Statistics

Question 1

sea level rise

Answer 1

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average global sea level has risen between 10 and 20cm in the past 100 years. average sea levels have risen by 20cm since 1900. by 2100 sea levels are expected to rise by a further 26-82cm.

Question 2

average surface air temp

Answer 2

the Earth’s average surface air temperature has increased by approximately 1 degree Celsius over the last 100 years.

Question 3

co2 concentration

Answer 3

It then started to increase, and its concentration is now nearly 40% higher than it was before the industrial revolution.

Question 4

sea ice & glaciers

Answer 4

It is estimated that some may disappear completely by 2035. Arctic sea ice has thinned by 65% since 1975 and in 2014 its extent was at an all time low.

Question 5

precession stats

Answer 5

The Earth is not a perfect sphere, so as the Earth spins, it wobbles on its axis in 25,771.5 year cycles. This wobble is due to tidal forces caused by the gravitational influences of the Sun and the Moon that cause the Earth to bulge at the equator, also affecting its rotation.

Question 6

Mount Pinatubo

Answer 6

In 1991, Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted. An ash cloud was thrown vertically into the stratosphere and carried around the world for three weeks. 20 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2) was released by Mt. Pinatubo, When SO2 mixes with water vapour, it becomes volcanic (sulphate) aerosol. Volcanic aerosols reflect the sunlight away and reduce the Sun’s heat energy entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Following My Pinatubo’s eruption, global temperatures dropped by approximately 0.5 degrees Celsius. Volcanic ash can block out the Sun, reducing temperatures n the Earth. This tends to be a short-term impact.

Question 7

little ice age - sunspots

Answer 7

For example, during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from 1650-1715 sunspot activity was at a minimum.

Question 8

co2 rise - greenhouse effect

Answer 8

This is called the greenhouse effect, and it has increased by 49% percent from 1990 to 2022. CO2 accounts for about 78% of this increase. In the period spanning from February 2023 to January 2024, global warming reached 1.52 degrees celsius of warming from the pre-industrial era, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Question 9

Great Smog in London

Answer 9

The Great Smog of 1952 in London demonstrated the extent of this. Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog, and the smoke usually came from burning coal. This event caused the deaths of 4000 people and a further 100,000 people contracted illnesses from it.

Question 10

ice melt

Answer 10

150 billion tonnes of ice melt per year in the Antarctic

Question 11

percentage of greenhouse gas emissions

Answer 11

26% of greenhouse gas emissions comes from food and agriculture
31% of that comes from livestock and fisheries

74% of greenhouse gas emissions comes from non-food

Question 12

enteric fermentation percentage of human emissions

Answer 12

Enteric fermentation 28% of human emissions

Question 13

methane warming effect vs co2

Answer 13

21 times the warming effect of carbon dioxide.

Question 14

amount of forest lost per year

Answer 14

An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year

Question 15

burning fossil fuel emissions

Answer 15

One way human activity causes climate change is through burning fossil fuels, accounting for around 87% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Question 16

kyoto protocol

Answer 16

• 2005
• first international treaty to become law
• over 170 countries agreed to reduce co2 emissions by 5.2% below their 1990 levels by 2012
• only USA and Australia (major emitters) refused

Question 17

paris agreement

Answer 17

• 2015
• first universal and legally binding global climate deal
• keep global temp increase below 2 degrees celsius and limited to 1.5 degrees celsius

Question 18

mitigation strategies

Answer 18

alt energy production:
- in 2016, renewables produced more than 20% of uk’s electricity and is likely to increase to 30% by 2020
- deforestation = 9% of co2 emissions

carbon capture:
- can be used to capture up to 90% of the co2 that would otherwise enter the atmosphere
- ccs could provide more than 20% of the uk’s electricity

tree planting:
- us has invested $40 bn into reforestation between 2010 & 2050 that could increase forest carbon storage by 28%

international agreements:
another card

Question 19

deforestation loss

Answer 19

If deforestation continues at the current rate, the world’s forests could disappear completely within 100 years.

Question 20

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Answer 20

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has also increased by 49% from the time period of 1990 to 2022.

Question 21

methane outcome of COP26 - 2021

Answer 21

103 countries, including 15 major emitters, signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to limit methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to 2020 levels. Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, is responsible for a third of current warming from human activities.

Question 22

COP this year

Answer 22

11th NOV

Question 24

Rana plaza

Answer 24

Date of disaster - 24th April 2013

Number of deaths - 1,130 people

Where in the world? - on the outer edges of Dhaka, Bangladesh