Question

Climate disruption is causing major changes in environmental conditions around the globe. What sorts of changes are expected in the region where you live? What are some likely

consequences in your region? What types of mammals appear to be most at risk in the region where you live?

Answer 1

Ans: Climate change is a very crucial topic today that needs to be properly addressed. Over the past years, the human being has changed the balance of our planet by living beyond their means. They have burnt huge amounts of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, gas), bred huge amounts of methane-producing livestock and cut down vast swathes of forests, which would naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The global rise of average temperature of the earth has caused many severe changes like drastic changes in the environmental conditions. The changes that have been caused due to climate change are described below:

a) Impact on forests: Forests are predominated by a huge number of plants species and they are the best source to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. That is how they help in regulating world climate. Moreover, forests are home to many different wild species florae and fauna. But unfortunately. they are severely affected by climate change. Impacts vary in different kinds of forests. Sub-Arctic boreal forests are likely to be particularly badly affected, with tree lines gradually retreating north as temperatures rise. In tropical forests such as the Amazon, where there’s abundant biodiversity, even modest levels of climate change can cause high levels of extinction.

b) Impact on fresh water: Climate change has a drastic effect on the world's water system. Here and there alteration of flood and drought makes the situation worst. Warmer air, due to climate change, can hold a higher water content, which makes rainfall patterns more extreme. Rivers and lakes supply drinking water for people and animals and are a vital resource for farming and industry. Freshwater environments around the world are already under excessive pressure from drainage, dredging, damming, pollution, extraction, silting and invasive species. Climate change only exacerbates the problem and makes this worse. Extremes of drought and flooding will become more common, causing displacement and conflict.

c) Impact on oceans: Oceans are vital ‘carbon sinks’, meaning that they absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide, preventing it from reaching the upper atmosphere. Increased water temperatures and higher carbon dioxide concentrations than normal, which make oceans more acidic, are already having an impact on oceans.Coral reefs are particularly at risk. Sensitive coral and algae that live on it are starved of oxygen, causing dramatic bleaching and possibly the eventual death of the coral. It has been estimated that if global warming remains on its upward path, by 2050 just 5% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef ( the world’s largest coral reef ) will remain.

d) Impact on polar region: Climate change is amplified in the polar regions. The earth’s north and south extremities are crucial for regulating our planet’s climate and are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global warming, which has global consequences.

Climate change in the Arctic: Average air temperatures in the region have been increased by about 5°C over the last 100 years. Recent data shows that there’ll be almost no summer sea ice cover left in the Arctic in the next few decades. The effects won't just be felt by the habitats and species such that rely upon this area - they'll be dramatic in the entire northern hemisphere.

Climate change in the Antarctic: The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest single mass of ice on earth, accounting for around 90% of all fresh water on the earth's surface and spanning almost 14 million sq km. This ice plays a vitally important role in influencing the world’s climate, reflecting back the sun’s energy and helping to regulate global temperatures. Parts of the West Antarctic Peninsula are among the fastest-warming places on earth. Even small-scale melting is likely to have significant effects on the global sea level rise.