Impacts of global warming Flashcards
How is temperature increases expect to impact human health?
Increase heat-related deaths, decrease cold-related deaths.
What is Europe expected to experience more of in the future?
Heat waves.
How will warmer temperatures affect aircraft?
Higher temperatures make air thinner. Aircraft don’t have enough lift to take off or land if temperatures are too high. This caused cancellation of some flights in the USA in 2017.
Will raising temperatures affect precipitation everywhere in the same way?
No e.g. higher latitudes are expected to receive more precipitation, the tropics are expected to receive less precipitation.
Why is the eastern Mediterranean receiving increasingly drier climate?
Because of increased northward shift of the Atlantic storm track (reduces precipitation).
How does global warming influence storms?
It increases the strength of storms, however it is unclear if it increases the frequency of storms.
How has the pattern of category 5 storms changed over time?
There has been an increasing number of them over time.
Why is it difficult to reconstruct storms over time and model whether warming increases storm frequency?
Because storms leave little evidence they were ever there thus it is hard to know how historic storms were influenced by climate change.
Why is the UK already around 5°C warmer than it ‘should’ be for its latitude?
Because of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift.
What is currently weakening North Atlantic Circulation and that shall continue to do so in the future?
Freshwater input from parts of Greenland melting.
Why can we never claim to know exactly what climate changes will occur and what their impacts will be?
There are lots of uncertainties.
Does ocean acidificatation contribute to global warming?
No because carbon dioxide in oceans does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
How do organisms react to climate change?
They evolve; if climate changes too quickly for this they migrate elsewhere. If they cannot do this either they go extinct.
Name some advantages of melting ice.
Melting of the Arctic has opened up new trade routes such as the Northwest Passage. Currently much of Greenland is uninhabited due to ice however once this melts there will be more room for settlement.
What is the Stern review?
A review designed to assess the impact climate change will have on the UK.
