Impacts of global warming - WWF-Australia

Ecosystems: Global warming stresses ecosystems through temperature rises, water shortages, increased fire threats, drought, weed and pest invasions, intense ... 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JoinusasweRegenerateAustraliaandwe'llplantatreeonyourbehalf.   TAKEACTIONNOW   Ourclimateisdeterminedbypatternsoftemperature,wind,atmosphericpressure,humidityandrainoveralongperiodoftime.Therearedifferentclimatesaroundtheworld,suchastropical,dryandmoderate.Asalargecountry,Australiahasavarietyofclimates. Theclimateofanareadeterminesitsseasonsandwhentheycomeandgo.This,inturn,affectsthetypeofplantsthatgrowandwhichanimalssurvive.Thespeciesandplaceswelovedependonintricateecosystems,andevensmallchangestotheclimatecandisruptthedelicatebalanceofnature. Ashumans,everyaspectofourlifeisreliantonthenaturalenvironment.Thisincludesthefoodweeat,theairwebreathe,thewaterwedrink,theclotheswewearandtheproductsthataremadeandsoldtocreatejobsanddrivetheeconomy. Ahealthyandstableclimateisourmostpreciousnaturalresource.   Whatchangestotheclimatearehumanscausingthroughglobalwarming? Globalwarming,causedbygreenhousegaspollution,iscausingimmediateanddirectchangestotheplanet.   TheEarth'stemperaturehadalreadywarmedby1°Ccomparedtopre-industriallevels.Thistemperaturerisemayappearsmall,butsmallrisesintemperaturetranslateintobigchangesfortheworld’sclimate.Thisisbecausetheamountofextraenergyneededtoincreasetheworld’stemperature,evenbyalittle,isvast.Thisextraenergyislikeforce-feedingtheglobalclimatesystem. •Hotterdays: 2015wasthehottestyearonrecord,thepreviousrecordwasbrokenin2014,and2016isexpectedtosetanewrecordforthethirdyearinarow.InthepastfewyearsrecordshavebeingbrokenforlongestheatwavesandtheBureauofMeteorologyhasaddedpurpleandmagentatotheforecastmapfortemperaturesupto54°C.   •Risingsealevels: Increasedoceantemperaturesaremeltingglaciersandicecapsallovertheworld.Meltediceincreasesthevolumeofwaterinouroceans.Warmertemperaturesalsoresultintheexpansionofthewater'smass,whichcausessealevelstorise,threateninglow-lyingislandsandcoastalcities.   •Morefrequentandintenseextremeweatherevents: Extremeweathereventslikebushfires,cyclones,droughtsandfloodsarebecomingmorefrequentandmoreintenseasaresultofglobalwarming.   •Oceansarewarmingandacidifying: Theoceanshaveabsorbedmostofextraheatandcarbondioxide(CO2)sofar–morethantheair–makingtheseasbothwarmerandmoreacidic.Warmingwatersarebleachingcoralreefsanddrivingstrongerstorms.Risingoceanaciditythreatensshellfish,includingthetinycrustaceanswithoutwhichmarinefoodchainswouldcollapse.   Sadly,thepoorestandmostvulnerablenations,andthepeoplewhohavecontributedleasttotheproblem,willbeamongthehardesthitbyglobalwarming.SomeofthecountriesmostatriskincludeourneighboursinthePacificandSoutheastAsia,includingKiribati,Tuvalu,VietnamandthePhilippines. SignuptoRegenerateAustralia   HowisglobalwarmingaffectinglifeinAustralia? •Ecosystems: Globalwarmingstressesecosystemsthroughtemperaturerises,watershortages,increasedfirethreats,drought,weedandpestinvasions,intensestormdamageandsaltinvasion,justtonameafew.SomeofAustralia’sgreatnaturalicons,suchastheGreatBarrierReef,arealreadythreatened. •Species: Oneinsix speciesisatriskofextinctionbecauseofclimatechange.Tosurvive,plants,animalsandbirdsconfrontedwithclimatechangehavetwooptions:moveoradapt.Withthespeedofclimatechangeweareexperiencingalready,it’softennotpossibleforaspeciestoadaptquicklyenoughtokeepupwithitschangingenvironment.Andwiththeamountofhabitatdestruction,movingisbecomingincreasinglydifficult.   •Foodandfarming: Changestorainfallpatterns,increasinglyseveredrought,morefrequentheatwaves,floodingandextremeweathermakeitmoredifficultforfarmerstograzelivestockandgrowproduce,reducingfoodavailabilityandmakingitmoreexpensivetobuy. Readmoreonfoodandfarminghere.   •Water: Reducedrainfallandincreasinglyseveredroughtsmayleadtowatershortages.   •CoastalErosion: RisingsealevelsandmorefrequentandintensestormsurgeswillseemoreerosionofAustralia'scoastline,wearingawayandinundatingcommunityandresidentialproperties.   •Health: Increasinglysevereandfrequentheatwavesmayleadtodeathandillness,especiallyamongtheelderly.Highertemperaturesandhumiditycouldalsoproducemoremosquito-bornedisease.   •Damagetohomes: Increasinglysevereextremeweathereventslikebushfires,storms,floods,cyclonesandcoastalerosion,willseeincreaseddamagetohomes,aswellasmorecostlyinsurancepremiums.   •Coralbleaching: Risingtemperaturesandaciditywithinouroceansiscontributingtoextremecoralbleachingevents,likethe2016eventthatdestroyedmorethanone-thirdoftheGreatBarrierReef.   WithinAustralia,theeffectsofglobalwarmingvaryfromregiontoregion. TheimpactsofglobalwarmingarealreadybeingfeltacrossallareasofAustralianlife,andthesewillcontinuetoworsenifwedonotactnowtolimitglobalwarmingto1.5°C.   Clickheretoseehowyourworldcouldchangeasglobaltemperaturesrise.   OneclickisallittakestobeapartofourmissiontoRegenerateAustralia.Signupnow!   Onesignature=Onetreeplanted Recommendedreading Sustainability EcologicalFootprintCalculator CalculateyourecologicalfootprintandfindouthowyoucancontributetotheconservationoftheenvironmentwithWWFAustralia.VisitUstoday! Readmore Thankyouforyourenquiry.OurteamwillbeintouchsoonHereareotherwaystohelpWWF Makeadonation Helpthosewhocan'taskforyourhelp.Therearealotofwaystodonatetosupportourworkprotectingwildlifeandconservingtheenvironment.Visi... 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