Ecology
Underwater cities, frozen continents, and the collapse of global agriculture are all possible long-term catastrophic effects of global overheating.
However, the dangerous effects of global warming are already beginning to be felt around the world. Even a small increase in temperature leads to fundamental changes.
Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to attribute any given phenomenon to the effects of greenhouse gas emissions from machines, factories and power plants, computer models used by scientists can provide an idea of what we should expect. There are already places in the world where this effect is on the face.
Darfur
Until it stopped raining in Darfur, local pastoralists were living peacefully with sedentary farmers. Nomadic shepherds grazed camels on rocky slopes near fertile areas and fed their animals with the remains of the crop. But since the land here was paralyzed by years of drought, the region has been unable to support both sides. Farmers began to fence off their areas, and clashes broke out between sedentary and nomadic tribes. When the uprising started here in 2003, it began as a reaction to the Sudanese government's disdain.
So what caused the rains to stop? When scientists studied drought, they found that rising temperatures in the tropical and southern oceans, combined with cooling in the North Atlantic Ocean, disrupted African monsoons. Therefore, the drought in Darfur is rooted in global climate change.
Since then, the crisis has spread to Chad and the Central African Republic. Sudanese nomads are heading to the Congolese rainforest, while elsewhere they fear they'll be next. In this country, climate change has expanded the Sahara Desert, forcing nomadic herders to head for agricultural land.
Gulf Coast
Climate researchers are still arguing about the extent to which climate change could lead to more severe and frequent hurricanes, but insurance companies are clearly not going to wait for the final answer. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, including Hurricane Katrina and numerous landslides in Florida, as well as the recent Hurricane Irene, shook the industry. Some insurance companies employ climate scientists who could predict future compensation for losses.
Devastating hurricanes are potential symptoms of disruptions happening around the world, and it's not because climate change is happening in the future, but that it's already happening.
Italy
In August 2007, an epidemic hit the small village of Castiglione di Cervia in northern Italy. More than 100 of the town's 2,000 permanent residents came down with high fever, rashes, and crushing bone and joint pain. It turned out that due to the unusually warm winter, tropical blood-sucking mosquitoes began to breed earlier than usual and their population increased sharply. According to WHO, the epidemic was the first European outbreak of tropical disease caused by climate change.
Global warming has accelerated the spread of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne tropical diseases such as malaria. The fact is that insect larvae reach maturity faster when the water in which they grow is warm. Scientists have noticed changes in the diversity of mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. And this issue will be more about breadth and boundaries, both in terms of expanding the area of distribution and the seasonal factor.
Northern Europe
So far, global warming has had a positive effect on wine production, allowing the taste of grapes to be reflected more richly in wine. The study, led by Gregory Jones, a climatologist at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, USA, tracked the effects of rising temperatures between 1950 and 1999, using measures of the quality of value of Sotheby's, which rates wines on a 100-point scale.
In the 27 regions assessed by Jones, temperatures rose by an average of 1.3 degrees Celsius, producing a corresponding increase in the strength of wines. At the same time, warming had a positive effect on the wine rating, and the largest increase in the rating was observed in the northern regions of Europe.
However, the extreme heat of 2003 led to an earlier harvest and much of the wine was no longer suitable for sale. According to Jones's forecast, if temperatures continue to rise, wine producers around the world will start looking for more suitable conditions for growing grapes for wine, moving north. Already, manufacturers are expanding their markets in Holland, Belgium and even Denmark. Spain is moving towards the Pyrenees, and England now has much more land to grow wine than it did during its last heyday in the 12th century.
Great Barrier Reef
Not all of the carbon dioxide we produce contributes to atmospheric warming. More than a third of what humanity has produced since the Industrial Revolution has been absorbed by the oceans, where carbon dioxide reacts with seawater to produce carbonic acid. So far, we've added enough of this substance to cause the hydrogen index to change from 8.2 to 8.1.
The first to experience this effect will be marine creatures that use calcium carbonate to form their shells and exoskeletons. Less alkaline water will primarily affect crabs, shellfish and sea snails. Coral reefs will be hit twice as changes in ocean chemistry add stress to unusually warm waters. Australia's Great Barrier Reef lost about 10 percent of its corals due to massive bleaching in 1998 and 2002.
Overstressed colonies have expelled the symbiotic algae that give them their color, leaving them white and weakened. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050, 97 percent of the Great Barrier Reef will bleach annually.
The oceans will be among the first victims of these changes, and this will affect the food chain. Australia has seen a sharp drop in seabird populations, which means that the fishing industry is next in line. So as reefs disappear, fish will also disappear.
Island States
In 2010, the Pacific nation of Kiribati became the first country to announce that global warming would make its lands uninhabited, asking others for help countries of the world in order to relocate their populations.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that melting ice on earth and thermal expansion will cause sea levels to rise by a meter before the end of the century. This rise in sea levels would be sufficient to bring most of the country's 33 coral atolls below wave levels. The penetration of salt water into groundwater will make it undrinkable.
While Kiribati is waiting for countries to open their doors to 100,000 citizens, the Maldives, which is also on the verge of extinction but is richer due to tourism, is already eyeing a new homeland. Most likely, 300,000 Maldivians will have to move to Sri Lanka or India due to similar cultures and climates, or to Australia, with lots of vacant land.
Island nations are not alone in danger of extinction. A 0.9 m rise in sea levels could flood one-seventh of Bangladesh, force the Netherlands to strengthen its anti-flood forces and threaten coastal cities around the world. And even before the most popular tourist destinations disappear under water, they will lose their luster, as high raging waves will lead to increased erosion and fewer white sandy beaches and more rocky coves.
USA
According to the Red Cross, environmental disasters displace more people than wars. For example, Christian Aid believes that by 2050, floods, drought and famine caused by climate change will force 250 million people to leave their homes.
Almost all climate refugees will come from the world's poorest countries, where governments and citizens do not have enough resources to adapt to global hazards warming. “There is no doubt that in many parts of the world, climate change such as sea level rise, desertification and deforestation will influence migration flows,” says Brunson McKinley (Brunson) McKinley), Director General of the International Organization for Migration in Geneva.
The increase in population flow allows anti-immigration organizations to formulate their arguments from an environmental point of view, stating that people coming to the US from Developing countries produce 4 times more carbon dioxide in their homes than if they were in their home countries.
The level of migration from Mexico to the US is likely to increase due to the fact that the situation there is already critical, and may worsen with less rain and more drought. The increase in weather disasters will also contribute to increased migration.
Northwest Passage
Historically, the Northwest Passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has been blocked by ice throughout the year. But recently, the ice cover has been steadily decreasing, and its reduction in the summer of 2007 led to the fact that this route was declared navigable.
The Northwest Passage is one of the most legendary sea routes in the world, being the shortest route from Europe to Asia via the Canadian Arctic. The reduction in ice cover is associated with global warming, which is progressing faster than expected.
The opening of sea routes has already led to international rights disputes between Canada, the US and the European Union. Experts believe that if the ice continues to melt at this rate, there will be no summer ice cover in Artik by the end of the century. Others predict that this passage will remain ice-free in 25-50 years, opening its way for many countries and companies.
Alps
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Alps have on average three times warmer around the world, and this is only the beginning, according to forecasts. As the Alpine glaciers recede, mountain plants migrate upward in pursuit of cooler temperatures. Also, as the snow border creeps up, the winter sports industry, which attracts 60 to 80 million tourists each year, is under threat.
Ski resorts are beginning to make various changes in preparation for a longer snowless period. Some of them use artificial snow carried in powder form from nearby glaciers or by using helicopters for high-altitude routes.
Other mountain attractions are closing their doors to visitors or doing their best to become year-round ice-free resorts, offering spas, convention centers and luxury hotels. After all, in the future, mountains, even those devoid of snow, may become a welcome getaway from the unbearable heat.
Uganda
In some places, efforts to address global warming have a bigger impact than climate change itself. In Mount Elgon National Park in eastern Uganda, a Dutch nonprofit has restored forested areas around the park's perimeter, earning loans for air passengers who would like offset emissions and reinvest revenues to plant more trees. It was believed that the project would benefit everyone. Trees pulled carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, travelers felt less guilty, and Uganda itself received a large park.
However, this project did not take into account one important detail, namely, the communities that once cultivated these hills. Angry that their fields were occupied, they began fighting for territory, cutting down many trees that were meant to absorb carbon dioxide. Similar attempts in Brazil and India led to conflicts with neighbors. In any case, poor people are more likely to find themselves in a difficult situation.