberg, B. Koppel and T.G. McGee
(eds.) The Extended Metropolis: Settlement Transition in Asia. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, pp. 3-25.

Conference or Symposium proceedings

Kuentzel, W.F. (1996) (ed.) Proceedings of the 1996 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. 31 March to 2 April 1996,
Bolton Landing, New York. General Technical Report NE-232. US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northeastern Forest
Experiment Station, Radnor, PA, 309 pp.

Journal article
Marton, A.M. and McGee, T.G. (1996) New patterns of mega-urban development in China: the experience of Kunsha. Asian
Geographer 15 (1/2): 49-70.

Website materials
Planning Department. Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century: Final Report
http://www.info.gov.hk/planning/p_study/comp_s/susdev/final_hp/final.htm
Accessed on September 7, 2001.
Notes:
3. Cite other people’s work properly using the “Harvard” reference style.
4. Include both “in-text” citation and a reference section.

in-text citation

Single author work: Gernet, 1996

Two authors: Xu & Cheng, 2002
Three or more: Chen et al., 2012

Reference section

Li et al., 2019 GRL

Notes:
5. Must include a cover page (available on Moodle) showing your Student ID
AND Class ID.
6. The preferred word limit: 500-600.