Transcript Climate Change Introduction - Cal State LA

Environmental Geology of
Developing Countries
Introduction
 Least developed countries are poorest
 Hard for countries to adapt to environmental
disasters
 Climate change-lead to droughts & less
water resources, floods, disease, loss of
food sources
What is Weather?
 State of atmosphere at
some place & time
described by quantitative
variables :
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temperature,
humidity,
cloudiness, precipitation,
wind speed and direction
 Place & time must be
designated eg New York
& Phoenix at noon.
France, 2007
Kansas
NY Times
LA, Dec ’07, LA Times
Arizona,2000; NASA
Los Angeles River 2003 rain season
Griffith Park
New Orleans
17th Street Levee Breach
Interstate 10
Lakeview
Richard J. Pasch -NHC
Katrina & Destructive Weather
 Devastated New Orleans because:
 Strength of Hurricane
 New Orleans = populated coastal area in path of
hurricane
 New Orleans below sea level because of sinking
Mississippi River sediments
 Must build levees along river to confine it.
 Some levees not stable
 New Orleans had poor evacuation plan
 Many developing nations along coast and in
path of hurricanes
2005 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON STATISTICS
NAME
DATES
MIN.
PRESS
(MB)
MAX.
WINDS
(MPH)
DIRECT
DEATHS
U.S.
DAMAGE
($ million)
TS ARLENE
8 - 13 JUN
989
70
1
TS BRET
28 - 30 JUN
1002
40
1
H CINDY
3 - 7 JUL
991
75
1
320
H DENNIS
4 - 13 JUL
930
150 (4)
42
2230
H EMILY
11 - 21 JUL
929
160 (5)
6
minor
TS FRANKLIN
21 - 29 JUL
997
70
TS GERT
23 - 25 JUL
1005
45
2 - 8 AUG
994
65
H IRENE
4 - 18 AUG
970
TS JOSE
22 - 23 AUG
998
H KATRINA
23 - 30 AUG
902
28 AUG - 2 SEP
1006
40
H MARIA
1 - 10 SEP
962
115 (3)
H NATE
5 - 10 SEP
979
90 (1)
TS HARVEY
TS LEE
minor
105 (2)
60
175 (5)
6
1200
75000
New Orleans
17th Street Levee Breach
Interstate 10
Lakeview
Richard J. Pasch -NHC
Orleans Parish
Orleans Parish
Orleans Parish
St Rita’s Nursing Home, St Bernard Parish
Richard J. Pasch -NHC
What is Climate?
 Weather conditions at some locality
averaged over specified time period
 International convention is average values
of climatic elements (e.g. rainfall,
temperatures, snowfall) over past 30 years
 Climatology is study of climate
Factors that influence climate
 Latitude
 Elevation
 Higher = cooler, lower warmer
 Topography
 Mountains, wet on one side, dry on other
 Proximity to water
 Oceans result in cooler coastal temperatures
 Ocean circulation
 Transport heat
 Air Circulation
Climate Changes With Distance From Equator
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Places at high latitudes (far from the equator) receive less sunlight than places at low latitudes (close to the
equator). Amount of sunlight and precipitation affects types of plants and animals that live in a place. Listed
below are the types of ecosystems that exist in different climates The types of ecosystems that develop in
this warm environment are:
Rainforests: Rainforests receive a lot of rain. Temperature stays warm in the rainforest all year long.
Savanna: This ecosystem has a wet season and a very dry season.
Deserts: Deserts receive less rainfall than other tropical ecosystems but are just as warm.
Chaparrel: This ecosystem has wet-winters and dry-summers.
Grasslands: This ecosystem is typically found on the dry interior of continents.
Temperate forest: A moist climate allows leafy deciduous trees to thrive.
High latitudes receive the least sunlight, creating cold climates.
Taiga: The forests of the taiga ecosystem survive despite long and very cold winters. Summers are short and
still quite cool.
What is Climate Change?
 Climate of Earth always changing.
 “Climate change” generally refers
to changes in climate identified
since the early part of the 1900's.
 Changes thought to be mostly
from human behavior than from
natural changes in the
atmosphere.
 Greenhouse effect important-relates to gases which keep Earth
warm. Extra greenhouse gases
which humans have released
thought to pose strongest threat.
Figure SPM.4
http://www.ipcc.ch/
 Models show humans responsible for most climate
change
 Not all parts of earth
warming
 Some cooling
 Some areas will see
droughts
 Others, more rain
Changes in temperature are unevenly
distributed
Trends for 1950-98
(http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/)
Degrees C
Meteorological Service of Canada
(http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/)
© RADM Harley D. Nygren/Department of Commerce
Greenland sunset © Christian Morel
Sea Ice
Ice extent (million square km)
Arctic Ocean sea ice is becoming less
Extensive Meteorological Service of Canada
13
12.5
12
11.5
11
1970
1980
1990
Year
2000
Glaciers
Copyright: Hans Oerter/Alfred-Wegener-Institut
Length of Glaciers
Global mean combined land/ocean temperature,
including error margin
Source: IPCC(2001)
Meteorological Service of Canada
 Anomaly
 Departure from some
range of measurements
 Example Temperature
Anomaly:
 Range 1961-1990
 If range average = 20 C
 & measurement = 20.5 C
 Then anomoaly is 0.5 C
Change in Global Temperatures
 Global Temp increase 0.74 C (book) 1.3F
 13.7 C -1905; 14.4 -2005
 17.5-20 C ice caps melt
 oF= 1.8 * oC + 32
Change in Annual Temperature
2035-2060
Droughts
M. Hoerling
and
J. Eischeid
NOAA
(Southwest
Hydrology,
2007
Recent California Fires
NASA/MODIS
Summer ’07
July ‘08
NASA Images
150
Seal Level Change--Tide Gauge
Observations
3.2 mm/year
100
2.0 mm/year
MSL (mm)
50
~ 8 inches
(20 cm)
0.8 mm/year
0
= 16,000 cubic miles!!!
-50
Average
~ 1.8
mm/year
= 54 Rate
billion
acre
feet!!!!!!!
-100
1880
1900
1920
1940
Year
1960
1980
2000
[Church and White, 2006]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, 2001: 21st century warming may
be enough to melt the Greenland Ice Sheet
>21 feet sea level
Climate Change Impacts
Loss of Animal Habitat
Hot Air = Bad Air
Los Angeles Civic Center (USC Campus)
Average Annual Temperature (1878-2008)
70
'83
TEMP
10 Year Avg
68
'97
'59
Linear (TEMP)
'07
'31
Degrees F
66
'85
64
62
'75
'44
60
LA's HEATING UP!!
'94
58
2006
2002
1998
1994
1990
1986
1982
1978
1974
1970
1966
1962
1958
1954
Year
1950
1946
1942
1938
1934
1930
1926
1922
1918
1914
1910
1906
1902
1898
1894
1890
1886
1882
1878
Data: NOAA NWS (Los Angeles/Oxnard)
Bill Patzert/JPL
What are Developing Countries
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Developing countries – all countries and territories in Africa; all countries in the
Americas except the US, Canada, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Falkland
Islands; all countries in Asia and the Middle East except Japan, Brunei, Hong Kong,
Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates; all countries in the
Pacific apart from Australia and New Zealand; plus the European states of Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Gibraltar, Malta, Moldova, Turkey and ex-Yugoslavia.
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/a-h.htm
Climate change impacts in developing
countries
Environmental Impacts
 Changes in rainfall patterns
 Increased frequency and severity
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of: Floods
Droughts
Storms
Heat waves
Changes in growing seasons
Changes in water quality and
quantity
Sea level rise
Glacial melt
Socio-economic resources and
sectors affected
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Water resources
Agriculture and forestry
Food security
Human health
Infrastructure (e.g. transport)
Settlements: displacement of
inhabitants and loss of livelihood
 Coastal management
 Industry and energy
 Disaster response and recovery
plans
Vulnerability of developing countries to
climate change
Areas in tropical and sub-tropical regions most seriously affected : Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the Small Island States (e.g Mauritius)
Poverty exacerbates, and is exacerbated by, the impacts of
environmental change:
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Between 1990 and 1998, 97% of natural disaster-related deaths occurred in
developing countries. 90% of all natural disasters are climate, weather and water
related.
Livelihoods are highly dependent on climate-sensitive resources:
 Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, of which up to 90% is rain-fed, accounts for
70% of regional employment and 35% of gross national product.
Low adaptive capacity:
 Poorest inhabitants of developing countries, struggle to cope with current
extreme weather events and climate variability.
Those dependent on natural resources:
 Especially subsistence farmers dependent on rain-fed crops.
Shanty town dwellers:
 Living on unsuitable land, often unstable and/or flood prone and lacking
infrastructure.
Those living in extreme poverty: UN estimate that 1.3 billion people live
on less than $1 per day.