Climate Change Facts
Some simple facts about climate change:
- The climate is rapidly changing
- Human activity is the main cause
- The effects will intensify this century
Scientists consider it imperative that we act immediately to reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. If we continue at the rate that we are going, the changes we are causing could cause irreparable and irreversible damage to our planet and destroy our environment.
How does it affect us?
The term “global warming” is somewhat of a misnomer. The climate is actually "changing" and "destabilising". The average temperatures have been increasing (and will continue to increase) but it is the climate variation that is going to cause the most problems.
With the changing, destabilising climate, weather variables will fluctuate leading to a much greater frequency of extreme and unpredictable weather patterns and events.
Since 2003, we have seen in Australia what is being termed a 1000 year drought - it is the worst on record in our countries history. This can be seen as a direct result of climate change. Paradoxically, we have also seen great flooding such as the recent devastation in parts of Australia and England. We have also seen rampaging hurricaines and cyclonic activity in other parts of the world.
This is but the beginning. It is anticipated that these intense and exteme weather patterns will only become more extreme if we do not act now.
It is getting hotter:
2005 was officially Australia's hottest year. Worldwide, temperature has been increasing since 1990 with the ten hottest recorded years taking place since then.
- "Data collected by the Bureau of Meteorology indicate that the nation’s annual mean temperature for 2005 was 1.09°C above the standard 1961-90 average, making it the warmest year since reliable, widespread temperature observations became available in 1910.
The previous record of +0.84°C was set in 1998. While these temperature departures may seem relatively small, a 1°C increase in mean temperatures is equivalent to many southern Australian towns shifting northward by about 100km. "
Source - http://www.bom.gov.au/
- "Warmer than normal temperatures were not confined to Australia in 2005, with many other regions reporting an exceptionally warm year. According to a preliminary estimate released by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on 15 December 2005, the global mean temperature for 2005 was about 0.48°C above normal, putting 2005 amongst the four warmest years globally since records commenced in 1861."
Source - http://www.bom.gov.au/
Nature is at risk, and so are we
It isn't just flooding and drought and the effects that they have on our lifestyle that we have to consider, we also have to take into account the health risks to both ourselves and nature.
With increasing temperature comes increased risk of skin cancer.
- Over 380,000 Australians are treated for skin cancer each year – that’s over 1,000 people every day.
- Over 1,600 Australians die from skin cancer each year.
- Skin cancer costs the health system around $300 million annually, the highest cost of all cancers.
- Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Skin cancers account for around 80% of all new cancers diagnosed each year in Australia. Each year Australians are four times more likely to develop a common skin cancer than any other form of cancer.
- The melanoma incidence rates in Australia and New Zealand are around four times as high as those found in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
- In 2005, 245 Victorians died from melanoma.
- Relative five-year survival rates for all melanoma are 90% for Australian males and 95% for Australian women. Survival rates have risen significantly since the early eighties as a result of early detection.
Source - http://www.sunsmart.com.au/
An increase in temperatures and a decrease in cloud cover could well see these statistics increase.
On top of that, we could lose some of our precious flora and fauna to climate change.
A study by Nature concluded that climate change could place 35% of all land animals and plants on the planet in danger of extinction over the next 50 years. Additionally, with the Artic ice melting at a rate of up to 9% a decade, by mid century, there could possibly be no ice in the Artic circle and all the life that is sustained by it, gone as well.
A study published in Nature concluded that climate change could put 25% of all land animals and plants on a path towards extinction over the next 50 years.
Climate change facts and the affects on Antarctica
Polar ice in both the Antarctic and Arctic circles is melting at a much more rapid rate than previously thought.
Up to 15% per year of this ice is thought to be lost due to climate change and it is believed by some scientists that an ice free Arctic and Antarctic summer is a genuine threat by the year 2040.
This will have several affects on our planet and our psyche:
- Antarctic and Arctic plant and animal life that depends on the ice will perish
- Sea levels will rise dramatically leading to an increase in flooding and a displacement of the population
- Movies like Titanic will generate a paradoxical sense of nostalgia as we yearn for a world with icebergs
What can you do to help?
Visiting our site is a great start - signing up for one of our GreenCap mobile phone plans would be a fantastic next step.
Whilst you are here too, don't forget to check our our tips on doing your bit for our planet.
