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The Impacts of Climate Change on the World

People are paying serious attention to climate change because it has serious impacts, locally and globally. Climate change is already disrupting our environment, economy and our communities. According to reports by BBC News, “Scientists fear a growing impact of global warming on humans.”

These effects of Increasing Temperature cause climate change which may be physical, ecological, social or economic. Responding to a major report by the UN which described the impacts of global warming as “severe, pervasive and irreversible,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said that, “Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy. Denial of the science is malpractice.

“There are those who say we can’t afford to act. But waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic,” Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Evidence of observed climate change includes the instrumental temperature record, the rising sea levels, as well as decreased snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. The new report by the IPCC based on more than 12,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies, details significant short-term impacts on natural systems in the next 20 to 30 years.

The UK Energy and Climate Secretary, Ed Davey, has stated that “The science has clearly spoken. Left unchecked, climate change will impact on many aspects of our society, with far reaching consequences to human health, global food security and economic development.

“The recent flooding in the UK is a testament to the devastation that climate change could bring to our daily lives,” reported Ed Davey.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening and according to The Independent UK, Scientists identified Britain as one of the country’s most at risk from some of the more immediate negative effects of climate change.

“It is true that we can’t find many benefits of climate change and I believe it’s because there aren’t many benefits, even though we tried really hard to find them,” says Dr. Christopher Field, of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology in California and co-chair of working group II.

Environment analyst Roger Harrabin, says that the prognosis on the climate is not good. In the words of the IPCC report, “increasing magnitudes of warming increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts”.

Professor Neil Adger from the University of Exeter, said about the report that “This is a sobering assessment,” according to BBC News.  The report released by the IPCC reaffirms that climate impacts are already occurring and having a dramatic impact on society.

Image credit: www.colorado.edu

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