CLIMATE CHANGE

Introduction

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agency that

evaluates Climate Change Science report’s Important Conclusions:
o World’s climate has changed significantly over the past years
o The significant change has human influence
o Using climate models and if the trend continues, the global mean
surface temperature will increase between 1 degree celcius and 3.5
degree celcius by 2100
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE

refers to the statistically significant

changes in climate for continuous
period of time.
Factors that contribute to Climate Change:
o Natural internal process
o External forces
o Persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of
the atmosphere or in land use
o Natural occurences or contributed by acts of human
beings
Causes of Climate Change

1. Natural Causes
2. Human Activities
Natural Causes
1. Volcanic Eruptions
2. Orbital Changes
3. Carbon Dioxide Theory
Volcanic Eruptions
• it emits different natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxides, salt crystals, volcanic ashes or dust and even
microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.
• causes cooling effect that can last for 2 years
• violent volcanic eruptions produces ash particles in the
stratosphere

Volcanic ashes which have sulfur dioxide + water vapor = sulfuric

acid and sulfurous aerosols
Volcanic Eruptions That Cause Climate Change:
 Mount Tambora of Indonesia 1816 - largest known
eruption in human history - caused snowfall in the north
eastern US in Canada.

 Eruptions of Mount Krakatau of Indonesia in

1883 and Mt. Pinatubo of the Phil. in 1991.
Orbital Changes
 Earth's orbit can also cause Climate Change
 Proposed by Milankovitch Theory

Three Elements That Have Cyclic Variations:

1. Eccentricity
2. Obliquity
3. Precession
ECCENTRICITY

•  term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around

the Sun.
•  Earth's eccentricity is 0.016 and there is about 6.4%
increase in Insolation.
•  It influences seasonal differences: when earth is close
to sun, it gets more solar radiation.
OBLIQUITY

•  Variation of the tilt of Earth's axis away from the

orbital plane
•  As tilt changes, season changes
•  It changes over 40,000 years.
•  The more tilt, the more severe season
PRECESSION
•  Change in orientation of Earth's rotational axis.
•  Its cycle takes 19,000 to 23,000 years

 Caused by two factors:

1. a wobble of Earth's axis
2. turning around of the elliptical orbit of Earth itself
The Carbon Dioxide Theory

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 

• added when power and heat are produced by burning coal, oil,
and other fossil fuels
• transparent to sunshine but not invisible to infrared (heat)
radiation leaving the ground
• absorbs part of the infrared radiation in the air and returns it to the
ground keeping the air near the surface warmer than it would
bedoubling CO2 raises the temperature to 2 to 3 celcius
Human Activities

  human activities contribute to climate change

  largest known cause is the burning of fossil fuels which releases carbon dioxide gas to
the atmosphere
  Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols are a help to reduce climate Change Human activities
result in emissions of FOUR PRINCIPAL GREENHOUSE GASES: (All natural)

1. Carbon Dioxide (CO2),

2. Methane (CH4),
3. Nitrous oxide (N2O)
4. Halocarbons (Fluorine, Chlorine, and
Bromine)
High level CO2 and fossil fuels came from:

1. Transportation
2. Building
3. Heating
4. Manufacture of Cement and other goods
Effects of Climate Change in the Society

• Within the next 50 years, glaciers will continue to melt faster.
• Melting glaciers will increased flood risks
• Declining crop yields due to drought especially at Africa
• Ocean edification, direct result of rising CO2 levels, will have
major effects on Marine Systems
• Climate Change will increase worldwide deaths from malnutrition
and heat stress.
• Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue could become
more widespread
• Rising Sea Levels that may result in more flooded areas
• Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to Climate Change, with the
study estimating that around 15 to 40% of species face extinction with
2°C of warming.
• It can also cause monsoons and El Niño
• Melting or Collapse of ice sheets would raise sea levels and eventually
threaten at least 4 million km2 of land, which today is home to 5% of the
world's population.
Climate Change

• Worldwide issue that we have to face

• Referred as statistically significant climate variation persisting for an
extended period of time
• If continuous, this could bring drastic effects to living and nonliving forms on
Earth brought by several factors:
 Natural processes
 Persistent human activities
Global warming
• major effect of global warming
• threatens all life forms on Earth
• has drastic effects on water availability, food
source, health issues, land use, ecosystem