452
S. A. Attia-Ismail
1 Introduction
1.1 Definition
1. Climate change in a dictionary “is a long-term change in the earth’s climate,
especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature”
(http://www.dictionary.com/browse/climate-change). Therefore, the climate of a
region is its typical or average weather (e.g. annual rainfall, temperature, etc.).
1.2 Global Demonstrations of Climate Change
Climate change demonstrates itself through the noticeable variation in the weather,
including temperature, rainfall, and wind. Climate change is foreseen to aggravate
in the coming decades [1].
There are several demonstrations (natural phenomena) that proof the climate
changes.
1. Global sea level: has risen about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last
two decades, however, has become twice as much that of the last century (https://
www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-eport/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf).
2. Global temperature rise: the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about
1.1 °C along the 19th century. The increased carbon dioxide and other humanmade emissions (greenhouse gases like methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) into the
atmosphere (https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20170118/).
3. Warming oceans: much of the increased heat is absorbed by oceans. Top 700 m
of ocean show an increase of 0.302° Fahrenheit since 1969 [2].
4. Shrinking ice sheets: the loss of 150–250 km
3 (in the Greenland) of ice per year
between 2002 and 2006, and about 152 km
3 (in the Antarctica) between 2002
and 2005 are the best demonstration for the effect of climate change (https://
climate.nasa.gov/evidence/).
5. Climate changes (e.g. increases in air temperatures and decreases in precipitation) will make drought conditions to aggravate and prevent the sustainability of
the growth of vegetation. Increased global temperature leads to desertification,
especially in dry areas. Desertification has been identified in multiple landscapes
all over the map of the world.
However, different weather and climate patterns may occur as the climate changes.
Major impacts will take place, then, not only on physical processes (like the water
cycle), but also on the function of the ecosystem. In dry-land areas, the climate
becomes severer and, as a result, rivers, lakes and underground water sources will
dry up. These changes mean that feed-production zones are declining, and in many
regions crops and livestock are deteriorating. Figure 1 shows the effect of drought
disasters in the world.
S. A. Attia-Ismail
1 Introduction
1.1 Definition
1. Climate change in a dictionary “is a long-term change in the earth’s climate,
especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature”
(http://www.dictionary.com/browse/climate-change). Therefore, the climate of a
region is its typical or average weather (e.g. annual rainfall, temperature, etc.).
1.2 Global Demonstrations of Climate Change
Climate change demonstrates itself through the noticeable variation in the weather,
including temperature, rainfall, and wind. Climate change is foreseen to aggravate
in the coming decades [1].
There are several demonstrations (natural phenomena) that proof the climate
changes.
1. Global sea level: has risen about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last
two decades, however, has become twice as much that of the last century (https://
www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-eport/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf).
2. Global temperature rise: the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about
1.1 °C along the 19th century. The increased carbon dioxide and other humanmade emissions (greenhouse gases like methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) into the
atmosphere (https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20170118/).
3. Warming oceans: much of the increased heat is absorbed by oceans. Top 700 m
of ocean show an increase of 0.302° Fahrenheit since 1969 [2].
4. Shrinking ice sheets: the loss of 150–250 km
3 (in the Greenland) of ice per year
between 2002 and 2006, and about 152 km
3 (in the Antarctica) between 2002
and 2005 are the best demonstration for the effect of climate change (https://
climate.nasa.gov/evidence/).
5. Climate changes (e.g. increases in air temperatures and decreases in precipitation) will make drought conditions to aggravate and prevent the sustainability of
the growth of vegetation. Increased global temperature leads to desertification,
especially in dry areas. Desertification has been identified in multiple landscapes
all over the map of the world.
However, different weather and climate patterns may occur as the climate changes.
Major impacts will take place, then, not only on physical processes (like the water
cycle), but also on the function of the ecosystem. In dry-land areas, the climate
becomes severer and, as a result, rivers, lakes and underground water sources will
dry up. These changes mean that feed-production zones are declining, and in many
regions crops and livestock are deteriorating. Figure 1 shows the effect of drought
disasters in the world.