The earth is warming, nature is rapidly changing across the world and life as we know it is becoming increasingly unsteady. Th e impact of climate change in africa introduction climate change has been identifi ed as a leading human and environmental crisis of the 21st century. Arctic sea ice has thinned by 40 percent during the late summer and early autumn months and the loss of sea ice is posing a dire threat to the survival of polar bears, seals and inuit communities. It is a major aspect of climate change which, in addition to rising global surface temperatures, also includes its effects, such as changes in precipitation. Ice melting in the artic sea due to global warming. By the year 2080, east africas temperature is predicted to rise 5. Above all, alternative energy sources solar, wind, hydro, geothermal.
Global warming has brought plenty of changes and africa has not been left behind in experiencing this. Due to its high climate variability and rainfed agriculture, central africa is expected to experience longer and more frequent heatwaves as well as an increase in wet extremes. Durban southern africa is on the front line of rising global temperatures and is in need of greater research and assessment to quantify the likely effects of climate change, says the department. Solar activity it is widely recognized that variations in solar radiation and activities, such as solar flares or sunspots, if large enough, could have an impact on the global temperature. During this period, the greatest regional flux was from tropical asia 48 pg c, while the smallest regional flux was from north africa and middle east 3 pg c. Global climate change scientific research publishing. Cognizant of the destructive impact of climate change on the oceans around africa, affected countries came together at the african ministerial conference on ocean economies and climate change in. As such, there is increase in heat levels within the earths atmosphere because of the heat generated by this situation. South africas response to climate change was presented. The sahel is greening however in sharp contrast to this gloomy outlook, it seems that global warming has exactly the opposite effect on the sahara and the sahel.
This article discusses amongst cause of global warming and consequences of global warming on the environment. Climate change impacts and adaptation in south africa. The sahara is actually shrinking, with vegetation arising on land where there was nothing but sand and rocks before. The energy used to power, heat, and cool our homes, businesses, and industries is the single largest contributor to global warming. The cause of global warming executive summary three of the four methods of measuring global temperature show no signs of global warming. Although the countries of africa have some of the lowest overall and per capita global warming emissions on the planet. This approach has vast potential to save both energy. Record global greenhouse gas emissions are putting the world on a path toward unacceptable warming, with serious implications for development prospects in africa. South africa, one of the more stable african economies, will likely see a. This leaves out most developing countries and regions, particularly africa, due. Whether the cause is natural or humandriven, global warming is a serious issue that everyone should be aware of. Global warming is caused by anthropogenic activities. Projections of future temperature and rainfall, and potential impacts of climate change on health, water resources, rangelands, maize, forestry and biodiversity were discussed. While global warming is sometimes what we hear about, what is usually stressed are catastrophic or emotionally affecting alleged consequences of warming.
Global warming and climate change, causes, impacts and mitigation article pdf available september 2015 with 51,801 reads how we measure reads. Global warming is the buzzword of the 21st century, that interests scientists and scares ordinary citizens has man tampered with nature to a selfdestructive point. Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions3. In fact, an in crease in average global temperature will also cause the circulation of the atmosphere to change, resulting in some areas of. Central africa, for the most part, is landlocked and is geographically threatened by climate change. Global warming is the phenomenon of gradual increase in temperature near the earths surface. Global warming exacerbates african conflict africa is arguably the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of global warming, despite being the least responsible for the pollution causing it. The potential impacts of climate change on maize production in africa and latin america in 2055, global environmental change, vol. Solutions to global warming in africa solutions to global warming in africa include effective land use planning to avoid forest degradation, developing renewable energy, and limiting the expansion of coalfired power plants. Pdf global warming and climate change, causes, impacts. Global warmingthe case for nigeria global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the earths nearsurface air and oceans since the. Africa is the continent that contributes the least to global warming in both absolute and per capita terms. South africa s response to climate change was presented. For arona diedhiou, solutions already in place must take greater account of the reality of african contexts.
How climate affects agriculture climate change can affect agriculture in a variety of ways. Solutions to global warming in africa include effective land use planning to avoid forest degradation, developing renewable energy, and limiting the expansion of coalfired power plants. The changes arent over, either, and the more that changes around the world, the more critical it is to understand this complex and important issue. Global aridity has increased substantially since the 1970s due to recent drying over africa, southern europe, east and south asia, and eastern australia. The global climate is the connected system of sun, earth and oceans, wind, rain and snow, forests, deserts and savannas, and everything people do, too. It is up to teachers to choose the article that best meets the needs of their classroom. Earths climate has changed over various timescales since the dawn of geologic time, and the force of human activities since the industrial revolution has been woven into the fabric of.
Since the 2006 saeo, local and global research has advanced. Global warming is melting glaciers in every region of the world, putting millions of people at risk from floods, droughts and lack of drinking water. We attempted bioclimatic reconstruction of past distributions of succulent karoo and fynbos biomes because these biomes are unique to south africa, they are spatially constrained to the unique winter rainfall region, and they. Global warming is a gradual increase in the earths temperature generally due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, cfcs, and other pollutants. Regional patterns of climate change temperature changes projected warming is slightly less strong than that of the global land area, which is a general feature of the southern hemisphere. The paper introduces global warming, elaborates its causes and hazards and presents some solutions to solve this hot issue. Global warming as well as global cooling refers specifically to any change in the global average surface tem perature. Global warming is already changing the environment, the economy, and peoples ways of living. Global warming, the phenomenon of rising average air temperatures near earths surface over the past 100 to 200 years. Global warming the gradual heating of earths surface, oceans and atmosphere is one of the most vexing environmental issues of our.
It is a complex issue full of uncertainties and controversies. This phenomenon has been observed over the past one or two centuries. Global warmingthe case for nigeria sahara reporters. Climate change and global warming are both terms that refer to the increase of the average temperature on earth. This article discusses amongst cause of global warming and consequences of.
Signs of global warming in the united states, region by region iv executive summary v introduction 1. Next time, i will proffer some solutions and policies we could implement to minimize the catastrophic effects of global warming in africa. While africas lack of modern energy and minimum carbon footprint have made it the slightest contributor to the growing global warming crisis, the massive continent bears the brunt of the world. Africa feeling the heat of climate change africa renewal. Global warming is the phenomenon of increase in earths temperatures due to the failure of certain gases to leave the atmosphere. Th e problem of understanding climate change or global warming is one of the major challenges confronting african people, their governments and the african union au. The climate of a place, say new york, can be described as its rainfall, changing temperatures during the year and. Global warming is the ongoing rise of the average temperature of the earths climate system and has been demonstrated by direct temperature measurements and by measurements of various effects of the warming. The global mean temperature in this region is to increase by 1. Cause of global warming fossil fuel consumption is increasing rapidly to satisfy growing energy demand after the industrial revolution, which started at the end of the 18th century. Climate change refers to significant, longterm changes in the global climate. The latest ipcc report predicts global warming of 1. An ipcc special report on the impacts of global warming of 1. Proxy measurements tree rings, sediments etc for the past years weather balloons radiosondes for the past 44 years satellites msu units for the past 21 years.
Although the countries of africa have some of the lowest overall and per capita global warming emissions on the planet, they are also likely to suffer from. Global warming is often misunderstood to imply that the world will warm uniformly. The global net flux during the period 18502000 was 156 pg c, about 63% of which was from the tropics. Famine, floods, population displacement and desertification has been some of the worst consequences of global warming in the continent. West and central africa will see particularly large increases in the number of hot days at both 1.
465 846 685 288 338 59 1303 854 392 611 357 868 79 1044 1448 765 869 1448 26 1104 1218 851 1171 1315 1108 398 210 51