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Daniyal Jahangir - My Blog
Daniyal Jahangir - My Blog


Challenges of Climate Change
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Third world war might not be such a grave concern for the people living in this world, because they have become aware of the fact that if it started, no one is going to survive on the surface of the planet & the leaders of the world became conscious. Yet what about environment & climate which is getting depleted, polluted, oxygen less day by day, resulting in a change in climatic conditions all over the globe. Today the Earth is a giant laboratory in which humans are conducting thoughtless experiments that is having serious consequences over the climatic conditions. Today we find various parts of the world caught mercilessly in the perilous jaws of many changes in the global climate system.

Small scale individual actions may seem harmless, but when carried out globally their total effect can add up to create serious change in the climatic conditions of various regions on the earth. Atmospheric concentration of the Green House Gases, Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide has increased largely since Industrial Revolution. Continued GHG emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming and induce many changes in global climate system. According to an estimate by 2005, the global atmospheric concentration of Carbon dioxide far exceeded the natural range of the preceding 650,000 years. Rising Global Temperatures are striking the glaciers and melting the ice on the poles, causing sea levels to rise around the world. Average arctic temperatures increased at almost twice the global average rate during the past 100 years.

According to an Intergovernmental panel on the climate change (IPCC) report, unmitigated emissions of GHG’s would cause the sea-level rise by 40 centimeters by 2080’s, with 60 % of this increase occurring in South East Asia. Overgrazing of livestock and deforestation also contribute to land degradation and Climate Change.

The challenges posed by Climate change are many and complex. Climate changes will lead to more intense and longer droughts then have been observed over wider areas since 1970’s. It is primarily via these impacts that climate change will have negative impacts on global environment, biodiverse ecosystems, food security, water security, human health and nutrition.

Challenges of Climate Change:

Climate Change is adversely affecting the global environment. However the vulnerability to adverse effects from climate change differs by region, ecosystem and gender. Rising global temperature is reducing the thickness and extent of glaciers and ice sheets with detrimental effects on many organisms including migratory birds and mammals. This would cause the sea levels to rise which might put many coastal areas (like Karachi, Mumbai and one third of Bangladesh) permanently under water.

Climate Change & its associated disturbances (drought, ocean acidification, flooding, and wildfire) can upset the balance of many vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. Examples of delicate ecosystems that are already being affected include the Tundra, Boreal Forests, Mountains and Mediterranean region. About 20-30% of Plant & Animal species assessed so far are likely to be at risk of extinction if global average temperature exceed by 1.5-2.5 C.

Climate change will affect all dimensions of food security. Globally, the potential for food production is projected to increase with increase in local average temperature over a range of 1-3 OC, but once this limit exceeds food production is projected to decrease. But different stats suggests us that temperature is increasing beyond this limit (1-3 OC) and also Carbon dioxide increases and rainfall changes are having small beneficial effects on major rain fed crops i.e. maize, wheat and rice. In dry and tropical region, even slight warming (1-2 OC) reduces yield. Warming above a range of 1-3 OC has increasingly negative impacts on global food production in all regions. Climate changes can also affect the STABILITY OF FOOD SUPPLIES in the way that climate related animals and plant pests and diseases can certainly influence the stability of production system. It can also reduce FOOD ACCESS through;

• Reduction of yields of food and cash crops
• Lowest forest productivity
• Changes in Aquatic Population
• Increased Costs of Control
• Reduction in income from animal production

These factors should certainly shoots up food prices which would have an impact on food access, by limiting the acquisition of appropriate foods for the nutrition diet. According to a study by FAO, temperature increase of more than 3 OC may cause prices to increase by up to 40 %.

Water temperature increase is leading to changes in the distribution of marine fisheries and community interactions. Atmospheric increase of carbon dioxide is raising ocean acidity, which affects bleaching and balance of the food web. Climate changes are hereby affecting the marine eco-system very seriously. Higher ocean temperatures are leading to increased levels of methyl mercury in fish and marine mammals, prompting recommendation to limit the intake of fish and marine fats by pregnant women and indigenous people in the Polar Regions.

Access to safe water remains an extremely important global health issue. According to WHO report more than 2 billion people live in the dry region of the world and suffer infant mortality and diseases related to contaminated and insufficient water. The impacts of global climate change on water security are a great concern, particularly for developing countries. A study suggests that by 2080, 1.1—3.2 billion people will be experiencing water scarcity. Another study tells us that by 2020, in Africa about 75-250 Million people are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change.

The impacts of climate change on fresh water system and their management are, mainly due to increase in:

• Temperature
• Sea level &
• Precipitation variability

Some other challenges to water security posed by climate changes are sea-level will rise in coastal areas and this will extend areas of salination of ground water, resulting in a decrease in fresh water availability. Climate changes can exacerbate declining reliability of irrigation water supplies leading to increased competition for water for industrial, agricultural and house hold uses. Water scarcity in turn may lead to:

• Adverse health outcomes
• Water-born diseases
• Exposure to chemicals
• Malnutrition

According to a special report, 2-7 million people per year will be affecting by coastal flooding by 2080.

Drought and water scarcity can lead to negative effects on nutrition through:

• Increased infections
• Mortality
• Reduced food availability

Malnutrition increases the risk of dying from the infectious diseases. Climate change is projected to increase the burden of diarroeal disease in low-income region approximately 2-5 % in 2020. Countries with an annual GDP per capita of US $ 6000 or more are around to have no additional risk of diarrhea. In Bangladesh the impacts of drought and lack of food are associated with an increase risk of mortality from diarroeal illness.

Climate change is also projected to increase the number of people at risk of hunger, according to FAO. It s estimated that food and water scarcity, due to climate change, will cause 200-600 Million people to be affected by hunger, by 2080. Also projected climate-change related exposures are likely to affect health status of millions of people through:

• Increased burden of diarrhoeal diseases
• Increased deaths and diseases due to heat-waves, floods, storms and droughts.
• Increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone related to climate change.

All these aspects clearly show how climate change and agricultural markets, water reservoirs & human health are closely linked. For this reason the abrupt climate changes inevitably affect the life of people in various developing countries of the world particularly South Asia and Sub-Saharan region. This would lead to an unprecedented rise in food prices, which would seriously affect the access of common man to food items and hence the world, particularly people of the developing regions, would caught in the clutches of hunger and malnutrition. Beyond any doubt, Challenges of Global Climate Change are grave and hard to tackle with and the “Policy making Actors” now need a serious effort to overcome the threats posed by global climate changes. The expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 offers an opportunity to bring this issue to the table as a new agreement is negotiated.










March 1, 2009 | 7:40 AM Comments  0 comments

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