Why Climate Change Matters - The Impacts of Climate Change

Wilmette Institute, May 5, 2020

May 5: Impacts of Climate ChangeMay 12: Causes and “Solutions”

Know thou that every created thing is a sign of the revelation of God.

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah XCIII

Pont du Guard

Wikimedia: Creative Commons License

More than 1°C (1.8°F) warmer since the Industrial

Revolution

A Warming Planet● 2016 was the hottest year on record● 2019 was the second warmest year● 2010-2019 was the warmest decade● Since the 1980s, each successive decade has

been warmer than any preceding decade since 1850

Disruption of Ecosystems Blue Tit

Flycatcher

The total flying insect biomass decreased by more than 75 percent over 27 years.

Coral Bleaching

● Warmer Water Temperatures

● Ocean Acidification

● Water Pollution

Global warming of 1.5ºC (2.7°F): Coral reefs would decline by 70-90%.

Global warming of 2ºC (3.6°F):Virtually all coral reefs would be lost.

Loss of Biodiversity

“More than one million species could become extinct by 2050 if the Earth continues to warm at the rate it is now.”

IPBES 2019 Report

Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator.

Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment.

Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world.

9. Lawḥ-i-Ḥikmat, Tablets of Bahau'llah

“The rate of global change in nature during the past 50 years is unprecedented in human history.”

IPBES

1. Changes in land and sea use – loss of habitat 2. Direct exploitation of organisms - over-fishing etc.3. Climate change 4. Pollution 5. Invasive alien species

Where does all the heat energy go?

The warming is not evenly distributed.

Credit: NASA

Jakobshavn Ice Stream in Greenland

1941 Muir Glacier 2004

Image Credit: Kathmandupost

The Andes

By Jorge Morales Piderit - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3454029

Two Main Reasons forSea Level Rise

● Melting ice● Thermal expansion

The Greenland ice sheet holds enough water to raise sea levels worldwide by 7m (23 feet).

Photograph: Sarah Das/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/PA

(Pic: NASA/Flickr)

Sea Level Rise

Global warming and storms

Since 1980, ● storms with winds stronger than 124mph

(200 km) per hour have doubled, and ● storms with winds stronger than 155mph

(250 km) per hour have tripled.

Why are storms becoming stronger and more devastating?

Why are storms becoming stronger and more devastating?

● Winds pick up energy from warmer ocean waters

● More heavy precipitation (rain and snowfall) because of more water vapor in the atmosphere

● Storm surges are more destructive because of higher sea-levels

● Slow down of polar vortex (jet stream) makes storm linger longer in one area

The polar jet stream can be several miles deep and more than 100 miles wide, with the strongest winds typically 5 to 10 miles above the ground. The fastest

winds are in red; slower winds are in blue. Credit: NASA

Cyclone Idai, March 14, 2019

Cyclone Idai

Tacloban City, PhilippinesNovember 10, 2013

Image Credit: Reuters/Erik De Castro

Vanuatu, Cyclone Harold, April 10, 2020

Photograph: Dan McGarry, the Guardian

Heat Waves

Karachi, Pakistan, June 2015, temperatures reached 113°F (45°C)

Bangkok, Thailand, April 27, 2016

Some 2019 Temperature Records

● January: Australia's hottest month ever recorded

● April: Vietnam highest all-time temperature of 110.1 F (43.4)

● July: Israel recorded 121.8 F (49.9 C)

● July: Alaska's warmest July on record

Drought and Water Scarcity

Crop Production under Drought and Heat Stress: Plant Responses and Management Options, Shah Fahad et al, Plant Sci. 29 June, 2017

Shah Fahad et Al., Plant Sci., 29 June 2017

Malnutrition and Hunger

“Following years of steady decline, hunger is again on the rise, driven by a changing climate and extreme weather events: over 820 million people were affected by hunger in 2018.”

The WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2019

Jialing River, Chongqing, China

Lake Chad

Lake Urúmíyyih

Fires in Russia detected by a NASA satellite

September 28, 2016

California 2019 Wildfires

Burned bush land on the outskirts of Bredbo, AustraliaNew York Times, February 15, 2020

The smoke from the Australian wildfires seriously affected people's health.

Why is the chance for heavy precipitation higher on a warmer Earth?

Why is the chance for heavy precipitation higher on a warmer Earth?

● Warmer air can hold more moisture.● There is more evaporation with warmer

temperature (unless the air is already saturated with moisture).

Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, EnglandDecember 5, 2015

China, Anhui Province, July 7, 2006

Floods in Pakistan, 2010

Flooding In ShirazMarch 2019

Land Slides

Rio De Janeiro November 2018

Bondo, SwitzerlandAugust 2017

Climate Change - Risks for Human Health

Extreme Heat

Air Pollution

Image Credit: Chris Jordan-Bloch, EarthJustice

Spread of Malariaand other vector born diseases

WHO/Acland Cover photo from the Global Task Force on Cholera control (GTFCC) report "Ending Cholera - A Global Roadmap to 2030."

Coronavirus

Coronavirus and Biodiversity

Climate Refugees

Families being relocated due to flooding and landslides in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. UN WOMEN/ALLISON JOYCE

European Refugee Crisis

“The Earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”

Baha’u’llah

“However difficult matters are at present, and however close to the limits of their endurance some sections of societies are brought, humanity will ultimately pass through this ordeal, and it will emerge on the other side with greater insight and with a deeper appreciation of its inherent oneness and interdependence.”

Universal House of Justice, Naw-Ruz 2020 Message