Climate change will bring down all parts of the globe, but not all areas are at risk.
Peter Alexander, University of Edinburgh researcher, said Monday’s report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “We are all susceptible.” While melting ice and rising seas will determine the future for some countries, others will be faced with extreme heat and raging wildfires. The challenges and opportunities are different across the globe. Communities should also adapt to these changes.
Here are some examples of how climate change could impact each region if we don’t adapt: ASIA
Water can pool behind rocky hills to form lakes as a result of melting Himalayan glaciers. When these rocks fall, water rushes down, posing a risk to downstream mountain communities. Warmer temperatures and more frequent rains will encourage mosquitoes to spread to subtropical Asia.
Millions of people will be moving. More than 9,000,000 people in Asia were forced from their homes by flooding and storms in 2019 AFRICA
Africans, who live on the hottest continent in the world, are at risk of heat stress. Global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degree Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels will result in at least 15 additional deaths per 100,000 people each year from extreme heat. Africa’s population is expected to grow faster than any other continent in the 21st Century, with many people living in coastal areas. Over 200 million people in Africa could be affected by sea level rise by 2060.
Lagos, Nigeria’s coastal capital will be the world’s largest city in 2100. Winston Chow, a Singapore Management University urban climate scientist, said that high heat exposure and urbanization are dangerous combinations. CENTRAL AND SUTHER AMERICA
The Amazon rainforest and the thousands upon thousands of animals and plants it supports are extremely vulnerable to drought and wildfires. This is made worse by farmers cutting trees for agriculture. Droughts, flooding, and storms will increase in the Andes, northeast Brazil, and parts of Central America. These impacts, along with geopolitical instability and economic instability could cause waves of migration.
People will get sick from the mosquito-borne diseases zika and chikungunya. EUROPE
The 2019 summer heatwave was a glimpse at what Europe will face if the temperature rises to 3C. The report states that heat-related deaths and heat stress cases will triple to 2C by the time 3C is reached. Beyond 3C, there are “limits to the adaptability potential of people” and existing health systems.
The impact of coastal flooding on the environment is expected to be more than just the destruction of Venice. It is expected that the number of deaths from flooding will rise at least 10 times by the end the century. Despite Europe’s relative prosperity, the current adaptation measures are failing. In the coming decades, scientists predict that there will be continued heat deaths, crop failures and water rationing during droughts in Southern Europe.
NORTH AMERICA Large wildfires continue to ravage forests and create dark skies in the west United States of America and Canada. They cause destruction of nature, livelihoods, and contribute to air and water polluting pollution.
Even if global temperature rises to 1.5C, severe storms and hurricanes will continue to threaten many parts of the United States. These events will disrupt international trade and global supply chains. Many species will be at risk from melting sea ice, rising temperatures, and thawing Permafrost in the Arctic.
AUSTRALIA Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will experience irreversible changes as a result of marine heatwaves. Tourism revenue will plummet sharply.
Extreme fires are expected to ravage parts of New Zealand and southern and eastern Australia. Alpine Ash, snowgum and northern jarrah woodlands in Australia will largely disappear as the forests dry out.
(This story is not edited by Devdiscourse staff.
