The relative contributions of human and natural causes to these increases are still uncertain. Hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm. This video explains the findings of this study. Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since reliable record keeping began in It is projected to rise another 1 to 8 feet by This is the result of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could combine with sea level rise and land subsidence to further increase flooding in many regions. Ocean waters will therefore continue to warm and sea level will continue to rise for many centuries at rates equal to or higher than those of the current century.
An indicator of changes in the Arctic sea ice minimum over time. Arctic sea ice extent both affects and is affected by global climate change. An interactive exploration of how global warming is affecting sea ice, glaciers and continental ice sheets worldwide.
Below are some of the impacts that are currently visible throughout the U. Global Change Research Program :. Heat waves, heavy downpours and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast.
Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
Changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats.
Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts. Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
Increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns. Taken as a whole, the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time. If we do not reduce emissions soon, we could see ice-free summers in the Arctic by the middle of this century.
When ice sheets and glaciers melt, freshwater flows into the sea. As well as making the sea level rise, freshwater also reduces the salinity saltiness of the water, which can slow or change ocean currents. The oceans then become less alkaline, a process called 'ocean acidification'. Ocean acidification is bad because it can have negative effects on marine organisms, like coral and plankton, which are an important part of the food chain.
Warmer air can hold more water, so rainfall is increasing on average across the world. In some places, rainfall is becoming more intense as well. However, some areas receive less rain because of changes in wind patterns.
We are already experiencing the effects of a changing climate. Rising sea levels cause problems for people around the world. Even if we cut emissions, sea levels will continue to rise until the year But, if we reduce emissions enough, we can slow the rate of increase. Many people will have to leave their homes, but the number will vary depending on how we act, by reducing global emissions and improving flood defences.
Floods can also happen when heavy rainfall overwhelms drainage systems or bursts river banks. In heavily concreted urban areas and cities, the effect is more severe because the water cannot sink directly into the soil. Flooding causes severe damage to buildings and transportation, which can be very costly and hard to recover. As our climate warms and rainfall patterns change, it may be harder to grow enough food in some areas.
The climate will change which crops can grow in different regions. Some places may be able to grow new crops, but many places will experience reduced crop production, especially in hotter countries. Colder countries are likely to see higher yields because there will be a longer growing season and higher carbon dioxide concentrations.
However, these effects may not last if warming continues in the longer term. More extreme weather events could also disrupt access to food, impacting transport from farms to shops, which can affect vulnerable people. As you can see, climate change has a lot of effects, and they impact people around the world in different ways. The level of impact depends on the climate of the area and the wealth of the country. Climate change effects are 'stress multipliers', which means that they often make existing problems more severe.
Let's look at heatwaves, for example. We expect most regions will experience more intense heatwaves. In countries that are already hot, the human heat stress limits will be exceeded more often, which is dangerous. As another example, an increase in flooding is another danger. Countries that flood regularly, such as Bangladesh, are expected to see even more regular floods, putting more communities at risk. This graph from Munich RE shows events causing loss are becoming more frequent.
This refers to developments that are self-enhancing due to the occurrence of certain conditions. A common example is the ice-albedo feedback, which refers to the melting of the polar caps. According to this, extensive ice surfaces have a cooling effect on the global climate, as a high proportion of radiation is reflected.
As a result of the global rise in the average temperature, however, these ice surfaces begin to melt, the ice surfaces shrink and the amount of reflected radiation is reduced. At the same time, the area of land or ocean that has a significantly lower albedo will increase, reflecting less radiation and thus intensifying the actual cause of glacier melt.
Furthermore, scientists can calculate the so-called tipping points of individual subsystems of the global climate. The higher the global rise in temperature, the more the climate system is affected, so that at a certain point, despite significant efforts, a reversal in the process is no longer possible.
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