3.1

A) Rising sea levels

  • Ice cover on land (glaciers on high mountains and the Greenland ice sheet) melts.

    • The meltwaters flows into ocean, causing the sea level

  • Increase in global temperature causes seawater to heat up and expand

    • Also lead to rising sea levels

  • Low-lying coastal areas (Venice in Italy) and island countries (Solomon Islands) will be flooded

B) More meteorological hazards

a) Strong typhoons and blizzards

  1. Normal situation

    1. Warm, moist air rises and cools

    2. As air keeps rising, more heat is released from condensation. The typhoon gets stronger

    3. Air condenses to form clouds. Condensation releases heat to the air. The energy allows the typhoon to grow.

  2. Under climate change

    1. A warmer atmosphere causes more evaporation and can hold more water vapour

    2. When more water vapour condenses, more heat is released in the air. The typhoon gets stronger

    3. The extra energy keeps the air warm, so the air rises further. The typhoon gets bigger and stronger

b) Flooding

  • Warmer climate change leads to more evaporation and rainfall in wet coastal areas

  • Rainfall more likely to occurs as intense rainstorms over a short duration

    • Large amount of rainwater will reach the river river channels within a short period of time

    • Increase the risk of flooding

  • Rising sea levels and stronger typhoon caused by climate change will result in greater storm surges

  • Storm surge=abnormal rise of seawater generated by a storm

    • Mainly cause by string winds pushing seawater up against the coast

    • Increase the risk of flooding in low-lying coastal areas, especially greater storm surge and during high tide

c) Drought

  • Warmer climate lowers the relative humidity in dry areas

    • Unfavorable fir the formation of clouds and rain

    • More periods of drought

      • Hinders the growth of vegetation

        • Result in less vegetation cover on land

        • Soil erosion and desertification will worsen

d) Heat waves and wildfires

  • Persistent high temperatures will cause heat waves

    • Increase the cases of heat stroke

    • With drought=more frequent and more serious wildfires

C) Spread of diseases

  • Warmer climate will extend towards the poles

    • Favours the reproduction of mosquitoes

    • Tropical diseases spread to the temperate areas

D) Reduction in crop yields and the food supply

  • Flood the fields and make the land too salty for farming

  • More frequent and stronger meteorological hazards pose a great threat to farming

  • Warmer climate change+changing precipitation patterns may make pests more active and plant diseases more widespread

    • They increase the risk of crop failure and threaten food security

E) Extinction of species

  • Because temperature+precipitation habitats of existing plants and animals will change

    • Species cannot adapt to the changing climate may die off

  • Massive extinction of species threatens ecological balance and security

    • Damaged ecosystem may not be able to provide the resources needed for human survivial

    • Ecosystem may collapse