Learn about some of the effects of global warming

Global warming and climatic change

Global warming leading to climate change is an all encompassing threat.

It is a threat to health, since a warmer world is one in which infectious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever will spread further and faster. Innnumerable other infectious diseases will thrive. It could imperil the world's food supply, as rising temperatures and prolonged drought render fertile areas unfit for grazing or crops.

It could endanger the very ground on which nearly half the worlds population Iive -  coastal cities such as Lagos or Cape Town, which face dangers from sea levels rising as a result of inciting icecaps and glaciers.

Sea Ice May Be Increasing in the Antarctic

universetoday.com
A NASA-funded study has discovered that sea ice in the Antarctic might actually be on the increase as global temperatures go up. There has been overwhelming evidence that sea ice is decreasing in the Arctic ocean, but scientists didn't realize there might be a difference between the two poles.

Disappearing world: global warming claims tropical island
Geoffrey Lean

Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.

Global warming killing some species
Seth Borenstein

Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends. These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly.

More disasters for a warmer world
BBC News

Rising temperatures will increase the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding over the next two centuries, UK climate scientists have warned. Even if harmful emissions were cut now, many parts of the world would face a greater risk of natural disasters.

Impact of animals and marine life

Climate change is and will increasingly have dramatic impacts on migratory species from whales and dolphins to birds and turtles a new report by UNEP says.

Some species, like green turtles, are suffering higher levels of tumours with the rise linked to warmer waters that may be favouring infections. Others, like the North Atlantic Right Whale, may be impacted by a decline in their main food source - plankton - as a result shifts in big ocean currents says the study launched at the climate convention talks in Nairobi.
UNEP

You can make a difference? How?

1. Read about environmental issues
2. Use public transport whenever possible. Use car pooling.
3. Turn off lights and fans, air conditioners and heaters when not being used. Whenever we use electricity, we help put greenhouse gases into the air. By turning off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them, you can help a lot.
4. Bike, Bus, and Walk
   You can save energy by sometimes taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking. Cars cause a lot of pollution.
5. Talk to Your Family and Friends
   Talk with your family and friends about climate change. Let them know what you've learned.
6. Trees for LIFE! Plant Trees
   Planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air.
7. Preserve the green areas around your house and locality . Preserve greenery around your house locality, work and schools.
8. Recycle : Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags, and newspapers. When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save natural resources, like trees, oil, and elements such as aluminium.
9. Buy and use appliances which consume less energy: some appliances, vehicles instruments and machines are especially designed so that they consume less energy than normal. Choose these when purchasing or making your choices.
10. Use products again and recycle them.
11. Use solar energy whenever possible for example through solar cookers, dry your clothes in the natural sun rather than through a dryer.
12. Handwash clothes whenever possible rather than using a washing machine or dishwasher.
13. Save fresh water it is precious.
14. Recycle water and use it for appropriate purposes. Use kitchen water to water your plants etc.

	Centre for science and environment
	United Nations Environment Programme