National Geographic – Short Video Explainer

An excellent brief introduction to global heating and its impacts from National Geographic. There is an issue with the still image when linking to this video, but it still works if you click the little image in the centre.

Click here to go to National Geographic’s website.

2. Met Office Infographic showing impacts of climate change

Click the graphic for a full sized image

Click here for a full list of impacts. The following are a selection copied from the Met Office’s list:

• Fisheries failing Warming oceans and reduced oxygen levels pose considerable threats to the marine food chain, with severe impacts on fisheries.
• Heat stress High night-time temperatures and increased humidity can cause heat-related illness, as the body is unable to cool itself. As global temperatures increase, severe heatwaves become more common, and deaths due to heat exposure are expected to rise.
• Food insecurity High temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, and droughts cause damage to farmland and crops, reducing yield. Additionally, extreme weather events can disrupt trade and supply chains. Climate change therefore poses a serious risk to food security globally. Developing nations are particularly at risk.
• Conflict and climate migrants Climate change is a stress multiplier, contributing to a scarcity of resources and decrease in standard of living that can drive people to migration or conflict.

3. World Wildlife Fund – Climate Change Effects

Some key points from WWF:

• Extremes of drought and flooding will become more common, causing displacement and conflict.
• Global warming is likely to be the greatest cause of species extinctions this century. The IPCC says a 1.5°C average rise may put 20-30% of species at risk of extinction. If the planet warms by more than 2°C, most ecosystems will struggle.
• Coral reefs are projected to decline by a further 70-90% at 1.5°C. At a warming of 2°C virtually all coral reefs will be lost. It’s not only a tragedy for wildlife: around half a billion people rely on fish from coral reefs as their main source of protein.

To link to WWF website Click here