Global Warming and Climate Change

ENV 101 Lecture-6

Department of Environmental Science (DES)

School of Environmental Science & Management (SESM)
 Things to know about…
• Weather & Climate
• Green House Gasses (GHGs ) & Green
House Effect
• Global Warming
• Climate Change
 Weather and Climate
Weather
• Weather is specific conditions or
events of the atmosphere that happen in
a short period of time. Ex. Rainfall,
Humidity levels, Temperature
• Weather is highly variable from day
to day, season to season, year to year.

Climate
• Climate refers to the average
weather conditions in a place over
a period of at least 30 years.
• Accounts for natural year to year
variations.
• Can be regional climate or global
climate
 The Difference?
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time.
Climate: average of at least 30 years to millions of years
Weather: hourly, daily, and weekly.

A good way to understand the difference...

Climate helps you decide what clothes to buy.
Weather helps you decide what clothes to wear each day.

Climate is what
we expect,
weather is what
we get.
~ Mark Twain
 Earth’s green house effect
Green house effect naturally
happens on the earth.
Green house gasses (GHGs) in
the atmosphere act like the
glass house.
They trap a part of the solar
heat warming the earth
system.
Again a balance is very
important so that the earth
does not become too hot or
too cold.
 Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse: a building made of glass which allows sunlight to enter easily
but traps heat inside, so that the interior remain hot even when it is cold
outside.
This is used to grow certain trees in cold climate
Greenhouse Effect

• The Greenhouse effect is a

natural process
• About half of the solar
radiation reaches the earth
• Most of it is absorbed by the
earth’s surface
• Others are radiated back from
the earth’s surface
• Some of this radiation
(radiated from the earth’s
surface) is absorbed and re-
emitted back by greenhouse
gases
• This warms the earth
 Natural vs Human Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

• Increase of greenhouse gases resulting in ‘Enhanced Greenhouse Effect’

If GHG concentration (levels) in the earth’s
atmosphere increases what will happen to
Global Warming?
IT WILL INCREASE!
THIS IS EXACTLY
WHAT IS
HAPPENING NOW!

Because of
Anthropogenic GHG
emissions!
 Global Warming
Global Warming: Gradual increase in the overall
temperature of the earth's atmosphere and
oceans due to the greenhouse effect caused
by increased levels of anthropogenic GHGs.
 Global Warming
• Global warming is the natural or human-
induced increase in the average global
temperature of the atmosphere near Earth’s
surface.
• The increase in release of greenhouse gases
are thought to contribute to global warming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAbATJCugs
 Greenhouse Gases
Several gases in the atmosphere let sunlight enter the
atmosphere but slow the loss of heat from the earth’s
surface, they are known as greenhouse gases.

They are:
1. Carbon dioxide
2. CFC
(chlorofluorocarbons)
1. Methane
2. Nitrous oxide
 Anthropogenic emissions of GHGs

Major Human Emissions Include:

Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Fluorinated gases

Carbon dioxide (CO2): 54.7%

Methane (CH4): 30.0%
Nitrous oxide (N2O): 4.9%
 Human activity is changing our climate!
1. The problem is that levels of all greenhouse gases are increasing due to an
increase in certain human activities in last century.
2. Burning of coal and fossil fuels is an important contributing activity to
climate change.
3. More heat is therefore being trapped due to the increased concentrations of
greenhouse gases, and the earth is warming.

CO2 to Atmosphere Methane to Other gases to

Atmosphere atmosphere
Human Activity
Human Activity Human Activity
•Combustion:
Burning of coal and •Landfills •Car exhausts
fossil fuels
•Agriculture (rice) •CFC’s from
•Deforestation aerosols
•Livestock
 25%

1. Electricity and Heat Production

 24%
2. Agriculture, Deforestation and Other Land Use
3. Industry

21%
4. Transportation

14%
 Global anthropogenic GHG Global anthropogenic GHG
emissions by Sector emissions by Country (2011)

http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/?q=en/emissions
How fast is anthropogenic GHG emissions rising?
Current CO2
Level:
400ppm

Pre Industrial CO2 Level: 280ppm

Measurements:
The atmospheric concentration of GHGs is measured in
PPM: Parts per million
PPB: Parts per billion
 So what does all this
mean?
As we produce more and more anthropogenic
GHGs they trap more heat on earth.

More heat warms up the globe causing Global

Warming

As the globe gradually becomes warmer climate

starts to change.
What are the Primary Indicators of
Climate Change?
 Climate & Climate Change
• Climate: The representative or characteristic conditions of the
atmosphere at particular places on Earth.
• Climate refers to the average or expected conditions over long
periods; weather refers to the particular conditions at one time in
one place.
• Climate Change: Change in mean annual temperature and other
aspects of climate over periods of time ranging from decades to
hundreds of years to several million years
Variables of Climate Change
 Evidence of Climate Change
“ Scientific evidence for global warming is
unequivocal” ………….IPCC
1. Rise in Carbon dioxide
 Evidence of Climate Change
2. Observations show that global sea
level has risen 20cm since 1901.
• Measurement from tide gauges and
satellites shows that , sea level is
rising faster in the recent two
decades ( at 3.2mm per year)
• It is virtually certain that global
mean sea level rise will continue for
many centuries beyond 2100, with
the amount of rise dependent on
future emissions. (IPCC)
 Evidence of Climate Change
3. Global Temperature Rise
-Averaged over all land and ocean surfaces, temperatures warmed roughly
0.85 degrees Celsius from 1880 to 2012, according to the IPCC report
-the three decades from 1983 to 2012 were likely the warmest 30-year
period of the last 1,400 years
-If emissions continue on their present trajectory then the best estimate is
that global average temperature will warm a further 2.6 to 4.8 °C
 Evidence of Climate Change
4. Shrinking ice sheets
- In Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in size
- In the arctic sea both the extent and thickness of sea ice have declined

5. Glacier Retreat
- In Himalayas, in Alps, Andes, Rockies everywhere glaciers are retreating
every year
 Evidence of Climate Change
6. Ocean Acidification
- Acidity of ocean increased by 30% since pre-industrial level
- It resulted from more carbon dioxide in air which dissolves in ocean water

7. Increase in extreme events

- Both the frequency and magnitude of several disasters have increased over
the last few decades
-As the Earth warms, the amount of rain or snow falling in the heaviest one
percent of storms has risen nearly 20 percent on average in the United
States
 Consequences of Climate Change
1. Changes in weather pattern
- Computer models suggest that the rise in temperature increases
incidence of severe weather and changes rainfall pattern
- Because of global warming there is increased evaporation so
some areas suffer from drought, while the increased moisture in
air results in greater rainfall in other areas
- The magnitude and frequency of different disasters also increase
- However the magnitude and rate of weather change varies from
region to region
 Consequences of Climate Change
2. Sea level rise
- Sea level rises for two reasons
i) Liquid water expands as it warms
ii) Melting of ice increases water in the oceans
- Sea level rise is one of the major threat of climate change to island
nations
- Almost half of the world population lives in coastal zone. So they are
facing coastal flooding and salinity intrusion due to sea level rise

Before and after

Sea level rise in
South Florida
 Consequences of Climate Change

3. Melting of ice caps and glaciers

- Out of 3% of the earth’s freshwater almost 69%
is stored as ice caps and glaciers.
- Rising temperature is causes melting of these
ice and glaciers both in mountains and sea ices
- The ice disappears not only for warming
temperature but also due to less snowfall
 Consequences of Climate Change
4. Human Health Effects
- High temperatures cause heat exhaustion and some
respiratory problems
- Global warming can cause changes in infectious disease
vectors
- Increase in seasonal production of allergenic pollen
- Increase in incidence of malaria
5. Changes in Biological Diversity
- In some areas plants and animals will experience stress
- Climate change could dramatically alter the geographic
distributions of vegetation type
- However, many will adapt
 Consequences of Climate Change
6. Agricultural Productivity
- Increase in some regions and decline in others
- Northern part of northern hemisphere likely to
become more productive
- The countries in mid latitude will see a decline
in food production
- While the southern part of northern
hemisphere will become more arid
- Some part will suffer due to prolonged drought
- In coastal zone agricultural activity will be
hampered by salinity intrusion
Climate Change, Effects & Impacts in
Pictures
1. Melting of glaciers, ice sheets etc.
2. Sea level rise
3. Coastal flooding
4. Desertification
5. Increased droughts, precipitation changes
6.Extreme weather events-hurricanes,
tornados etc.
7.Species extinction
8. Some pictures from Bangladesh
 Melting of Ice Sheets
Minimum Arctic Sea Ice in summer, 1979
Minimum Arctic Sea Ice in summer, 2008
Glaciers are melting and habitat of associated species is being lost
Melting Glaciers- Before & After
 Tsunamis & coastal flooding

• Increased tsunamis & coastal flooding

• Many island countries like Maldives and parts of low
lying countries like Bangladesh will be underwater
Desertification
Increased droughts & lack of precipitation
Syrian Drought (March 2016) "Worst in 900 Years," Linked to
Human-Induced Climate Change
Extreme storms- hurricanes, tornados, cyclones

Cyclone Sidr, 2007

 Species Extinction
Around 16 % of animals on the list that are either
endangered or critically endangered are threatened
because of climate change.
Climate Change
&
Bangladesh
 Haunting Photos Show Effects Of Climate Change In
Bangladesh- Pictures by Probal Rashid

Around 20 million people are at risk of losing their homes by 2050

because of the effects of climate change.
Coastal Erosion in Bangladesh
Salinity Intrusion
Forced migration
Freshwater Supply
Shortage
Climate Refugees
 Climate Change: Mitigation and
Adaptation
People can adjust to climate change in two ways:
1. Mitigate- they can work to reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions and take actions to
reduce the undesirable effects of global
warming
2. Adapt- learn to live with it
 How to mitigate climate change?

1. Increasing use of renewable energy sources, like: solar,

hydropower, wind energy
2. Reducing use of fossil fuels. Or using more natural gases, as
it releases 28% and 50% less carbon compared to oil and
coal respectively.

Renewable Energy Sources

 How to mitigate climate change?

3. Greater use of mass transit and less use of automobiles

 How to mitigate climate change?

4. Providing economic incentives to energy-efficient

technology
5. Protection of the existing forests and reforestation
 How to mitigate climate change?
6. Carbon Sequestration: to capture carbon dioxide from power
plants and industrial smokestacks and inject it into deep
subsurface geologic reservoirs.
- Geologic environments suitable for carbon sequestration are
sedimentary
rocks.
- To significantly mitigate the adverse effects of CO2 emissions
that result in global warming, we need to sequester
approximately 2 gigatons of CO2 per year.
 Climate Change in Bangladesh
• Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to natural disasters because of
its geographical location, flat low lying landscape, high
population pressure, illiteracy, lack of institutional setup etc.
• The natural disasters are enhanced by climate change
• The country is facing adverse affects of climate change, like:
1. Declining agricultural productivity
- Extreme temperature, drought, salinity intrusion are responsible
2. Sea level rise
- About one fourth of the total population of the country lives in
coastal area
- With the rise of Sea-level up to one meter only, Bangladesh
could lose up to 15% of its land area under the Sea water and
around 30 million people living in the coastal areas of
Bangladesh could become Refugees because of Climate Change
impacts
 Climate Change in Bangladesh
- Because of sea level rise, salinity already penetrates 100km
inside the country during dry season
3. Increase of coastal floods, tidal surges and cyclones
 Climate Change in Bangladesh

4. Negative impact on the forest ecosystems

- Especially on the Sundarbans
5. Urban areas ( especially in coastal zones) suffers a lot
from increased flood, drainage congestion, water
logging, as well as infrastructure damage during
extreme events
 International Agreements to Mitigate Global
Warming

• Scientific Conference on global warming( Canada, 1988)

- Attempts to establish international treaties limiting greenhouse-gas emissions began
in 1988 at a major scientific conference on global warming held in Toronto, Canada
• 1988-IPCC
-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
-by WMO (World Meteorological Organizations) and UNEP
-to provide assessment report on Climate Change and its impacts based on scientific
information

• 1992 Rio Earth Summit

- a general blueprint for reducing global emissions was suggested
- However no legally binding limits were set
International Agreements to Mitigate Global
Warming
• Conference in Japan (1997)
- A “Kyoto Protocol” resulted from this meeting, was signed by 166 nations,
and became a formal international treaty in February 2006.
• 1995-Conference of Parties
- yearly conferences held for UNFCC parties
- assess progress of dealing with climate change
• COP 21- Paris (2015)
- A very significant conference of the decade
- As 190+ countries pledged to cut carbon emissions and
- Keep temperature rise below 2 degree Celsius
Reference

•USAID's Climate-Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CREL) Project

Winrock International
•Video 1- Greenhouse effect
Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYMjSule0Bw
•Video 2- The impacts of Climate Change
Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhkgmKXOM1A
THANK YOU!