Climate Issues: Droughts and Sea Level - Assignment Example

PART A Relation of the increased rate of evapotranspiration to the frequency and intensity of droughts Global warming is a phenomenon characterized by increased temperatures on the earth’s surface that is caused by too much increase in emissions of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. This gas forms a layer like blanket that traps the heat waves that would otherwise have escaped from the earth’s surface, and thereby causes an increase on the average temperatures on earth. Rising temperatures due to global warming affect weather events in a number of ways. These high temperatures increase the rate of evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is the process by which total water escapes to the atmosphere from the water bodies, soil and plants. More water loss due to global warming results to shortage of water on the earth’s surface. This consequently leads to increased number of droughts, which are severe. Relation of the water holding capacity of the atmosphere to the increase of extreme rainfall events The ability of the atmosphere to hold water depends on the level of temperature in it. The water vapor holding capacity of the atmosphere has increased by four percent than it previously did. These increase the chances of increased extreme rainfall conditions in the affected areas. Much water in the atmosphere may cause unpredictable heavy downpours. This may lead to catastrophic occurrences like floods. Relation of the changes in sea-surface temperatures to changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation Increased sea-surface temperatures lead to increased rate of atmospheric circulation and consequently more precipitation. This is because hot air and water are very light and can easily be moved by conventional currents. Extreme precipitation is likely to occur in situations where a storm passes through the warmer atmosphere holding more water. Causes of increased fire risk According to (Morgan), extreme temperatures are likely to accelerate the frequency of bushfires. This is attributed to the dry conditions that ignite fire. Additionally, global warming increases the tendencies of lightening that catalyzes bush fires. Regions such as Victoria that experience extremely high temperatures and longer periods of heat waves have increased probability of experiencing more frequent fire outbreaks of a larger magnitude and severity. Why a small increase in global average temperature of ~ 0.8 oC increases the likelihood of heatwaves Global warming has contributed to the increase in the likelihood of heatwaves attributed to a slight increase in the global average temperature. This has been implicated by hot night-temperatures and warm waters to the south of Australia. According to (catalyst program video), a bell-curve pattern of temperature portrays that extremely hot days are more frequent. In Australia’s case, the frequency of such events has actually doubled. The link between dry soil and heat waves There is rapid loss of soil moisture during spring due to low rainfall. Sunrays heat the soil and plant surface leading to loss of moisture through the processes of evaporation and transpiration. When this water is completely lost to the atmosphere, the sunrays now heat the soil surface directly because they are not being used in any process. As a result, there is a drastic rise in temperatures. The European heatwave of 2003 was turned into a deadly scorcher by the condition of dry soil. Wet soil would lead to less impact of heat waves. The extremes of climate change According to the team of policy makers who came up with the IPCC report, climate change extremes include extreme temperatures (hot or cold), extreme droughts, extreme rainfall and extreme heat waves. All these extremes are harmful to general human lives and need appropriate mitigation and adaptation. The vulnerabilities of communities that results from climate change The communities that live in places which are affected by climate change face vulnerabilities which revolve around population, employment, resources and economic health. The communities are faced with the challenge of planning their agricultural investment as they have to weigh between pipe irrigation and dry land farming due to climate changes. They also have to plan their environment such as urban development so as to take care of the aged in the society. Events like heat stress have harmful effects and increase the mortality rate posing a threat to the population. Ways in which communities can plan strategies for extreme events According to the ( IPCC report), this can be done by having timely risk communication within the communities for effective planning and disaster management. Similarly, communities should be discouraged from building and settling in disaster prone areas. Reference: Ipcc-wg2.gov,. 'IPCC SREX'. Ipcc-wg2.gov. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. Martin, John, and Andrew Butt. 'Will Communities Learn To Cope With Climate Change?'. Weather & Extreme Events: Impacts n. pag. Print. Morgan, John. 'Understanding Causes And Impacts Of Extreme Weather Events'. Weather & Extreme Events: Causes n. pag. Print. Westra, Seth, Lisa V. Alexander, and Francis W. Zwiers. 'Global Increasing Trends In Annual Maximum Daily Precipitation'. Journal of Climate 26.11 (2013): 3904-3918. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. PART B Causes of Sea Level Rise The sea level has drastically dropped compared to the recent past. The sea level dropped up to six meters or more for the past 120,000 years. The sea level then dropped relatively slower to 130 meters which is the minimum sea level. The current sea level was achieved 8,000 years ago but for the past 6,000 years the sea level only rose one or two meters before dropping to the current sea level. This shows that there has been little change in the past 8,000 years. The sea level changes is evident by looking at the changes or fluctuation of the coral reefs deposited at the coast. The changes in the sea level have influenced evolution of human society since in the past (before 20,000 ago). The main land was joined which allowed human society to migrate from one region to another for example North America was joined to Asia. This allowed human to evolve uniformly but recently the rise in the sea level has separately the world continents thus making human society to evolve differently. The sea level is expected to remain high for 20,000 just as it was the previous time. So far the sea level has been high for 10,000 years therefore, we expect it to remain high for the next 10,000years. The cause of changes in the sea level is linked to the glaciation. The glacial fluctuation is caused by the manner in which the earth orbits around the sun. The angle on which the earth orbits the sun varies the amount of sunlight reaching the earth i.e. sometimes temperature is high and sometimes low. Therefore, variation in the earth temperature caused by glaciation causes sea level change by melting ice when temperatures are high causing rise in the sea level. The decrease in temperature causes water to convert to ice thus causing sea level to drop. The recent current closeness of the sun to the earth has increased the temperature thus resulting to current rise in the sea level. Land use, settlement planning and sea level rise There has been increase in development around coastal region which pose a great danger due to rising sea level in Australia. The growth can be traced back to 1960, for example Gold coast becoming sixth largest city from a mere town. Politically, government should increase it spending on coastal defence and management. According to CSIRO survey, Australia citizens do not support reduction in property rights due to rise in the sea level but suggest that the government should spend more in protecting the coast by building sea walls and flood management system. The strategies of protecting the coastal lines are ineffective given the magnitude of the rise in the sea level thus making it difficult to develop a public policy that reduces the vulnerabilities in the event of ocean tides. Insurance industry plays an important role in supporting government in reducing extent of development in the coastal region. The insurance companies have adopted a policy to limit its exposure in vulnerable coastal region this will discourage developers venturing in this region from fear of losing massively. This helps the government in reducing investment made in coastal region. The future of insurance policy for properties in the coastal line is taking the New York path where property buyer is made aware of the environmental expenses i.e. insurance cost. The refusal of Victoria government to build on a block of land with long term intention is seen to be an important move by the policymakers and politicians. The damage expected to be caused by the rising sea level is of great magnitude. The loss caused to the community will be felt by the government since people will require government help in future. Therefore, government needs to play an important role in limiting the development at coastal line then allowing citizens’ right to prevail which will be detrimental to government in future. Global impact of sea level rise The rising sea level is not only isolated issue to Australia but faces many countries with coastal lines. The recent effect was felt in New York in 2005 where the hurricane effect was felt. The most vulnerable regions are Small Island and regions including Shanghai, Kolkata and London where there are major rivers feeding the ocean. The vulnerabilities experienced include disruption of the transport sector for example storm sandy brought transport sector to a standstill in London during 2012. The structures built along the coastal line face great danger since the tides and earthquakes can bring the buildings down. Generally, infrastructure along the coastal line faces immense danger of destruction. The ocean opens up countries for international trade since most goods enter and leave the country by oceans and seas. Trade is considered to be important integrating factor of various countries due to exchange of factors of production and goods since each country is uniquely endowed. The destructions of the shoreline by the rising sea level results to closure or shift in trade relation between countries. Posing a great danger to the international relations of the trading partners since the common interest is destroyed. In addition, the rising sea level reduces the territory under state control since under UN convention country owns 200 nautical miles from the shore where it can carry out oil exploration and fishing. This causes conflict with neighboring countries which destroy the relations between the two parties in dispute, for example current china and Japan dispute. Reference: ABC TV,. 'Catalyst - Antarctic Edition - ABC TV'. Abc.net.au. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. Butt, Andrew. 'Land Use, Settlement Planning And Sea Level Rise'. Sea level rise: Australia n. pag. Print. Climatechange.gov.au,. 'Climate Change Home Page | Department Of The Environment, Australian Government'. Climatechange.gov.au. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. Dasgupta, Susmita et al. 'The Impact Of Sea Level Rise On Developing Countries : A Comparative Analysis: Policy Research Working Papers'. Policy Research Working Papers (2007): n. pag. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. Habib, Ben. 'Global Impact Of Sea Level Rise'. Sea Level Rise: Global impact n. pag. Print. Legresy, Benoit. ':: Sea-Level Rise :: CSIRO ::'. Cmar.csiro.au. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. Webb, John. 'Causes Of Sea Level Rise'. Sea level rise: Causes n. pag. Print. Read More