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Impacts; have we already gone too far?
"You really need to ask yourself only one question. Do you believe climate change has already come too far? If the answer is yes then it is all the reason you need to argue for zero emissions." Adrian Whitehead talking with leading youth climate campaigners, UNFCCC conference, Bali, December 2007
Since the killer heat wave in Europe in 2003, followed a year latter by record backing floods, Katrina's arrival in 2005, and Australia's own prolonged drought and major fires, public awareness about the numerous impacts of climate change has been rising dramatically.
Impacts from global warming are numerous and varied and already constitute enough reason to conclude that current climate change and global warming have already gone too far.
On this page I will quickly review just a few of the major impacts that are occurring around the world today.
Impacts Today
- Melting of the North Pole
- Permafrost Melting
- Fires in Australia
- Killer Heat Waves
- Freak Weather Events
- Ecosystem Chaos
Melting of the North Pole
The north pole has now lost over 80% of it's volume over the last 40 years and the summer ice has reduced to record levels in 2005, 2007 and got close to a record melt in 2008 despite a cooler year.
What has been seen in 2008 is that the ice has got thinner and the area of old ice has reduced darmatically.
"A comparison of ice age in September 2007 (left) and September 2008 (right) shows the increase in thin first-year ice (red) and the decline in thick multi-year ice (orange and yellow). White indicates areas of ice below ~50 percent, for which ice age cannot be determined. AVHRR, SMMR SSM/I, and IABP buoy data." — From National Snow and Ice Data Center referencing C. Fowler, J. Maslanik, and S. Drobot, University of Colorado at Boulder (NSID 2008)
Permafrost Melting
Responding to temperatures increases twice that of the global average, permafrost around the Arctic is melting on a large scale, releasing significant volumes of methane and causing building damage and even coastal erosion. According to Sommerkorn & Hamilton "No permafrost carbondynamics are currently incorporated in climate models." (Sommerkorn & Hamilton 2008)
Fires in Australia
Australia has been experiencing increased fire frequency and intensity, whether it is the Canberra fires in 2004 (pictured left), or the fires in eastern Victoria in 2006 (pictured right), followed by the extreme fires in Victoria in Feb 2009 (pictured below).
Killer Heat Waves
In 2003 an extreme heat wave hit Europe producing a week of extremely hot days and nights. Around 30,000 people died, mainly elderly, the sick and very young due to a lack of facilities to escape the heat. More people died in the 2009 Summer heat wave in Victoria, with the heat wave contributing to 374 deaths, than died in the extreme fires that followed shortly afterwards and caused 173 deaths. It was the first time in recorded history Victoria had record three successive days over 43 degrees.
Freak Weather Events
As the world heats up and the climatesystem becomes more energetic, weather extremes, such as the event that sat above Melbourne for four days and produced a 1 in 120 year flooding event in 2005, are becoming more common today. For example Melbourne CBD is now having to manage 1 in 100 year flooding events every few years. Australia has begun to experience damaging cyclones again and global storm and flood damage is growing.
Ecosystem Chaos
The changing climate is playing is already having adevistating impact on ecosystems. The seasons and climatic zones are shifting away from the equator forcing some animals to migrate and destroying ecosystem relationships.
Some species are falling off the top of mountains has their habbitat keeps moving higher seeking a cooler environment eventually running out of mountain. The Austrlian Mountain Pigmy Possum is one sepecies facing this problem.
Other species are suffering from melting ice, such as the polar bear and increasing sea temperatures, such as the coral reefs which are bleaching.
The rate of this change is already too fast for many ecosystems to cope with and unless we can create a rapid global cooling, many species will begin to be lost from the wild, leaving zoos as the only places we can see them alive.
References
National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2008, "Arctic Sea Ice Down to Second-Lowest Extent; Likely Record-Low Volume: Despite cooler temperatures and ice-favoring conditions, long-term decline continues", last viewed 16 November 2008, http://nsidc.org/news/press/20081002_seaice_pressrelease.html
Sommerkorn,M & Hamilton, N 2008, Arctic Climate Impact Science: an update since ACIA WWF International Arctic Programme, Oslo.
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300 ppm CO2 or below is the stabilisation target for a safe climate.
