Global climate vulnerability and resilience Flashcards
What is climate vulnerability?
The degree to which a system is susceptible to, and unable to cope with, effects of climate change.
True or False: Resilience refers to the ability of a system to recover from disturbances.
True
What is adaptive capacity?
The ability of a system to adjust to climate change, to moderate potential damages, and to take advantage of opportunities.
Multiple choice: Which of the following is NOT a factor affecting climate resilience? A) Infrastructure B) Education C) Weather patterns D) Cultural beliefs
C) Weather patterns
What role does education play in climate resilience?
Education increases awareness and promotes adaptive capacity among communities.
Climate risk
the potential negative impacts of climate change on human and natural systems.
What is climate mitigation?
Efforts to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.
What is the significance of international cooperation in addressing climate vulnerability?
International cooperation enables the sharing of resources, knowledge, and technologies for effective adaptation.
Describe the natural greenhouse effect
- Incoming shortwave solar radiation from sun - some is reflected, some absorbed by earth
- Outgoing longwave radiation is re-emitted by the earth - some escapes into space, some is absorbed by a layer of greenhouse gases and can be emitted again back to earth by these gases.
Give examples of greenhouse gases
CO2
Water vapour
Methane
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
When there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by human activites, so more of the longwave radiation emitted by the earth is absorbed and re-emitted back to earth, causing global warming.
What is albedo?
A measure of reflectivity of different parts of the earth.
Does ice have low or high albedo?
High
What is the earths energy balance?
The balance between the shortwave radiation that it recieves from the sun and the longwave radiation it emits into space
What are two natural / physical factors which cause a shift in the earth’s energy balance?
Large volcanic eruptions - produce particulates in atmosphere which block solar radiation - causes global dimming and earth to cool
Milankovitch cycles - the earth’s orbit changes from eliptical to circular and back which means during eliptical orbits the earth recieves more solar radiation and vice versa.
Name 3 human causes which cause a shift in the earth’s energy balance
Livestock like cows release lots of methane gas which trap longwave radiation
CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases are released by cars and factories etc. into the atmosphere and longwave radiation is absorbed by them.
Deforestation means there are less trees to take in the CO2 and there are higher levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
What is a positive feedback loop + an example
When there is constant change in the same direction and it is amplified over time in a system
e.g. melting of polar ice caps reduces albedo, which causes more heat to be absorbed and ice melts more
What is a negative feedback loop + an example
When direction of change reverses frequently which promotes stability in a system. The system stays around an equilibrium point.
e.g. Increased temperatures lead to increased evaporation leads to more clouds leads to higher albedo leads to lower temperatures leads to less evaporation and clouds
What is the defenition of global dimming?
When particulates in the atmosphere block out solar radiation, cooling the earth
Two causes of global dimming
1) Volcanoes
2) Air pollution
What does anthropogenic mean?
Caused by human activity
How can the emission of methane gas lead to feedback loops?
Positive feedback loop - methane released, leads to more greenhouse gases and more global warming, leads to ice caps melting and more methane being released
What is an adaptation strategy against climate change?
Action designed to protect people from impacts of climate change without tackling underlying problems
Hydrosphere
Includes all the water in all the states/phases on the planet.
Biosphere
The biosphere contains all living organisms, which includes plants, animals and microorganisms.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth.
Name two ways in which climate change can affect animal migration patterns
Red fox typically found in southern parts of Tundra are migrating northward and competing with arctic fox for resources
Neon damsel fish which usually lives in coral reefs will begin to migrate polewards towards cooler water as sea temperatures rise
Name two ways in which climate change can affect animal habitats
Permafrost melting in tundra is making way for more vegetation to grow
Coral bleaching causes causes habitats to be lost and causes migration or loss of biodiversity
What is a carbon sink?
Natural/Artificial deposits which absorb and store the carbon in the atmosphere
Name three carbon sinks
Oceans
Plants
Carbon capture mechanisms
What is carbon sequestration
the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide
Provide an example of how climate change has lead to extreme weather events?
Global warming led to hot, dry conditions which supported the LA wildfires, along with droughts caused by climate change
Explain how climate change can cause more extreme cold spells?
- Polar vortex weakens due to a smaller temperature change between arctic and mid latitudes
- So there are more frequent excursions of cold air over mid latitudes and more cold spells
What is El Niño?
When the normally cool areas of water in the east pacific near the equator become warm and the opposite happens in the west pacific
What are 2 impacts of El Niño?
More mud slides in the east e.g. South America
Droughts in the west e.g. Indonesia
How does climate change affect the places that crops can grow?
Northward shift in farming zones due to climate heating causing heat stress and dry soil in areas closer to the equator, e.g. In the UK
How does climate change reduce crop yield?
Bursts of hot or cold weather can kill crops very easily
Droughts or flooding can dry out or wash away crops
How does climate change contribute to soil erosion?
Higher temp increases decomposition, reducing organic carbon in soil. This weakens soil making it more vulnerable to erosion
What are two ways that climate change affects trade routes?
1) Shrinking ice caps in the North can open up new trade routes between Europe and East Asia
2) Panama canal is running dry due to climate change - making it harder to navigate and might dry up in future
What are two ways that climate change can affect migration?
1) Rising sea levels in Tuvalu is causing salinisation of soil and killing coconut trees, reducing income from agriculture and causing migration
2) Frequent flooding in Bangladesh has caused rural to urban migration to capital Dhaka
What are two ways that climate change can affect human health?
1) Air pollution worsens due to climate change, which leads to respiratory problems such as asthma
2) More frequent heat waves cause cardiovascular problems and fainting, ecspecially for elderly
Bangladesh exposure to climate change
Country in South Asia - low lying
- population density of 23,234 people/Km2 in Dhaka, this causes people to live in unsafe, flood prone areas
- Slums have also formed because of this and buildings made of tin and wood can be washed away
- Main employment sector is agriculture, for example rice farming. Rice dies when flooding causes salination of soil, not enough money to invest in salt-tolerant crops.
- Large amount of youthful dependants - more vulnerable to health risks associated with climate change
- Not enough funding or management plans to help evacuation or building new houses
- Low capacity to cope
UK exposure to climate change
- Coastal areas on the east coast at risk from the rising sea levels caused by polar ice caps in the arctic melting. Combined with erosion and changing precipitation patterns, this will cause flooding - parts of Norfolk could be submerged by 2050
- Northward shift in farming, farmers livelyhoods might be affected
- Aeging population means that elderly will be affected by increased heat waves
- However, UK has a high ability to cope with the damages because they are aware e.g. Thames barrier protects london from coastal surges.
What is carbon offsetting and carbon trading?
Offsetting - Activity that aims to reduce carbon emissions by funding activities that reduce emissions elsewhere
Trading - A market in which emission permits issued by governments can be traded between companies
One example of climate change conference
COP29 in 2024 in Baku - agreements were made between wealthy countries and they pleged to fund developing countries - however it fell short of how much they actually need.
One example of a geoengineering technique
Putting mirrors in space will efficiently reduce global warming by not allowing solar radiation to reach earth - however it will be very expensive.
How can corporations / businesses respond to climate change?
- Making production processes more energy efficient or switching to renewable energy
- Diversifying to respond to changing demands caused by climate change
- Switch to raw materials which are eco.friendly e.g. not shipped in from far away
How can civil societies respond to climate change?
- Protesting to raise awareness
- Boycotting certain businesses
- NGOs providing money for climate funds
Impacts of climate change on Bangladesh
- Increases risk and severity of extreme weather events e.g. cyclones
- Rising sea levels lead to saltwater incursion
- 60% of the land is less than 5m above sea level. A rise of 1m will displace 30 million people.
