The expected impacts of climate change have been predicted to be
far reaching and will affect everyone. Though there
are some positive outcomes of a changing climate, scientists
fear the negative impacts that changes in climate are likely to
have. These impacts form the basis for addressing climate
change with such urgency and at such a global level. Here
is a little glimpse at some of the impacts that climate change is
likely to have on life as we know it.
Ecological
Impacts
Food
and Agriculture
Human Health
Human
infrastructure and HabitatCoastal
Systems
Forests
- Variations
in the productivity of forests
- Variations
in the number of vegetative types inhabiting the forests
- Increase
in forest temperature, precipitation, and nutrient availability
- Decrease
in the number and species of moving organism, especially migratory
organisms
- Increase
in carbon dioxide concentration
Desert
Ecosystems
- Climate
change
is likely to make conditions in desert areas more extreme as the
weather becomes hotter.
- Desert
organisms that are already close to their heat tolerance level
will be threatened.
- Lands
that border deserts- mainly dry, sub humid areas will most likely
undergo irreversible degradation
- Further
degradation will occur in some regions due to greater weather
fluctuations
- Extended
droughts followed by periods of heavy rainfall will degrade soil
structure and reduce a soils overall capacity as well as decrease
crop yield
- Areas
that receive more rainfall will be affected by increased leaching
- Leaching
will cause acidification and nutrient loss
- Saline
intrusion
- Increase
in soil erosion due to increased winds and decreased precipitation
- Forest
fires
- Loss
of agricultural lands in low lying areas
-
Water shortages
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Increase in deaths due to-Extreme weather events-Large scale weather events such as volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquake will take many lives.
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Airborne organisms and materials-An increase in vector borne organisms which carry many diseases such as Malaria.
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Seasonal diseases caused by microorganisms-Seasonal diseases will increase as there are more variations in temperature and season occurrences
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Parasitic diseases-Conditions will become ideal for certain types of parasitic organisms
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Water Quality-Quality of water will decline due to increased salinity, sediments and nutrient loss
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Abundance-Reduced waste supply due to severe droughts caused by increased evaporation and drier soils
Human
Infrastructure and Habitats
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Danger to Near-shore roads, seawalls and bridges
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Damage to weak residential infrastructure
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Navigation and Port facilities will be threatened
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Increased threat to public and private infrastructure which support economic activities
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Increased flooding during storms
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Increased damage to coastal infrastructure
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Accelerated damage to Coastal ecosystems e.g. Coral Reef bleaching.
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Increased beach erosion
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Increased sea level rise