Effects

Effectsof
ofClimate
ClimateChange
Change
 WILDFIRE
• Climate change increases the risk of fire in areas
where decades of total fire suppression have resulted
in buildup of dead fuels

• There are now four times as many wildfires exceeding

1 ½ square miles as there were 30 years ago, and these
frequent large fires are burning six times as much
forest area.

• In the last 20 years, the western fire season has

expanded by more than ten weeks.
 More Droughts and Heat Waves

• Drought occurs when sufficient water needed to

sustain an area is not available, causing economic
impacts on agriculture, society, and ecosystems.
• Heat waves are extended periods of unusually hot
weather that affect human and animal health as well
as energy use.
• heat waves associated with droughts and fueled in
part by climate change contribute to the dry
conditions that are driving wild fires.
 Increase In Heavy Precipitation
( heavy rainfall )

• Heavy precipitation applies to situations in

which the amount of rain or snow encountered
in an area greatly exceeds what is normal.
• Heavy rainfall can lead to numerous hazards,
for example: flooding, including risk to human
life, damage to buildings and infrastructure, and
loss of crops and livestock.
 Climate Change Impacts
In Polar Region
• As sea ice and seasonal snow cover melt, previously
reflective white surfaces are converted to darker
ocean water or vegetation, respectively. These dark
surfaces absorb more solar radiation, leading to
higher air temperatures which leads to even more
rapid melting, and so on.

• Year-round sea ice shrinking: walruses and other

animals challenged to find platforms for nursing
and resting
• Polar bears facing difficult hunting conditions:
seals now surfacing in open ocean instead of
holes in ice
 Sea-level Rise

• Fragments barrier islands, reconfigures

shorelines

• May leave certain ecosystems struggling to adapt

—in particular those adapted to the conditions
between land and sea
• Landward movement of mangroves and marshes
may be inhibited by human development
 Threats To Coral Reefs

• Climate change is the greatest global threat to coral reef

ecosystems
• A changing climate is affecting coral reef
ecosystems through sea level rise, changes to the
frequency and intensity of tropical storms, and altered
ocean circulation patterns.
• Heat stress causes coral bleaching: corals expel symbiotic
algae, leaving white “bones” behind (deadly to coral if
long-lasting)

• Ocean acidification affects marine organisms’ ability to

build shells and skeletons: likely to slow or stop the
growth of coral by 2100
References

 https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/effects-of/climate-change
 https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/effects-of-climate-change
 https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coralreef-climate.html#:~:text=Climate%20change%20
leads%20to%3A,to%20the%20smothering%20of%20coral
.
 https://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/DroughtHeat