An Najah National University

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Climate Change
Prepared by
Majeda Alhaj-Hussein
Submitted to
Dr. Anan Jayyousi

This report submitted as a semester-research project for

Water Resources Management
course (461647),
in Master of Water and Environmental Engineering
Abstract

Climate change is one of the problems that the earth is exposed to, and this change is
related to the fate of man and his presence on this earth, which is closely related to the
availability of water sources and the ability to exploit and use them in the best way to
provide a better life at various levels and in various fields.

The above leads us to ask a question about the concept of climate change, its causes
and effects, especially those related to water sources, and this is what will be answered
through this research paper .

Introduction

The concept of climate is one of the concepts that express the prevailing atmospheric
variables related to a particular region in addition to the concept of weather. Sometimes
the concept of climate overlaps with the concept of weather, and although both are
different from the other, both give an idea of the state of the atmosphere, where the
climate expresses the state of the air In terms of the different climatic elements of a
particular region for a long period of time, often more than 35 years, and characterized
by stability and relative stability, while weather expresses the weather in terms of the
climatic elements of a specific region and for a short period of time estimated at a few
days and is characterized by the change in the weather condition from time to time.
Climate change is always linked to the concept of climate, and this leads us to ask a
question about what is meant by climate change, its causes and effects.

What is the Climate Change?

Climate change is a phenomenon related to changes in the usual climate in terms of
temperature, precipitation, and wind, it is a change in the weather pattern, and
associated changes in the oceans, land areas, ice sheets and frozen areas, which occurs
over timescales spanning over years. For several decades, resulting in an imbalance in
the Earth's weather and endangering ecosystems.

We can say that climate change is any significant and long-term change in the average
weather that occurs for a particular region. Average weather can include average
temperature, precipitation rate, and wind condition. These changes can occur due to the
dynamic processes of the Earth such as volcanoes, or due to external forces such as

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 changes in the intensity of solar rays or the fall of large meteorites, and more recently
due to human activities

What are the causes of climate change?

The causes of climate change are attributed to two types of factors:

Natural factors: They are factors that are not included in humans, such as:

1. Changing the amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface of the Earth, and its
distribution.
2. The occurrence of warm currents hitting the beaches, causing the water temperature to
rise.
3. The presence of strong winds that warm the air in the winter in some areas ‫ز‬
4. Volcanic eruptions and their gases.

Human factors: These are the factors related to human activities and practices.
including:

1. Burning waste, using fossil fuels, oil and natural gas to produce electric power, and
operating transportation that releases carbon and nitrogen oxides.
2. The increase in household waste from solid and liquid materials and the use of
pesticides and industrial solvents, resulting from the increase in the population‫ز‬
3. Radioactive leakage, nuclear waste.
4. Gases emitted from sewage, and other waste.

Human activity is the main reason behind this sudden change due to the emission of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane
(CH4), which leads to the occurrence of global warming, which raises the Earth's
temperature to a higher rate than normal.

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Effects of climate change

There are many apparent effects on the living and non-living universes, and others
expected in the coming years, including:

1. Global warming leads to natural disasters, such as floods and hurricanes.

2. Sea level rise.
3. Increased desertification.
4. The distribution of rainfall amounts and temperatures differ during the year
from the normal situation.
5. Lack of fresh water resources, extreme waves of frost and snow, heat waves
and cold waves.

Climate Change and its impact on water resources

Many studies report that climate change will lead to a shortage of water resources to a
degree that may reach severe danger as a result of the imbalance in the distribution of
rain belts quantitatively, spatially and temporally. This level is to a critical limit, as a
result of which there will be a rise in the concentration of salts in the water caused by
the lack of tributaries of the groundwater reservoir and excessive withdrawals. This
means a clear shortage of drinking water and groundwater.

Also, changing the rain pattern will lead to positive or negative effects on countries that
depend for their water resources on rain water, especially coastal countries, in addition

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to the fact that their groundwater resources will be affected by the interference of sea
water resulting from the rise in sea levels.

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CONCLUSION

The greatest challenge that humanity will face during the twenty-first century is the
problem of water scarcity and the eternal struggle over fresh water sources as a result
of the phenomenon of climate change, as water resources constitute the most important
elements of the ecological system due to the limitations of these resources and the
increased demand for them and their scarcity in the future.
From here, there are many recommendations that can be followed to reduce the effects
of climate changes, the most important of which are:
1. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by relying on renewable energy.

2. Encouraging the use of alternative energy-powered transportation.

3. Enact laws and legislation to reduce environmental pollution resulting from industrial
facilities.

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References
‫ مركز المناهج الفلسطيني‬،)2017( ‫الثقافة العلمية‬

https://youmatter.world/en/definition/climate-change-meaning-definition-causes-and-
/consequences

https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change