Climate change (effects)

Question 1

Impacts of climate change

Answer 1

1. Rise in sea levels
2. More frequent extreme weather events
3. Spread of infectious insect-borne diseases
4. Longer growing season in some regions

Question 2

Rise in sea levels

Answer 2

• melting of ice-caps, glaciers (Antarctica)
• thermal expansion of water
• increase in mean height of sea’s surface between high and low tide relative to land
• e.g. 600mil ppl live in areas less than 10m above sea level
• sea lvl increase, develop more destructive waves crash into coastline, more destruction
• low lying areas might be submerged e.g Singapore

Question 3

More frequent extreme weather events

Answer 3

• severe, rare weather phenomenon
• great destruction, loss of lives
• e.g . heat waves, floods, tropical cyclones
• higher sea and land surface temp, more latent heat and evaporation
• ideal conditions for tropical cyclones

Question 4

Spread of infectious insect-borne diseases

Answer 4

• spread more easily in extreme temperatures
• cold weather: immune system weaker, body focus energy on keeping warm
• warm and humid weather: ideal conditions for breeding of vectors like mosquitoes
• malaria kills 600 000 ppl annually
• climate change expands habitat of malarial mosquitoes
• allow them to spread to initially cooler high altitudes
• thrive in warm wet conditions with stagnant pools of water ie. ponds

Question 5

longer growing season in certain regions

Answer 5

• warmer temps means annual growing season for vegetation is extended in some regions
• plants more time to absorb C02 frm atmosphere (photosynthesis)
• e.g. extra plant growth in Arctic regions absorbing more CO2 than melting permafrost is releasing
• region acting as a net carbon sink
• however if rate of global warming were to increase, reverse might happen, arctic region might become a net source of carbon rather than sink