Climate Change

What is Climate Change?

• Climate change is a change in weather patterns & related changes in
oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, occurring over time scales of
decades or longer. Usually at least 30 years.
• It is measured using the statistical properties of the climate system
including averages, variability and extremes.
• The ‘climate system’ refers to the oceans, land surfaces, ice sheets &
the atmosphere.
• The Freeze in Chicago
What are the Factors involved?
• Global Warming
• Deforestation
• Mass Erosion
• Climate change may be due to natural processes, such as changes in
the Sun’s radiation, volcanoes or internal variability in the climate
system, or due to human influences such as changes in the
composition of the atmosphere or land use.
• Greenhouse Effect: Trap Infrared Radiation in the Earth’s Atmosphere
• Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide & Methane.
• Strength of the Sun
• Changes in the Earth’s orbit, axial tilt and precession
• Quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• Ocean currents and carbon dioxide content
• Plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions
• Changes in land cover
• Meteorite impacts
How is climate change measured over time?
• Earth-orbiting satellites, remote meteorological stations, and ocean buoys
are used to monitor present-day weather and climate, but it’s 
paleoclimatology data from natural sources like ice cores, tree rings,
corals, and ocean and lake sediments that have enabled scientists to
extend the earth’s climatic records back millions of years. These records
provide a comprehensive look at the long-term changes in the earth’s
atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and cryosphere (frozen water systems).
Scientists then feed this data into sophisticated climate models that
predict future climate trends—with impressive accuracy.
• https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know
Climate Change vs Global Warming
Diagrammatic Representation of Factors
What is the Biggest Cause behind Climate
Change?
Main Source: Humans
• Human activities have increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere
• changes to land cover (replacement of darker forests with paler
croplands and grasslands)
• increases in aerosols (tiny particles in the atmosphere)
Additionally:
• solar fluctuations (changes in the brightness of the sun)
• volcanic eruptions
What are the effects of climate change?
• Flooding
• Droughts
• Ice Caps
• Forest Fires
• Global Warming
• Because land surfaces heat faster than ocean surfaces, deserts are expanding
and heat waves and wildfires are more common.[6] Increasing rates of
evaporation cause more intense storms and weather extremes.[7] Temperature
rise is amplified in the Arctic, where it has contributed to melting permafrost
 and the retreat of glaciers and sea ice.[8] Additional warming also increases
risk of triggering critical thresholds called tipping points.[9] Even if efforts to
minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for
centuries, including rising sea levels, rising ocean temperatures, and 
ocean acidification.[10] Impacts on ecosystems include the relocation or 
extinction of many species as their environment changes, most immediately
in coral reefs, mountains, and the Arctic.[11] Warming may also cause 
reduced crop yields,[12] declining fish stocks,[13] potentially severe 
economic impacts,[14] increased global economic inequality,[15] increasing
number of people living in an uninhabitable climate,[16] and environmental
migration.[17] Current and anticipated effects from undernutrition, heat stress
and disease have led the World Health Organization to declare climate change
the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.[18]
Health Effect
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-
need-know
• According to the World Health Organization, “climate change is expected to cause
approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year” between 2030 and 2050. As global
temperatures rise, so do the number of fatalities and illnesses from heat stress, heatstroke,
and cardiovascular and kidney disease. As air pollution worsens, so does respiratory health—
particularly for the 300 million people living with asthma worldwide; there’s more airborne
pollen and mold to torment hay fever and allergy sufferers, too. Extreme weather events,
such as severe storms and flooding, can lead to injury, drinking water contamination, and
storm damage that may compromise basic infrastructure or lead to community displacement.
Indeed, historical models suggest the likelihood of being displaced by a disaster is now 60
percent higher than it was four decades ago—and the largest increases in displacement are
driven by weather- and climate-related events. (It’s worth noting that displacement comes
with its own health threats, such as increases in urban crowding, trauma, social unrest, lack of
clean water, and transmission of infectious diseases.) A warmer, wetter world is also a boon
for insect-borne diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease
More Effects articles
• https://www.myclimate.org/information/faq/faq-detail/what-are-the-
effects-of-climate-change
/
• https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/#:~:text=Increased%20heat%2C%20d
rought%20and%20insect,coastal%20areas%20are%20additional%20c
oncerns
.
• https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/effects-of/climate-change
• https://
www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-heal
th
• https://www.livescience.com/37057-global-warming-effects.html
What are some notable effects caused by
Climate Change?
• Examples of:
• Flash Flood in the Middle East
• Forest Fire in Australia
• Indian Droughts
• Flooding
What are the misconceptions regarding
Climate Change?
• https://
c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2017/03/misconceptions-realities-clima
te-science-06-2012.pdf
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-myths-what-science
-really-says
/
• http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~
geerts/cwx/notes/chap01/misconception.html
• https://
theconversation.com/five-climate-change-science-misconceptions-de
bunked-122570
How can we slow down Climate Change?
• Reduce Fossil Fuel Usage
• Bring Down Emissions
• Reduce
Can Climate Change be stopped completely?
• Never
• It’s a Cyclic process which has been going on for thousands of years
• We simply accelerated the process
What are the effects of Climate Change in
regards to Bangladesh?
• Excessive Rainfall
• Flooding
• Cyclones
• Flash Floods
• Mudslides
• Droughts
• Loss of Migratory Birds
• Loss of Vegetation
• Reduced Nutrition
As an individual, what can we do about
Climate Change
• 3Rs
• Awareness
• Lobbying
• Fund Raising
To Summarize:
Thank You