negative impacts of climate change essay

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Climate Change Impacts

Explore the impacts of climate change with our effects of climate change essay. Learn more about climate change causes, effects, and solutions with the help of our sample. Keep reading to gain inspiration for your essay on climate change and its impact.

Effects of Climate Change: Essay Conclusion

Climate change, climate change impacts, managing climate change, effects of climate change: essay introduction.

It is doubtless that global change has become one the challenges, which encompasses a wide range of human life, including social and economical aspects of human life. Research has indicated that climate change will continue affecting the world as long as proper measures are not taken to protect the environment.

In this line of thought, human activities have been widely blamed for escalating effects of climate change around the world (Hillel & Rosenzweig 2010). Only time will tell whether taming climate change is possible or not.

In this regard, this assessment covers the impact of climate change in our lives today even as world leaders burn midnight oil to develop strategies, aimed at taming the scourge. This proposal topic has an array of benefits, especially in understanding the fatal nature of climate change.

It will mainly focus on the effects of climate change and make proposals on how to counteract the effects of climate together some of the preventive measures being considered by international leaders.

Through literature review, this project will compare different views as argued by different authors in order to synthesize the issue with varying view points. This will be crucial in capturing the main objective of the projects, which revolves around the analysis of the effects of climate change in the world today.

How is climate change defined? Although different environmental experts tend to have different definitions, the Australian Government defines climate change as the weather pattern observed for several years. These changes are mainly caused by human activities, which negatively impact the environment.

With reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in the year 2007, climate change is no longer a myth, but a reality, whose impact has continually escalated from 1950s, mainly due to rising levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

This implies that human activities have significantly contributed this environmental scourge, which continues to affect most parts of the world. The IPCC report was a representation of the world view on climate change, collected from various scientific journals published around the world (Australian Government 2012).

The Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency affirms that there is enough evidence to support the fact that the climate system of the earth has continuously been warming. Some of the observations made include the rising level of air in the world and high ocean temperatures. Others are the rising sea level, constant melting of snow and ice in most parts of the world.

One important fact to note about climate change is that it involves the rising temperatures of the climate system holistically, including all the oceans, atmosphere and the cryosphere. These findings concluded that the climate system is in a heating mode.

Even as we review other people’s work, it is important to note that climate change is more than mere global warming as perceived by most people. From scientific revelation, the climate will be varied broadly especially if the warming continues uncontrollably (Australian Government 2012). As a result, the world is likely to experience irregular rainfall patterns, occurrence of severe climatic events like heavy currents and droughts among others.

The impact of climate change has been felt in every part of the world. According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Asia, Africa and Latin America are among the regions of the world, which have severely been affected by the scourge. In a 2010 survey carried out by Climate Change Secretariat, Africa is under the pressure of climate change and remains vulnerable to these effects.

Unlike most parts of the world, Africa experiences varying climatic changes. Common occurrences in Africa are severe droughts and floods, which have had negative implications on the continent’s economy (UNFCCC 2010).

The two events are widely known to predispose famine and overall interference with the socio-well being of the society. According to the UNFCCC’s analysis, close to a third of Africa’s population inhabit drought-prone regions, while more than two million remain vulnerable to drought every year (UNFCCC 2010).

In understanding the implication of climate change in Africa, the survey found out that the issue of climate change is intertwined with several factors, which contribute to its escalation across the continent.

Some of these factors include poverty, weak institutions, illiteracy, lack of information and technology, limited infrastructure, poor accessibility to resources, poor management and conflicts. In addition, there is widespread exploitation of land, which remains a major threat to the climate.

Due to pressure on farming land, most farmers exert pressure through over-cultivation and deforestation. In addition, other factors like dunes and storms continue posing more negative threats to the environment and human beings (UNFCCC 2010).

As a result of these events, the continent experiences drought and overall scarcity of water. Due to this emerging trend, Africa is likely to face shortage of rainfall and overall scarcity of water. With Africa having several trans-boundary river basins, the continent is likely to experience conflicts over these basins. Another important aspect captured in the report is agriculture (UNFCCC 2010).

Since most subsistence farmers in Africa depend on rainfall and irrigation, the sector has been affected by insufficient supply in most Sub-Saharan regions. Besides this, UNFCCC notes that climate change has resulted into loss of agricultural land and a drop in subsistence crop production. With a good percentage of the population under the threat of starvation, climate change has undoubtedly led to escalation of insufficient food supply.

It is amazing to note that climate change has also contributed to the spread of some diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhea in most parts of Africa. As stated by the UNFCCC, there has been a shift in the distribution of disease vectors.

For instance, migration of mosquitoes to regions of higher altitude is likely to expose people in such regions to the risk of contracting malaria (UNFCCC 2010). Additionally, climate change is likely to result into negative impact on African ecosystems and habitats, which are already threatened by these changes. Due to reduced habitat and changing climatic conditions some species are likely to move to more tolerable regions.

In this line of though Robert Watson, Marufu Zinyowera and Richard Moss found out that climate change can have severe effects on human health. In a research carried out in 1998, the three reiterated that human health may be affected as a result of heat-stress mortality, urban air pollution and vector-borne diseases, which could be favored as a result of change in temperature or rainfall in a given ecosystem (Watson, Zinyowera & Moss 1998, p. 7).

Additionally, Watson, Zinyowera and Moss argued that these effects are commonly felt in developing countries, where lives are lost, communities affected and the cost in medical care rises due to high prevalence of some health complications.

With regard to the impact of climate change on biodiversity, Watson, Zinyowera and Moss, agree with UNFCCC’s findings. In their 1998 survey, the three argued that all ecosystems play a fundamental role in the society (Watson, Zinyowera & Moss 1998).

For instance, they are a source of goods and services to any society. In particular, these goods and services include provision of food, processing and storage of carbon and other nutrients, assimilation of wastes and provision of recreation and tourism opportunities among others.

As a result, they argued that climatic changes are known to alter the geographical local of various ecological systems, including the presence of certain species and their ability to remain productive to support the society. According to their findings, ecological systems are essentially dynamic and are commonly affected by climatic variations of whichever magnitude.

Nevertheless, the extreme to which the climate varies determines the changes, which occur in the ecosystem. In addition, the three authors noted the high level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was a major contributing factor towards climate changes taking place in the world today (Watson, Zinyowera & Moss 1998).

Besides influencing the ecosystems, Watson, Zinyowera and Moss noted that climate change may also have secondary effects, say, variations in soil characteristics and interference of regimes. These include diseases, pests and diseases, which are likely to support the existence of some species favorably than others (Watson, Zinyowera & Moss 1998).

This will automatically affect the survival of some species and the overall population of organisms. Similarly, they argued that that climate change has direct impact on food production in most parts of the world. According to the 1998 survey, the type of agricultural systems in place determines the manner in which crop productivity is affected by changes in climatic conditions and patterns.

Like many other scholars, Barrie Pittock spent his life studying the environment and how it is affected by changes in climate. In his 2009, survey, Climate Change: The Science, Impacts and Solutions , Pittock outlined several reasons why there is cause for alarm, regarding climate change in the world today.

According to Pittock, the UNFCCC seeks to reduce the impact of climate change by being on the frontline in the war against global warming (Pittock 2009, p. 107). He further noted that human-induced climate change is a major security threat in the world today. This stance is mainly backed by the well-known effects of climate change described by the UNFCCC and the IPCC.

Moreover, Pittock reiterated that climate change has complex effects in the world today, citing a number of examples. In cases where there is high rainfall resulting from climate change, the world may experience direct or indirect implications.

This could be seen through high or low crop yield, depending on the type of soil or crop. On the other hand, indirect effects may refer to changes in demand and supply, emanating from either low or high yield, depending on other factors. He therefore agreed with several authors and researchers who have enumerated implications of climate change on the environment and human life at large.

For example, Pittock noted that climate change has been a major cause of water shortages in most parts of the world (Pittock 2009, p. 108). He however attributed this to a number of factors, including precipitation decrease in some regions, high rates of evaporation in the world and general loss of glaciers.

Economically, Pittock noted that climate change affects the economic progress of a nation since resources may be diverted to disease control instead of advancing developing projects.

Moreover, it is important to note that most of the countries, which suffer severely as a result of climate change, are poor nations that lack stable economic muscles. As a result, there is a likelihood of richer countries becoming stronger as developing economies weaken further. Lastly, Pittock noted that some of the threats emanating from climate change cause irreversible damages, which end up haunting human beings forever (Pittock 2009, p. 109).

With reference to a number of scholars who have done research on the impact of climate change, it is evident that human activities have a role in the escalation of these effects. In his 2010 survey, Martin Kernan noted that there is a relation between human activities and global warming.

As a result of this global relationship, the world has registered an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this survey, he noted that the increase in green house gases is rampant in the northern hemisphere than any other part of the world.

As a result of high temperatures, Martin underscore that the changes have impact on the composition of natural ecosystems, regarding species population and their ability to survive (Kernan 2010, p. 15). What is most evident in Martin’s research is his comparison of the current state of the climate, to what was known hundreds of years ago.

Climate change also affects the quality of water in the United States. According to a research carried out by Robert Mendelsohn and James Neumann, water plays an important role in the life of a human being. Some of these functions include but not limited to power generation, food production, recreation and ecological processes (Mendelsohn & Mendelsohn 2004, p. 133).

However, this is only possible if the water is available and of good quality. Thus, changes in spatial distribution and quality can have direct social and economic effects on the society.

This alteration may occur as a result of increased concentration in greenhouse gases. Climate change can be detected by observing variation in temperatures, frequent and intense droughts and altered precipitation patterns among other factors (Mendelsohn & Mendelsohn 2004, p. 133).

The findings on the impact of climate change on the quality of water have also been pursued by Jan Dam, who argued that natural systems are usually sensitive to changes in climate variation. Hydrological quality is mainly affected by the temperature or concentration of water (Dam 2003, p. 95).

When oceans and other water bodies overheat because of high temperatures, this may result into negative impact on aquatic animals, which adapt to certain hydrological temperatures. Similarly, the quality of water is always altered when gases like carbon dioxide are dissolved in water basins. This may affect the mix of species present in a given ecosystem.

Based on the impact of climate change, it is doubtless that management of the risks has to be effected promptly before they become fatal and irreversible. One of the ways of controlling climate change is through reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

This can be achieved through several ways, which minimize the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (McCarthy 2001, p. 222). According to James McCarthy, this can be realized by adopting alternative sources of energy unlike how most economies rely of oil and petroleum products as the main source of energy. Additionally, good methods of farming are important to maintain the value of the environment for sustainable support.

Use of international legislations is also necessary in ensuring that rich countries do not exploit developing nations as they are major contributors of effluents into the atmosphere (Hillel & Rosenzweig 2010). Above all, the fight against climate change calls for environmental campaign, which requires the efforts of everybody in the world.

From the above review of literature, it is clear that climate change is a major socio and environmental issue affecting the world today. Mainly caused by human activities, climate change poses a chain of challenges and threats to the environment.

For instance, there are several diseases, which affect human beings as a result of climate change (Rosenberg & Edmonds 2005). Of importance is also the alteration of the quality of the natural environment, which affects biodiversity. This has led to the extinction of some species, while others have increased exponentially in numbers.

Moreover, it is imperative to note that some of the occurrences, which are considered to be natural, are caused by climate change. Common ones include floods and draughts (Faure, Gupta & Nentjes 2003, p. 340).

Most of these calamities continue to be recognized as natural disasters yet they can be controlled using simple mitigation measures. In most cases, adoption of renewable sources of energy has always been considered to be the most important way of saving the world from climate change. Although it is a complex issue to handle, joint global efforts are important in making progress.

Australian Government 2012, Impacts of climate change .

Dam, J 2003, Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Variability on Hydrological Regimes , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

Faure, M, Gupta, J & Nentjes, A 2003, Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol: The Role of Institutions and Instruments to Control Global Change , Edward Elgar Publishing, United Kingdom.

Hillel, D & Rosenzweig, C 2010, Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation , World Scientific, Singapore.

Kernan, M 2010, Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems , John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey.

Mendelsohn, R & Neumann, J 2004, The Impact Of Climate Change On The United States Economy , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

Pittock, B 2009, Climate Change: The Science, Impacts and Solutions , Csiro Publishing, Sydney.

Rosenberg, N, & Edmonds, J 2005, Climate Change Impacts for the Conterminous USA: An Integrated Assessment , Springer, New York.

UNFCCC 2010, Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation In Developing Countries.

Watson, R, Zinyowera, M & Moss, R 1998, The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

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The Effects of Climate Change

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

• We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
• Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. 1 The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.

Here are some of the expected effects of global climate change on the United States, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:

Future effects of global climate change in the United States:

U.S. Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario. Sea level is rising because of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Image credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Climate Changes Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond

Global climate is projected to continue warming over this century and beyond. Image credit: Khagani Hasanov, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

Scientists project that hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates will increase as the climate continues to warm. Image credit: NASA

More Droughts and Heat Waves

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and less frequent. Image credit: NOAA

Longer Wildfire Season

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought in the region has heightened the risk of fires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades. By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times. Even in traditionally rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are projected to increase by about 30%.

Changes in Precipitation Patterns

Climate change is having an uneven effect on precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States, with some locations experiencing increased precipitation and flooding, while others suffer from drought. On average, more winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern United States, and less for the Southwest, over this century. Image credit: Marvin Nauman/FEMA

Frost-Free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen

The length of the frost-free season, and the corresponding growing season, has been increasing since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States. Across the United States, the growing season is projected to continue to lengthen, which will affect ecosystems and agriculture.

Global Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Summer of 2023 was Earth's hottest summer on record, 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.23 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980. Image credit: NASA

Arctic Is Very Likely to Become Ice-Free

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to continue decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean will very likely become essentially ice-free in late summer if current projections hold. This change is expected to occur before mid-century.

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third 3 and Fourth 4 National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program .

• Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity , which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
• Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.
• Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
• Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
• Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

1. IPCC 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis , the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

3. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment .

4. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment .

Related Resources

A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

What’s the difference between climate change and global warming?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

Discover More Topics From NASA

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science in Action

Earth Science Data

Facts About Earth

Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?

Short answer: Yes. Even a seemingly slight average temperature rise is enough to cause a dramatic transformation of our planet.

The Missouri River encroaches on homes in Sioux City, Iowa, during a 2011 flood

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Five and a half degrees Fahrenheit. It may not sound like much—perhaps the difference between wearing a sweater and not wearing one on an early-spring day. But for the world in which we live—which climate experts project will be at least 5.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by 2100 , relative to pre-industrial levels (1850–1900), should global emissions continue on their current path—this small rise will have grave consequences. These impacts are already becoming apparent for every ecosystem and living thing, including us.

Human influences are the number one cause of global warming , especially the carbon pollution we cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution capture we prevent by destroying forests. The carbon dioxide, methane, soot, and other pollutants we release into the atmosphere act like a blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm. Evidence shows that the 2010s were hotter than any other decade on record —and every decade since the 1960s has averaged hotter than the previous one. This warming is altering the earth's climate system, including its land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice, in far-reaching ways.

More frequent and severe weather

Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and unleash more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2021, there were 20 weather and climate disaster events in the United States—including severe storms, floods, drought, and wildfires—that individually caused at least $1 billion in losses . “Disasters in 2021 had a staggering total price tag of $145 billion—and that’s an underestimate because it excludes health damages,” says Vijay Limaye , senior scientist at NRDC. “These climate and weather disasters endanger people across the country throughout the entire year. In fact, more than 4 in 10 Americans live in a county that was struck by climate-related disasters in 2021.”

The increasing number of droughts, intense storms, and floods we're seeing as our warming atmosphere holds—and then dumps—more moisture poses risks to public health and safety too. Prolonged dry spells mean more than just scorched lawns. Drought conditions jeopardize access to clean drinking water, fuel out-of-control wildfires, and result in dust storms, extreme heat events, and flash flooding in the States. Elsewhere around the world, lack of water is a leading cause of death and serious disease and is contributing to crop failure. At the opposite end of the spectrum, heavier rains cause streams, rivers, and lakes to overflow, which damages life and property, contaminates drinking water, creates hazardous-material spills, and promotes mold infestation and unhealthy air. A warmer, wetter world is also a boon for foodborne and waterborne illnesses and disease-carrying insects, such as mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks.

Higher death rates

Today's scientists point to climate change as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. It's a threat that impacts all of us—especially children, the elderly, low-income communities, and minorities—and in a variety of direct and indirect ways. As temperatures spike, so does the incidence of illness, emergency room visits, and death.

"There are more hot days in places where people aren't used to it," Limaye says. "They don't have air-conditioning or can't afford it. One or two days isn't a big deal. But four days straight where temperatures don't go down, even at night, leads to severe health consequences." In the United States, hundreds of heat-related deaths occur each year due to direct impacts and the indirect effects of heat-exacerbated, life-threatening illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Indeed, extreme heat kills more Americans each year, on average, than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and lightning combined.

Dirtier air

Rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground-level ozone smog, which is created when pollution from cars, factories, and other sources react to sunlight and heat. Ground-level ozone is the main component of smog, and the hotter things get, the more of it we have. Dirtier air is linked to higher hospital admission rates and higher death rates for asthmatics. It worsens the health of people suffering from cardiac or pulmonary disease. And warmer temperatures also significantly increase airborne pollen , which is bad news for those who suffer from hay fever and other allergies.

Higher wildlife extinction rates

As humans, we face a host of challenges, but we're certainly not the only ones catching heat. As land and sea undergo rapid changes, the animals that inhabit them are doomed to disappear if they don't adapt quickly enough. Some will make it, and some won't. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Report , the risk of species extinction increases steeply with rises in global temperature —with invertebrates (specifically pollinators) and flowering plants being some of the most vulnerable. Moreover, a 2015 study showed that vertebrate species (animals with backbones, like fish, birds, mammals , amphibians, and reptiles) are also disappearing more than 100 times faster than the natural rate of extinction, due to human-driven climate change, pollution, and deforestation.

More acidic oceans

The earth's marine ecosystems are under pressure as a result of climate change. Oceans are becoming more acidic, due in large part to their absorption of some of our excess emissions. As this acidification accelerates, it poses a serious threat to underwater life, particularly creatures with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, including mollusks, crabs, and corals. This can have a huge impact on shellfisheries . In total, the U.S. shellfish industry could lose more than $400 million annually by 2100 due to impacts of ocean acidification.

Higher sea levels

The polar regions are particularly vulnerable to a warming atmosphere. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere on earth, and the world's ice sheets are melting fast. This not only has grave consequences for the region's people, wildlife, and plants; its most serious impact may be on rising sea levels. By 2100, it's estimated our oceans will be 1.6 to 6.6 feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas, encompassing entire island nations and the world’s largest cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City, as well as Mumbai, India; Rio de Janeiro; and Sydney, Australia.

But this isn’t the end of the story

There’s no question: Unchecked climate change promises a frightening future, and it's too late to fully turn back the clock. We've already taken care of that by pumping a century's worth of pollution into the atmosphere. “Even if we stopped all carbon dioxide emissions tomorrow, we'd still see some dangerous effects,” Limaye says. That, of course, is the bad news.

But there's also good news. By aggressively reducing our global emissions now, “we can avoid a lot of the severe consequences that climate change would otherwise bring,” says Limaye. While change must happen at the highest levels of government and business, your voice matters too: to your friends, to your families, and to your community leaders. Together, we can envision a safer, healthier, more equitable future—and build toward it. You can join with millions of people around the world fighting climate change and even work to reduce fossil fuels in your own life .

This story was originally published on March 15, 2016, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

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News from the Columbia Climate School

10 Climate Change Impacts That Will Affect Us All

As global greenhouse gases are projected to hit a new high for 2019, Petteri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization recently declared, “Things are getting worse.” A 2019 poll found that only 24 percent of U.S. respondents believed climate change would have a great deal of impact on their lives; 31 percent believed it would have a fair amount of impact.

Different regions of the country will be affected in different ways, some more than others. But there are certain impacts that will probably affect every American’s way of life. Here are 10 of them.

1. Damage to your home

Floods, the most common and deadly natural disasters in the U.S., will likely be exacerbated and intensified by sea level rise and extreme weather. Heavy precipitation is projected to increase throughout the century to potentially three times the historical average. A 2018 study found that over 40 million Americans are at risk of flooding from rivers, and over 8.6 million people live in areas that already experience coastal flooding from storm surges during hurricanes. FEMA estimated that even one inch of floodwater in an average-sized home could cost homeowners almost $27,000 in damages.

In September, Adam Sobel, founding director of Columbia University’s Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate , testified before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. He asserted that scientists have strong evidence that global warming will increase the frequency or intensity of heavy rain events, and coastal flooding due to hurricane storm surge is also worsening because of sea level rise and increased precipitation.

In addition, he said, the frequency and intensity of droughts and wildfires are on the rise. While no state is immune to wildfires, 13 states in the West are considered susceptible to the most severe wildfire damage, with California having the most acres burned in 2018. A national analysis found that 775,654 homes are at extreme risk of wildfire in these 13 states. But even if homes do not burn to the ground, they may suffer smoke and fire damage, as well as water damage and flooding from fire fighting efforts.

How to protect yourself

• Apply sealants and coatings to prevent floodwaters from entering your house
• Install a sump pump
• Keep your gutters and drains clear
• Where flooding occurs regularly, raise your home up on stilts or piles
• Remove dry vegetation around the house
• When replacing a roof, opt for tile or metal
• Take all evacuation warnings seriously and have an emergency supply kit ready to go

2. More expensive home insurance

As insurance companies pay out huge amounts to homeowners whose houses have been damaged by climate change impacts, many are raising premiums to offset their costs. Home insurance rates increased more than 50 percent between 2005 and 2015.

In high-risk areas, premiums and deductibles may rise, coverage may be more limited, and insurance could ultimately become unaffordable or unavailable for some, especially in climate-vulnerable areas. For Connecticut homeowners, insurance rates have gone up 35 percent in the last 10 years; for homeowners with property along the coast, rates have gone up by over 50 percent. In 2016, California insurance companies would not renew over 10,000 policies for homes in high-risk areas. (Recently, however, the state issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurers from dropping customers who live in areas at risk from wildfire.) Travelers Insurance Company now requires separate deductibles in areas where hurricanes and tornadoes are more common.

Moreover, standard homeowners’ insurance does not cover flooding, so homeowners must buy private insurance or sign up for the National Flood Insurance Program  run by FEMA. Due to billions of dollars in payouts for Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Sandy, however, NFIP is $20.5 billion in debt. In October, FEMA announced that rates would rise 11.3 percent in April 2020, and will be further restructured in October 2021.

• When choosing a home, factor in climate risks
• Check FEMA flood maps (even though almost 60 percent are out of date)
• Understand your insurance coverage and needs
• Shop around for your insurance policy
• Raise your deductible for lower monthly payments
• Make your home more disaster-resistant

3. Outdoor work could become unbearable

With continued global warming, heat waves are expected to increase in frequency, duration and intensity. Jane Baldwin, a postdoctoral research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, found that compound heat waves—heat waves that occur in sequence, one after the other—will also increase, making recovery from heat waves more difficult.

People who work outdoors, such as construction workers, miners, firefighters and agricultural workers, will be most affected by increasing temperatures. Florida, for example, has one of the highest rates of heat-related hospitalizations in the U.S. This summer during a heat wave, the majority of heat-related visits to emergency rooms in Virginia were made by people aged 29-40, 70 percent of whom were men. Indoor workers in warehouses and steel plants can also be affected by excessive heat.

One study suggested that outdoor workers should begin their shifts earlier in the day, but if global warming continues at the current pace, by 2100, they would have to start working four to six hours before dawn. Currently, there are no federal laws that protect workers from heat stress, but in July, a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives that would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to establish standards to protect those working in the heat.

• Take frequent shade and water breaks
• Use a damp rag to keep cool
• Wear light-colored clothing and a hat
• Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke

4. Higher electric bills and more blackouts

As temperatures rise, people will need to stay cool for health and comfort reasons. Climate Central analyzed 244 cities in the U.S. and determined that 93 percent experienced an increase in the number of days that required extra cooling to remain comfortable. As we rely more heavily on air conditioners and fans, electricity bills will get higher.

The increased demand for electricity, especially during peak periods, can also over-tax the electrical grid, triggering brownouts or blackouts. Extreme weather, such as hurricanes, heat waves or snowstorms, can cause power outages too.

Between the mid-1980s and 2012, there was a ten-fold increase in power outages, 80 percent of which were caused by weather.

As wildfires plague California, Pacific Gas & Electric has been preemptively shutting down power to avoid the possibility of sparking fires in the dry, windy conditions. Millions lost power during this year’s blackouts. Pre-emptive blackouts could become a common occurrence.

Brownouts or blackouts can also result if hydropower plants have less water to draw from in rivers and lakes, and if water becomes too warm to cool nuclear or coal power plants.

• Find greener ways to stay cool
• Install a programmable thermostat and set the temperature higher
• Run your appliances at night
• During a blackout, fill the bathtub so you have water to flush toilets; keep freezers and refrigerators closed
• If the power goes out, unplug appliances and electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges
• Don’t run generators inside the garage or near open windows, to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning

5.  Rising taxes   

Municipalities are recognizing the need to make their communities more resilient in the face of climate change impacts. Although measures such as building seawalls or hardening infrastructure are hugely expensive, the National Climate Assessment determined that resiliency measures save money in the long run — for example, by reducing coastal property damage to about $800 billion from a projected $3.5 trillion. Paying for mitigation and adaptation measures, however, will likely have to be funded through higher property taxes or “resilience fees.”

Grand Rapids, Michigan had problems with flooding and aging stormwater infrastructure. In 2014, the residents rejected a 13.3 percent income tax cut in order to implement green infrastructure measures that absorb runoff and reduce flooding on streets.

In 2018, Norfolk, VA, which is surrounded by water and vulnerable to sea level rise, approved a $0.10 increase to the real estate tax rate, which will go towards citywide resiliency plans to address flooding. And in the wake of California’s recent wildfires, Marin County is proposing a $0.10 per square foot parcel tax on property owners across the county to fund wildfire prevention.

• See if you qualify for a tax rebate or credit for renewable energy   and/or energy efficiency
• Check to see if your state gives tax exemptions for seniors, veterans, or the disabled

6. More allergies and other health risks

Warmer temperatures cause the pollen season to be longer and worsen air quality, both of which can result in more allergy and asthma attacks. Ground-level ozone, a major component of smog, which increases when temperatures warm, can also cause coughing, chest tightness or pain, decrease lung function and worsen asthma and other chronic lung diseases.

In addition, after floods or storms, damp buildings may foster mold growth, which has been linked to allergies and other lung diseases.

With rising temperatures, more people will suffer heat cramps, heat exhaustion, hyperthermia (high body temperature) and heat stroke as days that are unusually hot for the season hamper the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. Prolonged exposure to heat can exacerbate cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases, diabetes, and increase the chance for strokes.

Older adults, pregnant women, and children are particularly vulnerable to excess heat. A 2018 paper , written by Madeline Thomson while she was a senior researcher at the Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society, called attention to the fact that children and infants are more vulnerable to dehydration and heat stress, as well as to respiratory disease, allergies and fever during heat waves and to the need for adults to protect them.

As the climate changes, disease-carrying mosquitoes are extending their range, bringing diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya and West Nile virus farther north than they’ve ever been. In the summer of 2013, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, usually found in Texas and the southeastern U.S., suddenly appeared in California as far north as San Francisco — fortunately, none of the tested mosquitoes carried dengue or yellow fever. One study projects that Aedes aegypti could reach as far north as Chicago by 2050.

Heat waves, natural disasters, and the disruption in lives they cause can also aggravate mental health. During one recent California wildfire, suicidal and traumatized people flooded emergency rooms.

• When pollen counts are high or air quality is bad, stay indoors
• During a heat wave, limit outside activity during the hottest hours
• Stay hydrated
• Use insect repellent
• Understand how climate impacts can affect your children and take precautions for them

7. Food will be more expensive and variety may suffer

In the last 20 years, food prices have risen about 2.6 percent each year, and the USDA expects that food prices will continue to rise. While there are several reasons for higher food prices, climate change is a major factor. Extreme weather affects livestock and crops, and droughts can have impacts on the stability and price of food. New York apple farmers, for example, are facing warmer winters and extreme weather, which can wipe out harvests. They are trying to save their apples with new irrigation systems and wind machines that blow warm air during cold spells, but eventually these added costs will be reflected in the price of apples.

As temperatures warm and precipitation increases, more pathogens will thrive and affect plant health; in addition, more food will spoil. And because food is a globally traded commodity today, climate events in one region can raise prices and cause shortages across the globe. For example, a drought in Brazil in 2013 and 2014 caused Arabica coffee prices to double.

Michael Puma , director of the Earth Institute’s Center for Climate Systems Research, studies global food security , especially how susceptible the global network of food trade is to natural (e.g., megadroughts, volcanic eruptions) and manmade (e.g., wars, trade restrictions) disturbances. He and his colleagues are building quantitative economic models to examine vulnerabilities in the food system under different scenarios; they will use the tool to explore how altering certain policies might reduce the vulnerabilities of the food system to disruptions.

Three-quarters of our crops rely on insects for pollination and scientists believe 41 percent of insect species are threatened with extinction. While habitat loss is the major reason, climate change also plays a large part. If we lose pollinators, that could mean losing some of the crops and varieties they pollinate.

• To save money, cook at home more often and avoid purchasing prepared foods
• Don’t waste food
• Buy in bulk
• Eat less meat

8. Water quality could suffer 

Intense storms and heavy precipitation can result in the contamination of water resources . In cities, runoff picks up pollutants from the streets, and can overflow sewage systems, allowing untreated sewage to enter drinking water supplies.

In rural areas, runoff transports animal waste, pesticides and chemical fertilizer, and can enter drinking or recreational waters. Polluted drinking water can cause diarrhea, Legionnaires’ disease, and cholera; it can also cause eye, ear and skin infections. In some low-lying coastal areas, sea level rise could enable saltwater to enter groundwater drinking water supplies. And in areas suffering from drought, contaminants become more concentrated as water supplies decrease. In addition, algal blooms thrive in warm temperatures and can contaminate drinking water. In 2014, residents of Toledo, Ohio had to drink bottled water for three days because their water supply was polluted with cyanobacteria toxins.

The Earth Institute’s Columbia Water Center studies the state of fresh water availability in the face of climate change, and the water needs of food production, energy generation and ecosystems. It aims to provide “sustainable models of water management and development” to apply on local, regional and global levels.

• Don’t use water you suspect is contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, wash or prepare food, make ice, wash hands or make baby formula
• Keep bottled water on hand
• Decrease your household water use, especially during droughts
• Heed government precautions when drinking water is found to be contaminated and boil your water

9. Outdoor exercise and recreational sports will become more difficult

Reduced snowfall and early snowmelt in the spring will have an impact on skiing, snowmobiling and other winter sports. Less water in lakes and rivers could also affect boating and fishing during summer.

Hotter temperatures, especially in the South and Southwest, will make summer activities like running, biking, hiking and fishing less comfortable and potentially dangerous to your health.

• Shorten your outdoor workout
• Substitute indoor activities when temperatures are excessively hot
• Plan outdoor exercise for early or late in the day
• Choose shady routes if possible
• Wear loose, light-colored clothing
• Keep salty or juicy snacks on hand
• Know the signs of heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke

10. Disruptions in travel

As temperatures rise, it may get too hot for some planes to fly. In 2015, Radley Horton, associate research professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and then Ph.D. student Ethan Coffel published a study calculating how extreme heat could restrict the takeoff weight of airplanes. Hotter air is less dense, so planes get less lift under their wings and engines produce less power. Airlines may be forced to bump passengers or leave luggage behind to lighten their loads. This concern is one reason why long-distance flights from the Middle East leave at night; the practice could become standard for the U.S. as well.

Flights can be disrupted due to flooding because many airports are located on low-lying land.

Superstorm Sandy in 2012 flooded LaGuardia Airport for three days. One runway in Northern Canada had to be repaved because the permafrost on which it was built began melting.

Once in the air, you may experience more turbulence. Stronger winds create more shear (a difference in wind speed over a short distance) in the atmosphere, which results in turbulence. And distant storms can create waves in the atmosphere that cause turbulence hundreds of miles away.

Recreational travel could be upended as climate change impacts many popular destinations. Sea level rise, storm surge and erosion are affecting Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, Miami Beach in Florida, and Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. Along Florida’s southwest and Gulf coasts, toxic algae blooms have killed fish and turtles, sending the stench and toxins into the air, and making beaches unpleasant and unhealthy.

In the U.S., Montana’s Glacier National Park is losing its glaciers; in 1910 it had more than 100, but now fewer than two dozen remain. The Everglades are experiencing salt water intrusion from sea level rise. World heritage sites, too, are being affected by global warming impacts: The Amazon rainforest is threatened by logging and fires, the Arctic is thawing, the snows of Kilamanjaro are melting, and the Great Barrier Reef’s corals are bleaching.

• Change your travel destination
• Purchase travel insurance
• Check the weather of your travel destination
• Fly during the morning to reduce chances of thunderstorms and turbulence
• On the plane, keep your seat belt buckled as much as possible

As global temperatures continue to rise, climate change will affect our wallets, our health, our safety, and our lives. Many people are already feeling these impacts. And while there are ways to adapt on a personal level, some of these changes are going to become more severe and unavoidable over time. The best way to protect ourselves for the future is to support policies and measures that cut carbon emissions and enhance climate resilience.

Related Posts

Ancient Ocean Sediments Reveal Analog to Human-Influenced Warming

Air Conditioning Poses a Climate Conundrum

How Greenland’s Ice Holds Clues to Our Future

Columbia Climate School has once again been selected as university partner for Climate Week NYC, an annual convening of climate leaders to drive the transition, speed up progress and champion change. Join us for events and follow our coverage .

Ocean pollution puts a large portion of our food and water supply at risk. 2020 needs to be the year for our oceans. I’ve started using Ekoru.org instead of Google because every search helps clean plastics from our oceans.

ugh but 2020 aint the year anymore:(

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU HAVE HELPED ME SO MUCH!!!

All the climate charts you could ever want on one page https://lokisrevengeblog.wordpress.com/collpase-charts/ No Water No Food No Life https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/ee7ewr/no_water_no_food_no_life/

may god bless you

Please check your facts and do not rely on computer models that have proven unreliable. The public actually can look up and find out for themselves that floods and forest fires are not any where near historic levels now. And by the way, CO2 and the earths average temperatures have also been greater in the past. How many times have we been told we only have 10 years to Change our ways. At least 40 years now. “But this time it’s real?”

Let me guess – American?

Probably, unfortunately. Please don’t think all of us are as foolish as some of us.

ah, politics will be the end of the world. congrats democracy, really did us a favor this time

i think we should worry about climate change because it can affect our futures and people on the earth

I very much agree

Yes, It’s a serious concern for all of us.

John Denker, y ou are wrong. The  2020 Oregon wildfire season  was one of the most destructive on record in the state of Oregon. How twould it have ever been possible for Earth’s CO2 average to be greater in the past? Your argument is weak, and false. We haven’t changed our ways, and each year we pay the price. Things are getting worse every year.

Actually Earth did have higher CO2 concentrations in the past. Look up the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Earth’s temperature was much higher. The CO2 and temperature increases that led to the PETM happened rapidly, on geologic timescales, but nowhere near as fast as today. And it wasn’t accompanied by the level of habitat loss and pollution we have now. Climate change isn’t necessarily always bad; in our case it is though, because many species don’t have enough time to adapt.

That’s because we are actually doing things about it ( I mean about the Co2 part )

Yes I agree, taxes are rising soo much and I have had 8 power cuts in the last year

Very true but not a reason the ignore these things.

It’s very helping to us school kids

Over the years, we have been informed and warned about the effects of global warming. Now we are in the middle of it…so, I have just one question : isn’t it already too late ?

ITS NEVER TO LATE Kuijer Johan

I’m sure its not too late- if it is that really sucks.

doesnt climate change effect the food chain if all ice caps melt

It affects the food chain anyway

Yeah, some animals that need cooler temperatures die, their predators have no prey and then they die.

Lots of great things to know and to learn if you didn’t already know

What are the impacts like social, political, economical, Cultural from climate change

This article is really nice!!!! I give it 100 stars!!!

I love the points this article makes. I, a 49-year-old retired firefighter, faced extreme heat while on the job. Wildfires and house fires were commonplace when I was working. Some of my co-workers suffered from heat related injuries and had to get immediate medical treatment. I’m glad this article brings to light what us outdoor workers have to deal with on a daily basis, and I hope more articles address the conditions of outdoor workers

One day we will run out of animals because it gets too hot to farm them outdoors. I don’t know much about this thing but I kind of understood after reading this.

World of constant modification,appreciation and communication in quest to making life and its inhabitants better

Very helpfull to school Children 🙂

I am 78 years old and when I was young there wasn’t any air conditioning – only fans to stir the hot air around. cars didn’t have a/c – windows were rolled down. I don’t see a change in temperature in my 78 years. Sat outside when summer was at it hottest (July and August) and used handheld paper fans. We adjusted our cooking hours so it wouldn’t be so hot in the house. Nighttime was miserable as it was so hot we couldn’t sleep but eventually it came. Might have to put a cold cloth on our heads to cool us just a little. A person did exactly what was required of them. I remember droughts, heavy rainstorms and tornadoes. To me nothing has changed except generations have grown up with A/C in home and cars and can’t tolerate being a little hot.

TREE POWER IS IMMENSE

• trees are good at taking co2
• you get plant based food from them so eat that food
• use bing or chatgpt to find how much

tree table coming soon for house plants

Plant Name CO2 Absorption (kg/year) Dumbcane 16.28 Arrow Plant 15.73 Anthurium 14.44 Spider Plant 13.26 Bird’s Nest Fern 11.77 Golden Pothos 11.63 Prayer Plant 11.57 use this times 2

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CLEAN Collection offsite link

Sanctuaries resource collection: Climate change

We often think about human-induced climate change as something that will happen in the future, but it is happening now. Ecosystems and people in the United States and around the world are affected by the ongoing process of climate change today.

A collage of typical climate and weather-related events: floods, heatwaves, drought, hurricanes, wildfires and loss of glacial ice. (Image credit: NOAA)

Global temperatures rose about 1.98°F offsite link (1.1°C) from 1901 to 2020, but climate change refers to more than an increase in temperature. It also includes sea level rise, changes in weather patterns like drought and flooding, and much more. Things that we depend upon and value — water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health — are experiencing the effects of a changing climate.

A complex issue

The impacts of climate change on different sectors of society are interrelated. Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to disease spread and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues can increase mortality, impact food availability, and limit worker productivity. Climate change impacts are seen throughout every aspect of the world we live in. However, climate change impacts are uneven across the country and the world — even within a single community, climate change impacts can differ between neighborhoods or individuals. Long-standing socioeconomic inequities can make underserved groups, who often have the highest exposure to hazards and the fewest resources to respond, more vulnerable. 

The projections of a climate change-impacted future are not inevitable. Many of the problems and solutions offsite link are known to us now, and ongoing research continues to provide new ones. Experts believe there is still time to avoid the most negative of outcomes by limiting warming offsite link  and reducing emissions to zero as quickly as possible. Reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases will require investment in new technology and infrastructure, which will spur job growth. Additionally, lowering emissions will lessen harmful impacts to human health, saving countless lives and billions of dollars in health-related expenses.

Levels of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, continued their unrelenting rise in 2020 despite the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic response.

Our changing climate

We see climate change affecting our planet from pole to pole. NOAA monitors global climate data and here are some of the changes NOAA has recorded. You can explore more at the Global Climate Dashboard .

• Global temperatures rose about 1.8°F (1°C) from 1901 to 2020.
• Sea level rise has accelerated from 1.7 mm/year throughout most of the twentieth century to 3.2 mm/year since 1993.
• Glaciers are shrinking: average thickness of 30 well-studied glaciers has decreased more than 60 feet since 1980.
• The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic at the end of summer has shrunk by about 40% since 1979.
• The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 25% since 1958, and by about 40% since the Industrial Revolution.
• Snow is melting earlier compared to long-term averages.

Changes to water resources can have a big impact on our world and our lives.

Flooding is an increasing issue as our climate is changing. Compared to the beginning of the 20th century, there are both stronger and more frequent abnormally heavy precipitation events across most of the United States.

Conversely, drought is also becoming more common , particularly in the western United States. Humans are using more water, especially for agriculture. Much like we sweat more when it is hot out, higher air temperatures cause plants to lose, or transpire , more water, meaning farmers must give them more water. Both highlight the need for more water in places where supplies are dwindling.

Snowpack is an important source of fresh water for many people. As the snow melts, fresh water becomes available for use, especially in regions like the western United States where there is not much precipitation in warmer months. But as temperatures warm, there is less snow overall and snow begins to melt earlier in the year, meaning snowpack may not be a reliable source of water for the entire warm and dry seasons. 

The Redlands Mesa area outside Hotchkiss, Colorado, is particularly at risk to wildfires, but with funding from NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program, local high school students are taking action to tackle their community’s vulnerability to this hazard.

Our food supply depends on climate and weather conditions. Although farmers and researchers may be able to adapt some agricultural techniques and technologies or develop new ones, some changes will be difficult to manage. Increased temperatures, drought and water stress, diseases, and weather extremes create challenges for the farmers and ranchers who put food on our tables.

Human farm workers can suffer from heat-related health issues , like exhaustion, heatstroke, and heart attacks. Rising temperatures and heat stress can also harm livestock. 

Human health

Climate change is already impacting human health . Changes in weather and climate patterns can put lives at risk. Heat is one of the most deadly weather phenomena. As ocean temperatures rise, hurricanes are getting stronger and wetter , which can cause  direct and indirect deaths . Dry conditions lead to more wildfires, which bring many health risks . Higher incidences of flooding can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, injuries, and chemical hazards. As geographic ranges of mosquitoes and ticks expand, they can carry diseases to new locations.

The most vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, people with preexisting health conditions, outdoor workers, people of color, and people with low income are at an even higher risk because of the compounding factors from climate change. But public health groups can work with local communities to help people understand and build resilience to climate change health impacts.

The environment

Climate change will continue to have a significant impact on ecosystems and organisms, though they are not impacted equally. The Arctic is one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as it is warming at least twice the rate of the global average and melting land ice sheets offsite link and glaciers offsite link contribute dramatically to sea level rise around the globe.

Some living things are able to respond to climate change; some plants are blooming earlier and some species may expand their geographic range. But these changes are happening too fast for many other plants and animals as increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns stress ecosystems. Some invasive or nuisance species, like lionfish and ticks , may thrive in even more places because of climate change. 

Changes are also occurring in the ocean. The ocean absorbs about 30% of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. As a result, the water is becoming more acidic , affecting marine life. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion, in addition to melting ice sheets and glaciers, putting coastal areas at greater risk of erosion and storm surge.

The compounding effects of climate change are leading to many changes in ecosystems. Coral reefs are vulnerable to many effects of climate change: warming waters can lead to coral bleaching, stronger hurricanes can destroy reefs, and sea level rise can cause corals to be smothered by sediment. Coral reef ecosystems are home to thousands of species, which rely on healthy coral reefs to survive.

Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure includes bridges, roads, ports, electrical grids, broadband internet, and other parts of our transportation and communication systems. It is often designed to be in use for years or decades, and many communities have infrastructure that was designed without future climate in mind. But even newer infrastructures can be vulnerable to climate change. 

Extreme weather events that bring heavy rains, floods, wind, snow, or temperature changes can stress existing structures and facilities. Increased temperatures require more indoor cooling, which can put stress on an energy grid. Sudden heavy rainfall can lead to flooding that shuts down highways and major business areas. 

Nearly 40% of the United States population lives in coastal counties, meaning millions of people will be impacted by sea level rise. Coastal infrastructure , such as roads, bridges, water supplies, and much more, is at risk. Sea level rise can also lead to coastal erosion and high-tide flooding . Some communities are projected to possibly end up at or below sea level by 2100 and will face decisions around managed retreat and climate adaptation. 

Many communities are not yet prepared to face climate-related threats. Even within a community, some groups are more vulnerable to these threats than others. Going forward, it is important for communities to invest in resilient infrastructure that will be able to withstand future climate risks. Researchers are studying current and future impacts of climate change on communities and can offer recommendations on best practices. Resilience education is vitally important for city planners, emergency managers, educators, communicators, and all other community members to prepare for climate change.

EDUCATION CONNECTION

Teaching about climate change can be a daunting challenge, but it is a critical field for students to learn about, as it affects many parts of society. The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy , developed by NOAA and other federal partners, are standards that create a framework for teaching climate. The Toolbox for Teaching Climate & Energy explores a learning process to help students engage in climate action in their own communities or on a global scale. For more educator support, NOAA offers professional development opportunities (including the Planet Stewards Program ) about climate and other topics.

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Climate change: a threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet. taking action now can secure our future.

BERLIN, Feb 28 – Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released today.

“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”

The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5°C (2.7°F). Even temporarily exceeding this warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be irreversible. Risks for society will increase, including to infrastructure and low-lying coastal settlements.

The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group II report,  Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was approved on Sunday, February 27 2022, by 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual approval session that was held over two weeks starting on February 14.

Urgent action required to deal with increasing risks

Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring simultaneously, causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to manage. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, on Small Islands and in the Arctic.

To avoid mounting loss of life, biodiversity and infrastructure, ambitious, accelerated action is required to adapt to climate change, at the same time as making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. So far, progress on adaptation is uneven and there are increasing gaps between action taken and what is needed to deal with the increasing risks, the new report finds. These gaps are largest among lower-income populations. 

The Working Group II report is the second instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year.

“This report recognizes the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and people and integrates natural, social and economic sciences more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments,” said Hoesung Lee. “It emphasizes the urgency of immediate and more ambitious action to address climate risks. Half measures are no longer an option.”

Safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a liveable future

There are options to adapt to a changing climate. This report provides new insights into nature’s potential not only to reduce climate risks but also to improve people’s lives.

“Healthy ecosystems are more resilient to climate change and provide life-critical services such as food and clean water”, said IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner. “By restoring degraded ecosystems and effectively and equitably conserving 30 to 50 per cent of Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean habitats, society can benefit from nature’s capacity to absorb and store carbon, and we can accelerate progress towards sustainable development, but adequate finance and political support are essential.”

Scientists point out that climate change interacts with global trends such as unsustainable use of natural resources, growing urbanization, social inequalities, losses and damages from extreme events and a pandemic, jeopardizing future development.

“Our assessment clearly shows that tackling all these different challenges involves everyone – governments, the private sector, civil society – working together to prioritize risk reduction, as well as equity and justice, in decision-making and investment,” said IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Debra Roberts.

“In this way, different interests, values and world views can be reconciled. By bringing together scientific and technological know-how as well as Indigenous and local knowledge, solutions will be more effective. Failure to achieve climate resilient and sustainable development will result in a sub-optimal future for people and nature.”

Cities: Hotspots of impacts and risks, but also a crucial part of the solution

This report provides a detailed assessment of climate change impacts, risks and adaptation in cities, where more than half the world’s population lives. People’s health, lives and livelihoods, as well as property and critical infrastructure, including energy and transportation systems, are being increasingly adversely affected by hazards from heatwaves, storms, drought and flooding as well as slow-onset changes, including sea level rise.

“Together, growing urbanization and climate change create complex risks, especially for those cities that already experience poorly planned urban growth, high levels of poverty and unemployment, and a lack of basic services,” Debra Roberts said.

“But cities also provide opportunities for climate action – green buildings, reliable supplies of clean water and renewable energy, and sustainable transport systems that connect urban and rural areas can all lead to a more inclusive, fairer society.”

There is increasing evidence of adaptation that has caused unintended consequences, for example destroying nature, putting peoples’ lives at risk or increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This can be avoided by involving everyone in planning, attention to equity and justice, and drawing on Indigenous and local knowledge.

A narrowing window for action

Climate change is a global challenge that requires local solutions and that’s why the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) provides extensive regional information to enable Climate Resilient Development.

The report clearly states Climate Resilient Development is already challenging at current warming levels. It will become more limited if global warming exceeds 1.5°C (2.7°F). In some regions it will be impossible if global warming exceeds 2°C (3.6°F). This key finding underlines the urgency for climate action, focusing on equity and justice. Adequate funding, technology transfer, political commitment and partnership lead to more effective climate change adaptation and emissions reductions.

“The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner.

For more information, please contact:

IPCC Press Office, Email: [email protected]   IPCC Working Group II:  Sina Löschke,  Komila Nabiyeva: [email protected]

Notes for Editors

Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Working Group II report examines the impacts of climate change on nature and people around the globe. It explores future impacts at different levels of warming and the resulting risks and offers options to strengthen nature’s and society’s resilience to ongoing climate change, to fight hunger, poverty, and inequality and keep Earth a place worth living on – for current as well as for future generations. 

Working Group II introduces several new components in its latest report: One is a special section on climate change impacts, risks and options to act for cities and settlements by the sea, tropical forests, mountains, biodiversity hotspots, dryland and deserts, the Mediterranean as well as the polar regions. Another is an atlas that will present data and findings on observed and projected climate change impacts and risks from global to regional scales, thus offering even more insights for decision makers.

The Summary for Policymakers of the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) as well as additional materials and information are available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/

Note : Originally scheduled for release in September 2021, the report was delayed for several months by the COVID-19 pandemic, as work in the scientific community including the IPCC shifted online. This is the second time that the IPCC has conducted a virtual approval session for one of its reports.

AR6 Working Group II in numbers

270 authors from 67 countries

• 47 – coordinating authors
• 184 – lead authors
• 39 – review editors
• 675 – contributing authors

Over 34,000 cited references

A total of 62,418 expert and government review comments

(First Order Draft 16,348; Second Order Draft 40,293; Final Government Distribution: 5,777)

More information about the Sixth Assessment Report can be found  here .

Additional media resources

Assets available after the embargo is lifted on Media Essentials website .

Press conference recording, collection of sound bites from WGII authors, link to presentation slides, B-roll of approval session, link to launch Trello board including press release and video trailer in UN languages, a social media pack.

The website includes  outreach materials  such as videos about the IPCC and video recordings from  outreach events  conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.

Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our  YouTube  channel. Credit for artwork

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.

Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, IPCC scientists volunteer their time to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.

The IPCC has three working groups:  Working Group I , dealing with the physical science basis of climate change;  Working Group II , dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and  Working Group III , dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a  Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories  that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals. As part of the IPCC, a Task Group on Data Support for Climate Change Assessments (TG-Data) provides guidance to the Data Distribution Centre (DDC) on curation, traceability, stability, availability and transparency of data and scenarios related to the reports of the IPCC.

IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency. An IPCC assessment report consists of the contributions of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. The Synthesis Report integrates the findings of the three working group reports and of any special reports prepared in that assessment cycle.

About the Sixth Assessment Cycle

At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and the Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.

Global Warming of 1.5°C , an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty  was launched in October 2018.

Climate Change and Land , an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems  was launched in August 2019, and the  Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate  was released in September 2019.

In May 2019 the IPCC released the  2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories , an update to the methodology used by governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.

In August 2021 the IPCC released the Working Group I contribution to the AR6, Climate Change 2021, the Physical Science Basis

The Working Group III contribution to the AR6 is scheduled for early April 2022.

The Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report will be completed in the second half of 2022.

For more information go to  www.ipcc.ch

Related Content

Remarks by the ipcc chair during the press conference to present the working group ii contribution to the sixth assessment report.

Monday, 28 February 2022 Distinguished representatives of the media, WMO Secretary-General Petteri, UNEP Executive Director Andersen, We have just heard …

February 2022

Fifty-fifth session of the ipcc (ipcc-55) and twelfth session of working group ii (wgii-12), february 14, 2022, working group report, ar6 climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

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Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth. 

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How bad is climate change now?

By Henry Fountain April 19, 2020

From the Times’s Climate Desk’s series that addresses big climate questions: “The only real debates are over how fast and how far the climate will change, and what society should do.”

A crash course on climate change, 50 years after the first Earth Day

The science is clear: The world is warming dangerously, humans are the cause of it, and a failure to act today will deeply affect the future of the Earth.

This is a seven-day New York Times crash course on climate change, in which reporters from the Times’s Climate desk address the big questions:

1. How bad is climate change now?

Amid the horror and uncertainty of a global health crisis it can be easy to forget that another worldwide disaster is unfolding, although much more slowly.

Global warming is happening, and its effects are being felt around the world. The only real debates are over how fast and how far the climate will change, and what society should do — the global-warming equivalents of lockdowns and social distancing — to slow or stop it and limit the damage.

As of now, the damage seems to be getting worse. As I wrote in December, impacts that scientists predicted years ago — including severe storms, heat waves and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets — are accelerating.

The coronavirus pandemic can seem overwhelming because of its sheer scope; so can climate change. As a science writer at The Times for more than 20 years, I’ve learned that, to avoid being overwhelmed, it helps to start by understanding one part of the larger problem.

So let’s take a closer look at one piece: what’s happening at the top of the world, the Arctic. It’s a good place to understand the science of climate change, and, it turns out, a critically important one to understand its effects.

Since the mid-1990s, the Arctic has been warming faster than any other region of the planet: currently, at least two and a half times as fast. (Last year, average air temperatures were about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.9 degrees Celsius, higher than the average from 1981-2010.)

In large part, the Arctic is warming the way the rest of the world warms, only up north the process has run amok.

As the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases increase in the atmosphere, so does the amount of heat they trap. But the source of that heat is sunlight striking the Earth, and the amount of heat radiated differs depending on the surface the sunlight hits. Just as a black car gets much hotter than a white car on a sunny day, darker parts of the planet absorb more sunlight, and in turn radiate more heat, than lighter parts.

The Central Arctic is all ocean — dark water that is covered, to a varying extent, by light ice. The ice absorbs only about 30 to 40 percent of the sunlight hitting it; the rest is reflected. Ocean, on the other hand, absorbs more than 90 percent.

As the Arctic warms more of the ice disappears, leaving more dark ocean to absorb more sunlight and radiate even more heat, causing even more loss of ice. It’s a vicious cycle that contributes to rapid warming in the region.

Is this happening at the South Pole as well? No, because while the Arctic is mostly water surrounded by land, Antarctica is the opposite, a huge land mass surrounded by ocean. Some of the ice that covers the continent is melting, but no dark ocean is being exposed. (That’s not to say that the continent isn’t losing ice: it is, mostly through calving of icebergs and melting of the undersides of ice shelves.)

In the Arctic, currents and winds flow out of the region and affect weather elsewhere.

Weakening of the high-altitude winds known as the polar jet stream can bring extra-frigid winter weather to North America and Europe. Cold snaps like these have occurred for a long time although, because of global warming, studies have found that they are not as cold as they used to be. But some scientists now say they think Arctic warming is causing the jet stream to wobble in ways that lead to more extreme weather year round, by creating zones of high-pressure air that can cause weather systems — the ones that bring extreme heat, for example — to stall.

Arctic warming may also be affecting climate over the longer term. As Greenland’s ice sheet melts, the fresh water it releases lowers the saltiness of the nearby ocean. These salinity changes may eventually have an effect on some of the large ocean currents that help determine long-term climate trends in parts of the world.

As climate researchers are fond of saying, what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.

2. How do scientists know what they know?

When it comes to climate, there’s a lot that we know. The second warmest year on record was 2019 , and it closed out the hottest recorded decade. Ocean temperatures are rising , too, hitting a high in 2019 as well, and increasing faster than previously estimated.

The changes over just the last few decades are stark, making plain that the planet’s climate is warming and that it’s human activity behind the temperature rise. But scientists can also look back even further to figure out temperatures on Earth before any humans were alive.

Understanding how scientists figure out what’s going on with the climate is an interesting part of being a climate reporter. My favorite piece of equipment is arguably a bathythermograph, essentially an open water thermometer, simply because it’s a fun word to say. Instruments like it, together with the GPS-connected devices in the global Argo floats network, are how researchers monitor ocean temperatures.

For annual temperature reports, scientists rely on a historical temperature record — someone or some machine taking daily temperatures . This is how we know, for example, that 2019 was hotter than 1942. But the temperature record only stretches back to the 1800s for much of the world, and has some gaps. To cover them, and to look back even further, researchers rely on proxy, or indirect, measures.

In much the same way that data on the daily consumption of chicken wings can help us suss out the dates of Super Bowl Sundays , things like ice core samples, tree rings, corals, pollen and cave deposits can help us understand how the climate behaved in the past, said Jacquelyn Gill, a paleoecologist and associate professor at the University of Maine.

“I like to think of it as environmental forensics,” Dr. Gill said. “Rather than directly observe the past, we use some of the same tools that forensic scientists use to reconstruct the environment through time.”

For example, some tree species can live for thousands of years. When cut into, their rings, which resemble a bull’s-eye on a tree stump, can clue researchers into not only past temperatures but also moisture levels from year to year.

“We’re not just guessing about how trees record climate in their rings because we have a century or more of actual measurements that we can then compare to tree rings,” Dr. Gill said.

In northern regions like the Arctic, researchers rely on another life form: tiny non-biting midges that spend years living in lakes as larvae before turning into winged insects. As they grow they shed parts of their exoskeletons, which are well preserved in lake sediments. If sediment samples transition from layers that contain species that prefer cooler temperatures into layers with species that prefer warmer ones, it’s a signal that temperatures increased.

Using multiple records means scientists can validate their findings, Dr. Gill said. With tree rings, lake sediments and ice cores from the same region, you can “look across those different proxies and see where you have good agreement and where you don’t.”

But to measure the levels of human caused climate emissions, researchers have other tools.

Since 1958, an observatory near the top of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii has been recording the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and, more recently, observatories in Alaska, Samoa and the South Pole have also been recording measurements. Data is also collected from eight tall towers located across the United States, small aircraft, and volunteers at some 50 locations worldwide. Because carbon dioxide that comes from burning oil and coal is slightly different than the carbon that comes from living animals and plants, researchers know burning fossil fuels is behind the increase.

If you’re noticing a lot of redundancy in how researchers make sense of the climate, that’s the point. They aren’t using a single piece of data, but lots of pieces to stitch together a comprehensive picture that points in a single direction: the climate is warming and humans are causing it.

3. Who is influencing key decisions?

When an administration, Republican or Democratic, proposes a change to a federal rule, it can look like a cut-and-dried affair.

But behind the scenes, rule-making involves extensive lobbying. My job as a journalist looking at the intersection of climate and industry has been to follow the money trail to figure out who’s asking for what, and who’s getting what they want.

That often involves scrutinizing the powerful fossil fuels industry, which for years has lobbied against policies to tackle global warming, and funded efforts to obscure the well-established science that global warming is caused primarily by greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels and other human activities. These efforts are often obscured from public view, but their influence becomes clear in regulatory and lobbying records and by piecing together information from insiders and other sources willing to talk to us.

The industry has gotten results. Since taking office, President Trump has begun withdrawing the United States from the landmark Paris climate accord , signed five years ago by almost 200 countries to help reduce global emissions. At the urging of coal companies like Peabody Energy, the president halted the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan , designed to rein in emissions from coal-fired power plants. (That hasn’t halted the decline of the coal industry, now on even more precarious footing as the Covid-19 outbreak triggers a slump in coal use .)

A powerful oil and gas group also backed weaker oversight for emissions of methane, an invisible, particularly potent greenhouse gas; my video colleague Jonah Kessel and I made some of the gas leaks visible last year with the help of infrared technology .

Led by Marathon Petroleum, the country’s largest refiner, a separate group representing fuel and petrochemical manufacturers ran a stealth campaign to roll back car tailpipe emissions standards , the biggest climate initiative ever adopted by the United States. The rollback has gone so far that it has alarmed even some of the carmakers the measure was supposed to help.

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics , the oil and gas industry spent more than $125 million in lobbying at the federal level in 2019 alone. The coal mining industry spent close to an additional $7 million on lobbying. And together, fossil fuel companies have already made at least $50 million in political contributions this year, the vast majority to Republican politicians.

In recent years, as climate activism has gathered steam , oil and gas companies have made commitments to help combat climate change. As world leaders gathered at the United Nations climate summit last fall to discuss the urgency of slashing carbon emissions, for example, 13 of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies announced a set of wide-ranging pledges , from supporting a carbon tax, promising to cut down on methane leaks and investing in technology to scrub carbon dioxide from the air.

But there are concerns those efforts could fall by the wayside, as the oil and gas industry, reeling from the global pandemic, reins in spending. As the coronavirus has spread, industry groups have lobbied, successfully, for drastic rollbacks of environmental rules governing power plants and other industrial facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency has said it will temporarily halt fines for violations of certain air, water and hazardous waste reporting requirements.

As the historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway argue in their seminal book, “Merchants of Doubt,” the methods used by industry to deny the harms of fossil fuel use were in many cases the same as those used by the tobacco industry to deny the harms of cigarettes.

At least in the United States, the tobacco industry is in a long decline. It remains to be seen whether the fossil fuel industry will tread a similar path.

4. How do we stop fossil fuel emissions?

To stop global warming, we’ll need to zero out greenhouse gas emissions from billions of different sources worldwide: every coal plant in China, every steel mill in Europe, every car and truck on American highways.

It’s such an enormous task that it can be tough to figure out where to begin.

As a reporter covering climate policy, I’ve spoken to hundreds of experts and read through countless dense reports about how countries can slash their emissions. There’s often fierce debate over the best path forward. But I’ve found it helpful to think about all the different proposals out there as essentially boiling down to four broad steps. Consider this a rough game plan for how the world might solve climate change.

Clean up electric power plants

Today, roughly one-quarter of humanity’s emissions come from power plants that generate the electricity we use for our lights, air-conditioners and factories. Most power plants still burn coal, natural gas or oil, producing carbon dioxide that heats the planet.

The good news is there are lots of available technologies that can produce electricity without emissions. France cleaned up its grid with nuclear power. California is aiming for zero-emissions electricity by 2045 by installing solar panels and wind turbines. Some companies plan to capture carbon dioxide from existing coal plants and bury it underground .

Experts often disagree on which technologies are best, and technical hurdles remain in cutting emissions all the way to zero ; better batteries to juggle wind and solar power would help. But there’s broad agreement that we could greatly reduce power-plant emissions with the tools we have today.

Electrify much of our economy

As our power plants get greener, the next step is to rejigger big chunks of our economy to run on clean electricity instead of burning fossil fuels.

For example, we can replace cars that run on gasoline with electric vehicles charged by low-carbon grids. We can replace gas-burning furnaces with electric heat pumps . Instead of steel mills that burn coal, shift to electric furnaces that melt scrap. Roughly another one-quarter of global emissions could conceivably be electrified in this fashion.

This daunting task of “electrifying everything” becomes easier if we’re also curbing our energy use at the same time. That could entail making cities less dependent on cars, upgrading home insulation and boosting energy-efficiency in factories.

Develop new technology for the hard-to-electrify bits

Parts of the modern economy, alas, can’t easily be electrified. Batteries are still too heavy for most airplanes or long-haul trucks. Many key industries, like cement or glass, require e xtreme heat and currently burn coal or gas.

One recent study concluded that about one-quarter of emissions fall into this “difficult to decarbonize” category.

Governments and businesses will need to invest in new technologies. Some possibilities: power airplanes with sustainable biofuels from crop waste; use green hydrogen, created from renewable energy, to produce industrial heat; or suck carbon dioxide out of the air to offset the emissions we can’t eliminate. We’ll have to get creative.

Fix farming

A final one-fourth of global emissions comes from agriculture and deforestation; think cows belching up methane or farmers clearing swaths of the Amazon for cropland. Figuring out how to feed billions while using less land and producing fewer emissions will take an array of solutions , from improving ranching practices to reducing food waste, but it’s crucial.

This list is simplified, of course, and figuring out how to actually achieve these four steps is the hard part. A tax on carbon emissions could give businesses incentive to find fixes. Governments could ramp up spending on clean technologies. International cooperation and policies to help dislocated workers are vital. And powerful industry interests who prefer the status quo will fight major changes.

But it’s a basic road map if we want to zero out emissions, which, scientists agree, is what is ultimately needed to keep the world from heating up endlessly.

5. Do environmental rules matter?

As a reporter in Washington for more than 20 years, I’ve had a front-row seat to the gridlock that has gripped Congress on climate change.

By 2009, partisanship over the issue was already deeply entrenched. The House, then controlled by Democrats, passed a landmark bill that year that would have created a market-based system to cap greenhouse gas emissions. It died in the Senate. In 2010, amid a Tea Party wave that swept the G.O.P. back into power and many of the House Republicans who voted for the legislation either retired or were voted out of office.

In the words of one ousted Republican, it felt like even acknowledging climate change was “heresy.”

That ushered in the era of climate policy by executive order.

Over the next several years, President Barack Obama’s administration enacted a series of regulations cutting emissions from automobiles , oil and gas wells and power plants . He banned offshore drilling in parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans, established national monuments across 1.7 million acres of federal land and linked climate change to national security policy.

In 2015, after covering more than seven years of negotiations toward a global agreement many thought would never come, I pushed my way into a crowded tent on the outskirts of Paris to watch world leaders ink a historic accord that was fundamentally shaped by the Obama administration.

“If Congress won’t act, I will,” Mr. Obama had declared . Unlike laws, however, regulations are highly vulnerable to political winds. And back in Washington, the House and Senate, then Republican-controlled, were fighting many of the Obama administration’s plans.

A few years later, voters elected President Trump. As a candidate Mr. Trump mocked climate change, and as president he quickly made good on promises to eliminate his predecessor’s “job-killing” regulations , increase fossil fuel production and withdraw from the Paris Agreement. So far, the Trump administration has moved to eliminate nearly 100 environmental rules .

It’s too soon to tell what the impact of the rollbacks will be on the climate. In 2017 the World Resources Institute estimated that if all Mr. Trump’s policies were enacted, emissions in the United States by 2025 would range from the equivalent of 5.6 to 6.8 gigatons — compared with a range of about 5.0 to 6.6 gigatons if Mr. Obama’s regulations had remained in place. A single gigaton is about the annual emissions of Italy, France and the United Kingdom combined.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pledged to use the “full authority of the executive branch” to cut emissions and move the United States to clean energy by 2050.

His $1.7 trillion plan includes several major executive actions including “aggressive” methane pollution limits; cutting transportation emissions; enacting new efficiency standards for buildings and appliances; and halting new oil and gas permits on public lands and waters. Mr. Biden has not embraced a nationwide ban on fracking, for which he has been heavily criticized by climate activists .

Congress, though, remains stuck. Republicans have embraced some plans like planting trees and technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions, but agreements on broad solutions remain elusive.

Even Republicans who have opposed efforts to contain climate change acknowledge that Congress ultimately holds the key.

In a recent House hearing, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt noted that, among more than 600 laws mandating the agency “shall” do things, none orders it to respond to climate change.

“You know what, there’s not a shall for ‘I shall manage the land to stop climate change,’ or something similar to that,” Mr. Bernhardt told lawmakers. “You guys come up with the shalls.”

6. Can insurance protect us?

So you just achieved your dream of becoming a homeowner. Congratulations! But climate change has added a new caveat to homeownership: Whether it’s near the water or the woods, in a city or farther out, your home may be increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding or wildfire.

At least you can always buy insurance, right? About that: There’s good news and bad news . But mostly it’s bad .

While most of the climate debate is focused on how to curb greenhouse gas emissions, there’s another fight going on over a seemingly simple question: As climate change increases the risk to American homeowners, should governments allow the cost of insurance to keep pace with that risk?

This is where regulators, lawmakers and budget officials start to cringe. During my years of reporting on global warming, I’ve watched the question of insurance become one of the most intractable policy dilemmas facing governments and homeowners — and one with no obvious solution.

The obvious approach might be to let insurance work the way it’s meant to, with premiums that reflect the odds of getting hit by a disaster. That would let insurance companies — or, in the case of flood insurance, the federal government — collect enough money to pay out claims. Higher premiums are also a warning to homeowners to avoid living in risky areas.

But homeowners vote. Last year, the Trump administration proposed changing the deeply indebted federal flood insurance program in a way that would make premiums reflect actual risk . Members of Congress from both parties expressed alarm and the administration backed down , delaying the change until after this year’s election — if it happens at all .

In California, which was hit by huge wildfires in recent years, regulators and lawmakers have made it harder for insurers to pass costs onto consumers and barred insurance companies from canceling coverage for homeowners in or alongside ZIP codes hit by fires.

The instinct to keep rates low reflects more than just political self-preservation. If costs go up too much, whole neighborhoods could become unaffordable — ruining home values, collapsing the local economy and shattering the tax base.

That leaves a second option: As risks increase, governments can keep subsidizing insurance either directly, through publicly funded programs like flood insurance, or indirectly, by forcing private insurers to spread the burden of high-risk coverage by raising prices elsewhere. Both approaches seek to shield people from the cost of their decisions .

That, dear homeowner, is the good news: At this point in the climate debate, officials have generally erred on the side of protecting at-risk homeowners, financially if not physically . A beach house or mountain home may put you in harm’s way, but at least you should be able to afford your insurance premiums for a few more years.

But by keeping premiums low, governments encourage more homes to go up in risky areas , which means more homeowners exposed to storms or fires. Call it the sympathy paradox: Actions intended to help people today by making it easier for them to stay in their homes risk hurting more people tomorrow.

This dilemma will only become harder to navigate. Growing risks will make governments even more reluctant to expose voters to the true cost of insurance. But voters far from flood zones will increasingly resent footing the bill for risky homes .

What does this mean for you? For now, maybe nothing: Congress continues to have little appetite for large increases to flood insurance costs, and most state regulators will resist insurers’ demands for big rate hikes. And if they change their minds, armies of homeowners, home builders, real estate agents and local officials are likely to push back.

But the cost of the current approach keeps growing with every disaster . If you want to follow a truly searing debate about climate change in the United States, watch this space.

7. Is what I do important?

This is one of the most common and most vexing questions in the age of climate change: Can I address a problem so big, or can the world solve this only when powerful leaders in business and government make big structural changes?

It’s impossible to separate the two. Personal actions and international cooperation are inextricably linked.

First, the answer depends on whose actions we’re talking about. Those of a middle-class American matter a lot more than the actions of say, a farmer in Bangladesh. Why? Because we consume much more, and so our choices matter much more to global emissions: Per capita emissions in the United States are 30 times bigger than per capita emissions in Bangladesh.

Many of my consumption choices have large implications. What car I buy, or whether I buy one at all, matters hugely, because transportation is the single biggest source of emissions in most American cities. Same with how much I fly. Most lipsticks I impulse-buy contain palm oil, the production of which is linked to deforestation in Southeast Asia.

And what I eat has an enormous climate footprint . The average person in North America eats more than six times the recommended amount of red meat, a report published last year found, while the average person in South Asia eats half of what’s recommended. Perhaps most important is what I don’t eat and toss into the garbage. From farm to plate, food waste accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Is there one fix we can make to avert a climate catastrophe? No. It is inevitable we will have to change much about how we live, for our own survival and the survival of others we don’t know. It’s a bit like what we’re doing to stop the coronavirus pandemic , except forever.

Second, individual behavior can influence others . One house with solar panels can lead to others in the neighborhood installing solar panels of their own . Likewise, we tend to conserve our electricity consumption when our utility bills tell us how our usage compares with our neighbors.

Third, individual action is a prerequisite for collective action. Without young individual activists, there would be no Sunrise Movement to camp out in the halls of Congress, nor would millions of children fill the streets of major world capitals, demanding that the adults in charge take swift climate action.

On the whole, though, humans tend to be really bad at changing their behavior today to address risks tomorrow. This “present bias,” as cognitive scientists call it, makes it hard for us, as individuals, to make lifestyle changes now to prevent a catastrophe down the road. So we need government policies to protect us from future risks.

Because the world has deferred climate action for so long, scientists estimate global emissions must be cut by half in the next 10 years in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming.

It’s hard to imagine how such sharp emissions cuts can be made without ambitious government policies, including carbon prices that make it sufficiently costly to burn coal or oil, investments in public transportation, and enforceable energy efficiency standards.

And this is where the Paris Agreement comes in. Every country is supposed to set their own climate targets and figure out how to meet them. What one country does is supposed to inspire other countries. Peer pressure is built in.

Five years after that hard-won diplomatic pact, the world as a whole is not yet close to reining in global temperatures.

And so that raises the fourth and final dilemma: Is it too late to make a difference?

No. It’s true that we have already warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels for a century and a half, setting in motion heat waves , wildfires and mass bleaching of coral reefs . But the future isn’t set in stone. There are many futures possible, ranging from quite bad to really catastrophic. Which one plays out is up to us to decide. Each and every one of us.

The Year You Finally Read a Book About Climate Change

If the 50th anniversary of Earth Day has inspired you to finally read a book about climate change, we’re here to help you find just the right one.

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A review of the global climate change impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures

Kashif abbass.

1 School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094 People’s Republic of China

Muhammad Zeeshan Qasim

2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Xiaolingwei 200, Nanjing, 210094 People’s Republic of China

Huaming Song

Muntasir murshed.

3 School of Business and Economics, North South University, Dhaka, 1229 Bangladesh

4 Department of Journalism, Media and Communications, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Haider Mahmood

5 Department of Finance, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, 173, Alkharj, 11942 Saudi Arabia

Ijaz Younis

Associated data.

Data sources and relevant links are provided in the paper to access data.

Climate change is a long-lasting change in the weather arrays across tropics to polls. It is a global threat that has embarked on to put stress on various sectors. This study is aimed to conceptually engineer how climate variability is deteriorating the sustainability of diverse sectors worldwide. Specifically, the agricultural sector’s vulnerability is a globally concerning scenario, as sufficient production and food supplies are threatened due to irreversible weather fluctuations. In turn, it is challenging the global feeding patterns, particularly in countries with agriculture as an integral part of their economy and total productivity. Climate change has also put the integrity and survival of many species at stake due to shifts in optimum temperature ranges, thereby accelerating biodiversity loss by progressively changing the ecosystem structures. Climate variations increase the likelihood of particular food and waterborne and vector-borne diseases, and a recent example is a coronavirus pandemic. Climate change also accelerates the enigma of antimicrobial resistance, another threat to human health due to the increasing incidence of resistant pathogenic infections. Besides, the global tourism industry is devastated as climate change impacts unfavorable tourism spots. The methodology investigates hypothetical scenarios of climate variability and attempts to describe the quality of evidence to facilitate readers’ careful, critical engagement. Secondary data is used to identify sustainability issues such as environmental, social, and economic viability. To better understand the problem, gathered the information in this report from various media outlets, research agencies, policy papers, newspapers, and other sources. This review is a sectorial assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches worldwide in the aforementioned sectors and the associated economic costs. According to the findings, government involvement is necessary for the country’s long-term development through strict accountability of resources and regulations implemented in the past to generate cutting-edge climate policy. Therefore, mitigating the impacts of climate change must be of the utmost importance, and hence, this global threat requires global commitment to address its dreadful implications to ensure global sustenance.

Introduction

Worldwide observed and anticipated climatic changes for the twenty-first century and global warming are significant global changes that have been encountered during the past 65 years. Climate change (CC) is an inter-governmental complex challenge globally with its influence over various components of the ecological, environmental, socio-political, and socio-economic disciplines (Adger et al.  2005 ; Leal Filho et al.  2021 ; Feliciano et al.  2022 ). Climate change involves heightened temperatures across numerous worlds (Battisti and Naylor  2009 ; Schuurmans  2021 ; Weisheimer and Palmer  2005 ; Yadav et al.  2015 ). With the onset of the industrial revolution, the problem of earth climate was amplified manifold (Leppänen et al.  2014 ). It is reported that the immediate attention and due steps might increase the probability of overcoming its devastating impacts. It is not plausible to interpret the exact consequences of climate change (CC) on a sectoral basis (Izaguirre et al.  2021 ; Jurgilevich et al.  2017 ), which is evident by the emerging level of recognition plus the inclusion of climatic uncertainties at both local and national level of policymaking (Ayers et al.  2014 ).

Climate change is characterized based on the comprehensive long-haul temperature and precipitation trends and other components such as pressure and humidity level in the surrounding environment. Besides, the irregular weather patterns, retreating of global ice sheets, and the corresponding elevated sea level rise are among the most renowned international and domestic effects of climate change (Lipczynska-Kochany  2018 ; Michel et al.  2021 ; Murshed and Dao 2020 ). Before the industrial revolution, natural sources, including volcanoes, forest fires, and seismic activities, were regarded as the distinct sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, and H 2 O into the atmosphere (Murshed et al. 2020 ; Hussain et al.  2020 ; Sovacool et al.  2021 ; Usman and Balsalobre-Lorente 2022 ; Murshed 2022 ). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) struck a major agreement to tackle climate change and accelerate and intensify the actions and investments required for a sustainable low-carbon future at Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris on December 12, 2015. The Paris Agreement expands on the Convention by bringing all nations together for the first time in a single cause to undertake ambitious measures to prevent climate change and adapt to its impacts, with increased funding to assist developing countries in doing so. As so, it marks a turning point in the global climate fight. The core goal of the Paris Agreement is to improve the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C over pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5° C (Sharma et al. 2020 ; Sharif et al. 2020 ; Chien et al. 2021 .

Furthermore, the agreement aspires to strengthen nations’ ability to deal with the effects of climate change and align financing flows with low GHG emissions and climate-resilient paths (Shahbaz et al. 2019 ; Anwar et al. 2021 ; Usman et al. 2022a ). To achieve these lofty goals, adequate financial resources must be mobilized and provided, as well as a new technology framework and expanded capacity building, allowing developing countries and the most vulnerable countries to act under their respective national objectives. The agreement also establishes a more transparent action and support mechanism. All Parties are required by the Paris Agreement to do their best through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the coming years (Balsalobre-Lorente et al. 2020 ). It includes obligations that all Parties regularly report on their emissions and implementation activities. A global stock-take will be conducted every five years to review collective progress toward the agreement’s goal and inform the Parties’ future individual actions. The Paris Agreement became available for signature on April 22, 2016, Earth Day, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. On November 4, 2016, it went into effect 30 days after the so-called double threshold was met (ratification by 55 nations accounting for at least 55% of world emissions). More countries have ratified and continue to ratify the agreement since then, bringing 125 Parties in early 2017. To fully operationalize the Paris Agreement, a work program was initiated in Paris to define mechanisms, processes, and recommendations on a wide range of concerns (Murshed et al. 2021 ). Since 2016, Parties have collaborated in subsidiary bodies (APA, SBSTA, and SBI) and numerous formed entities. The Conference of the Parties functioning as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) convened for the first time in November 2016 in Marrakesh in conjunction with COP22 and made its first two resolutions. The work plan is scheduled to be finished by 2018. Some mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the emission in the prospective of Paris agreement are following firstly, a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, secondly, to aim to limit the rise to 1.5 °C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change, thirdly, on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognizing that this will take longer for developing countries, lastly, to undertake rapid reductions after that under the best available science, to achieve a balance between emissions and removals in the second half of the century. On the other side, some adaptation strategies are; strengthening societies’ ability to deal with the effects of climate change and to continue & expand international assistance for developing nations’ adaptation.

However, anthropogenic activities are currently regarded as most accountable for CC (Murshed et al. 2022 ). Apart from the industrial revolution, other anthropogenic activities include excessive agricultural operations, which further involve the high use of fuel-based mechanization, burning of agricultural residues, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, national and domestic transportation sectors, etc. (Huang et al.  2016 ). Consequently, these anthropogenic activities lead to climatic catastrophes, damaging local and global infrastructure, human health, and total productivity. Energy consumption has mounted GHGs levels concerning warming temperatures as most of the energy production in developing countries comes from fossil fuels (Balsalobre-Lorente et al. 2022 ; Usman et al. 2022b ; Abbass et al. 2021a ; Ishikawa-Ishiwata and Furuya  2022 ).

This review aims to highlight the effects of climate change in a socio-scientific aspect by analyzing the existing literature on various sectorial pieces of evidence globally that influence the environment. Although this review provides a thorough examination of climate change and its severe affected sectors that pose a grave danger for global agriculture, biodiversity, health, economy, forestry, and tourism, and to purpose some practical prophylactic measures and mitigation strategies to be adapted as sound substitutes to survive from climate change (CC) impacts. The societal implications of irregular weather patterns and other effects of climate changes are discussed in detail. Some numerous sustainable mitigation measures and adaptation practices and techniques at the global level are discussed in this review with an in-depth focus on its economic, social, and environmental aspects. Methods of data collection section are included in the supplementary information.

Review methodology

Related study and its objectives.

Today, we live an ordinary life in the beautiful digital, globalized world where climate change has a decisive role. What happens in one country has a massive influence on geographically far apart countries, which points to the current crisis known as COVID-19 (Sarkar et al.  2021 ). The most dangerous disease like COVID-19 has affected the world’s climate changes and economic conditions (Abbass et al. 2022 ; Pirasteh-Anosheh et al.  2021 ). The purpose of the present study is to review the status of research on the subject, which is based on “Global Climate Change Impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures” by systematically reviewing past published and unpublished research work. Furthermore, the current study seeks to comment on research on the same topic and suggest future research on the same topic. Specifically, the present study aims: The first one is, organize publications to make them easy and quick to find. Secondly, to explore issues in this area, propose an outline of research for future work. The third aim of the study is to synthesize the previous literature on climate change, various sectors, and their mitigation measurement. Lastly , classify the articles according to the different methods and procedures that have been adopted.

Review methodology for reviewers

This review-based article followed systematic literature review techniques that have proved the literature review as a rigorous framework (Benita  2021 ; Tranfield et al.  2003 ). Moreover, we illustrate in Fig.  1 the search method that we have started for this research. First, finalized the research theme to search literature (Cooper et al.  2018 ). Second, used numerous research databases to search related articles and download from the database (Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus Index Journals, Emerald, Elsevier Science Direct, Springer, and Sciverse). We focused on various articles, with research articles, feedback pieces, short notes, debates, and review articles published in scholarly journals. Reports used to search for multiple keywords such as “Climate Change,” “Mitigation and Adaptation,” “Department of Agriculture and Human Health,” “Department of Biodiversity and Forestry,” etc.; in summary, keyword list and full text have been made. Initially, the search for keywords yielded a large amount of literature.

Methodology search for finalized articles for investigations.

Source : constructed by authors

Since 2020, it has been impossible to review all the articles found; some restrictions have been set for the literature exhibition. The study searched 95 articles on a different database mentioned above based on the nature of the study. It excluded 40 irrelevant papers due to copied from a previous search after readings tiles, abstract and full pieces. The criteria for inclusion were: (i) articles focused on “Global Climate Change Impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures,” and (ii) the search key terms related to study requirements. The complete procedure yielded 55 articles for our study. We repeat our search on the “Web of Science and Google Scholars” database to enhance the search results and check the referenced articles.

In this study, 55 articles are reviewed systematically and analyzed for research topics and other aspects, such as the methods, contexts, and theories used in these studies. Furthermore, this study analyzes closely related areas to provide unique research opportunities in the future. The study also discussed future direction opportunities and research questions by understanding the research findings climate changes and other affected sectors. The reviewed paper framework analysis process is outlined in Fig.  2 .

Framework of the analysis Process.

Natural disasters and climate change’s socio-economic consequences

Natural and environmental disasters can be highly variable from year to year; some years pass with very few deaths before a significant disaster event claims many lives (Symanski et al.  2021 ). Approximately 60,000 people globally died from natural disasters each year on average over the past decade (Ritchie and Roser  2014 ; Wiranata and Simbolon  2021 ). So, according to the report, around 0.1% of global deaths. Annual variability in the number and share of deaths from natural disasters in recent decades are shown in Fig.  3 . The number of fatalities can be meager—sometimes less than 10,000, and as few as 0.01% of all deaths. But shock events have a devastating impact: the 1983–1985 famine and drought in Ethiopia; the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in 2008; and the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti and now recent example is COVID-19 pandemic (Erman et al.  2021 ). These events pushed global disaster deaths to over 200,000—more than 0.4% of deaths in these years. Low-frequency, high-impact events such as earthquakes and tsunamis are not preventable, but such high losses of human life are. Historical evidence shows that earlier disaster detection, more robust infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and response programmers have substantially reduced disaster deaths worldwide. Low-income is also the most vulnerable to disasters; improving living conditions, facilities, and response services in these areas would be critical in reducing natural disaster deaths in the coming decades.

Global deaths from natural disasters, 1978 to 2020.

Source EMDAT ( 2020 )

The interior regions of the continent are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures (Dimri et al.  2018 ; Goes et al.  2020 ; Mannig et al.  2018 ; Schuurmans  2021 ). Weather patterns change due to the shortage of natural resources (water), increase in glacier melting, and rising mercury are likely to cause extinction to many planted species (Gampe et al.  2016 ; Mihiretu et al.  2021 ; Shaffril et al.  2018 ).On the other hand, the coastal ecosystem is on the verge of devastation (Perera et al.  2018 ; Phillips  2018 ). The temperature rises, insect disease outbreaks, health-related problems, and seasonal and lifestyle changes are persistent, with a strong probability of these patterns continuing in the future (Abbass et al. 2021c ; Hussain et al.  2018 ). At the global level, a shortage of good infrastructure and insufficient adaptive capacity are hammering the most (IPCC  2013 ). In addition to the above concerns, a lack of environmental education and knowledge, outdated consumer behavior, a scarcity of incentives, a lack of legislation, and the government’s lack of commitment to climate change contribute to the general public’s concerns. By 2050, a 2 to 3% rise in mercury and a drastic shift in rainfall patterns may have serious consequences (Huang et al. 2022 ; Gorst et al.  2018 ). Natural and environmental calamities caused huge losses globally, such as decreased agriculture outputs, rehabilitation of the system, and rebuilding necessary technologies (Ali and Erenstein  2017 ; Ramankutty et al.  2018 ; Yu et al.  2021 ) (Table ​ (Table1). 1 ). Furthermore, in the last 3 or 4 years, the world has been plagued by smog-related eye and skin diseases, as well as a rise in road accidents due to poor visibility.

Main natural danger statistics for 1985–2020 at the global level

Source: EM-DAT ( 2020 )

Climate change and agriculture

Global agriculture is the ultimate sector responsible for 30–40% of all greenhouse emissions, which makes it a leading industry predominantly contributing to climate warming and significantly impacted by it (Grieg; Mishra et al.  2021 ; Ortiz et al.  2021 ; Thornton and Lipper  2014 ). Numerous agro-environmental and climatic factors that have a dominant influence on agriculture productivity (Pautasso et al.  2012 ) are significantly impacted in response to precipitation extremes including floods, forest fires, and droughts (Huang  2004 ). Besides, the immense dependency on exhaustible resources also fuels the fire and leads global agriculture to become prone to devastation. Godfray et al. ( 2010 ) mentioned that decline in agriculture challenges the farmer’s quality of life and thus a significant factor to poverty as the food and water supplies are critically impacted by CC (Ortiz et al.  2021 ; Rosenzweig et al.  2014 ). As an essential part of the economic systems, especially in developing countries, agricultural systems affect the overall economy and potentially the well-being of households (Schlenker and Roberts  2009 ). According to the report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, i.e., CH 4, CO 2 , and N 2 O, are increased in the air to extraordinary levels over the last few centuries (Usman and Makhdum 2021 ; Stocker et al.  2013 ). Climate change is the composite outcome of two different factors. The first is the natural causes, and the second is the anthropogenic actions (Karami 2012 ). It is also forecasted that the world may experience a typical rise in temperature stretching from 1 to 3.7 °C at the end of this century (Pachauri et al. 2014 ). The world’s crop production is also highly vulnerable to these global temperature-changing trends as raised temperatures will pose severe negative impacts on crop growth (Reidsma et al. 2009 ). Some of the recent modeling about the fate of global agriculture is briefly described below.

Decline in cereal productivity

Crop productivity will also be affected dramatically in the next few decades due to variations in integral abiotic factors such as temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, and CO 2 . These all factors are included in various regulatory instruments like progress and growth, weather-tempted changes, pest invasions (Cammell and Knight 1992 ), accompanying disease snags (Fand et al. 2012 ), water supplies (Panda et al. 2003 ), high prices of agro-products in world’s agriculture industry, and preeminent quantity of fertilizer consumption. Lobell and field ( 2007 ) claimed that from 1962 to 2002, wheat crop output had condensed significantly due to rising temperatures. Therefore, during 1980–2011, the common wheat productivity trends endorsed extreme temperature events confirmed by Gourdji et al. ( 2013 ) around South Asia, South America, and Central Asia. Various other studies (Asseng, Cao, Zhang, and Ludwig 2009 ; Asseng et al. 2013 ; García et al. 2015 ; Ortiz et al. 2021 ) also proved that wheat output is negatively affected by the rising temperatures and also caused adverse effects on biomass productivity (Calderini et al. 1999 ; Sadras and Slafer 2012 ). Hereafter, the rice crop is also influenced by the high temperatures at night. These difficulties will worsen because the temperature will be rising further in the future owing to CC (Tebaldi et al. 2006 ). Another research conducted in China revealed that a 4.6% of rice production per 1 °C has happened connected with the advancement in night temperatures (Tao et al. 2006 ). Moreover, the average night temperature growth also affected rice indicia cultivar’s output pragmatically during 25 years in the Philippines (Peng et al. 2004 ). It is anticipated that the increase in world average temperature will also cause a substantial reduction in yield (Hatfield et al. 2011 ; Lobell and Gourdji 2012 ). In the southern hemisphere, Parry et al. ( 2007 ) noted a rise of 1–4 °C in average daily temperatures at the end of spring season unti the middle of summers, and this raised temperature reduced crop output by cutting down the time length for phenophases eventually reduce the yield (Hatfield and Prueger 2015 ; R. Ortiz 2008 ). Also, world climate models have recommended that humid and subtropical regions expect to be plentiful prey to the upcoming heat strokes (Battisti and Naylor 2009 ). Grain production is the amalgamation of two constituents: the average weight and the grain output/m 2 , however, in crop production. Crop output is mainly accredited to the grain quantity (Araus et al. 2008 ; Gambín and Borrás 2010 ). In the times of grain set, yield resources are mainly strewn between hitherto defined components, i.e., grain usual weight and grain output, which presents a trade-off between them (Gambín and Borrás 2010 ) beside disparities in per grain integration (B. L. Gambín et al. 2006 ). In addition to this, the maize crop is also susceptible to raised temperatures, principally in the flowering stage (Edreira and Otegui 2013 ). In reality, the lower grain number is associated with insufficient acclimatization due to intense photosynthesis and higher respiration and the high-temperature effect on the reproduction phenomena (Edreira and Otegui 2013 ). During the flowering phase, maize visible to heat (30–36 °C) seemed less anthesis-silking intermissions (Edreira et al. 2011 ). Another research by Dupuis and Dumas ( 1990 ) proved that a drop in spikelet when directly visible to high temperatures above 35 °C in vitro pollination. Abnormalities in kernel number claimed by Vega et al. ( 2001 ) is related to conceded plant development during a flowering phase that is linked with the active ear growth phase and categorized as a critical phase for approximation of kernel number during silking (Otegui and Bonhomme 1998 ).

The retort of rice output to high temperature presents disparities in flowering patterns, and seed set lessens and lessens grain weight (Qasim et al. 2020 ; Qasim, Hammad, Maqsood, Tariq, & Chawla). During the daytime, heat directly impacts flowers which lessens the thesis period and quickens the earlier peak flowering (Tao et al. 2006 ). Antagonistic effect of higher daytime temperature d on pollen sprouting proposed seed set decay, whereas, seed set was lengthily reduced than could be explicated by pollen growing at high temperatures 40◦C (Matsui et al. 2001 ).

The decline in wheat output is linked with higher temperatures, confirmed in numerous studies (Semenov 2009 ; Stone and Nicolas 1994 ). High temperatures fast-track the arrangements of plant expansion (Blum et al. 2001 ), diminution photosynthetic process (Salvucci and Crafts‐Brandner 2004 ), and also considerably affect the reproductive operations (Farooq et al. 2011 ).

The destructive impacts of CC induced weather extremes to deteriorate the integrity of crops (Chaudhary et al. 2011 ), e.g., Spartan cold and extreme fog cause falling and discoloration of betel leaves (Rosenzweig et al. 2001 ), giving them a somehow reddish appearance, squeezing of lemon leaves (Pautasso et al. 2012 ), as well as root rot of pineapple, have reported (Vedwan and Rhoades 2001 ). Henceforth, in tackling the disruptive effects of CC, several short-term and long-term management approaches are the crucial need of time (Fig.  4 ). Moreover, various studies (Chaudhary et al. 2011 ; Patz et al. 2005 ; Pautasso et al. 2012 ) have demonstrated adapting trends such as ameliorating crop diversity can yield better adaptability towards CC.

Schematic description of potential impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector and the appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures to overcome its impact.

Climate change impacts on biodiversity

Global biodiversity is among the severe victims of CC because it is the fastest emerging cause of species loss. Studies demonstrated that the massive scale species dynamics are considerably associated with diverse climatic events (Abraham and Chain 1988 ; Manes et al. 2021 ; A. M. D. Ortiz et al. 2021 ). Both the pace and magnitude of CC are altering the compatible habitat ranges for living entities of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial regions. Alterations in general climate regimes influence the integrity of ecosystems in numerous ways, such as variation in the relative abundance of species, range shifts, changes in activity timing, and microhabitat use (Bates et al. 2014 ). The geographic distribution of any species often depends upon its ability to tolerate environmental stresses, biological interactions, and dispersal constraints. Hence, instead of the CC, the local species must only accept, adapt, move, or face extinction (Berg et al. 2010 ). So, the best performer species have a better survival capacity for adjusting to new ecosystems or a decreased perseverance to survive where they are already situated (Bates et al. 2014 ). An important aspect here is the inadequate habitat connectivity and access to microclimates, also crucial in raising the exposure to climate warming and extreme heatwave episodes. For example, the carbon sequestration rates are undergoing fluctuations due to climate-driven expansion in the range of global mangroves (Cavanaugh et al. 2014 ).

Similarly, the loss of kelp-forest ecosystems in various regions and its occupancy by the seaweed turfs has set the track for elevated herbivory by the high influx of tropical fish populations. Not only this, the increased water temperatures have exacerbated the conditions far away from the physiological tolerance level of the kelp communities (Vergés et al. 2016 ; Wernberg et al. 2016 ). Another pertinent danger is the devastation of keystone species, which even has more pervasive effects on the entire communities in that habitat (Zarnetske et al. 2012 ). It is particularly important as CC does not specify specific populations or communities. Eventually, this CC-induced redistribution of species may deteriorate carbon storage and the net ecosystem productivity (Weed et al. 2013 ). Among the typical disruptions, the prominent ones include impacts on marine and terrestrial productivity, marine community assembly, and the extended invasion of toxic cyanobacteria bloom (Fossheim et al. 2015 ).

The CC-impacted species extinction is widely reported in the literature (Beesley et al. 2019 ; Urban 2015 ), and the predictions of demise until the twenty-first century are dreadful (Abbass et al. 2019 ; Pereira et al. 2013 ). In a few cases, northward shifting of species may not be formidable as it allows mountain-dwelling species to find optimum climates. However, the migrant species may be trapped in isolated and incompatible habitats due to losing topography and range (Dullinger et al. 2012 ). For example, a study indicated that the American pika has been extirpated or intensely diminished in some regions, primarily attributed to the CC-impacted extinction or at least local extirpation (Stewart et al. 2015 ). Besides, the anticipation of persistent responses to the impacts of CC often requires data records of several decades to rigorously analyze the critical pre and post CC patterns at species and ecosystem levels (Manes et al. 2021 ; Testa et al. 2018 ).

Nonetheless, the availability of such long-term data records is rare; hence, attempts are needed to focus on these profound aspects. Biodiversity is also vulnerable to the other associated impacts of CC, such as rising temperatures, droughts, and certain invasive pest species. For instance, a study revealed the changes in the composition of plankton communities attributed to rising temperatures. Henceforth, alterations in such aquatic producer communities, i.e., diatoms and calcareous plants, can ultimately lead to variation in the recycling of biological carbon. Moreover, such changes are characterized as a potential contributor to CO 2 differences between the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods (Kohfeld et al. 2005 ).

Climate change implications on human health

It is an understood corporality that human health is a significant victim of CC (Costello et al. 2009 ). According to the WHO, CC might be responsible for 250,000 additional deaths per year during 2030–2050 (Watts et al. 2015 ). These deaths are attributed to extreme weather-induced mortality and morbidity and the global expansion of vector-borne diseases (Lemery et al. 2021; Yang and Usman 2021 ; Meierrieks 2021 ; UNEP 2017 ). Here, some of the emerging health issues pertinent to this global problem are briefly described.

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance with corresponding economic costs

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an up-surging complex global health challenge (Garner et al. 2019 ; Lemery et al. 2021 ). Health professionals across the globe are extremely worried due to this phenomenon that has critical potential to reverse almost all the progress that has been achieved so far in the health discipline (Gosling and Arnell 2016 ). A massive amount of antibiotics is produced by many pharmaceutical industries worldwide, and the pathogenic microorganisms are gradually developing resistance to them, which can be comprehended how strongly this aspect can shake the foundations of national and global economies (UNEP 2017 ). This statement is supported by the fact that AMR is not developing in a particular region or country. Instead, it is flourishing in every continent of the world (WHO 2018 ). This plague is heavily pushing humanity to the post-antibiotic era, in which currently antibiotic-susceptible pathogens will once again lead to certain endemics and pandemics after being resistant(WHO 2018 ). Undesirably, if this statement would become a factuality, there might emerge certain risks in undertaking sophisticated interventions such as chemotherapy, joint replacement cases, and organ transplantation (Su et al. 2018 ). Presently, the amplification of drug resistance cases has made common illnesses like pneumonia, post-surgical infections, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc., too difficult and costly to be treated or cure well (WHO 2018 ). From a simple example, it can be assumed how easily antibiotic-resistant strains can be transmitted from one person to another and ultimately travel across the boundaries (Berendonk et al. 2015 ). Talking about the second- and third-generation classes of antibiotics, e.g., most renowned generations of cephalosporin antibiotics that are more expensive, broad-spectrum, more toxic, and usually require more extended periods whenever prescribed to patients (Lemery et al. 2021 ; Pärnänen et al. 2019 ). This scenario has also revealed that the abundance of resistant strains of pathogens was also higher in the Southern part (WHO 2018 ). As southern parts are generally warmer than their counterparts, it is evident from this example how CC-induced global warming can augment the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains within the biosphere, eventually putting additional economic burden in the face of developing new and costlier antibiotics. The ARG exchange to susceptible bacteria through one of the potential mechanisms, transformation, transduction, and conjugation; Selection pressure can be caused by certain antibiotics, metals or pesticides, etc., as shown in Fig.  5 .

A typical interaction between the susceptible and resistant strains.

Source: Elsayed et al. ( 2021 ); Karkman et al. ( 2018 )

Certain studies highlighted that conventional urban wastewater treatment plants are typical hotspots where most bacterial strains exchange genetic material through horizontal gene transfer (Fig.  5 ). Although at present, the extent of risks associated with the antibiotic resistance found in wastewater is complicated; environmental scientists and engineers have particular concerns about the potential impacts of these antibiotic resistance genes on human health (Ashbolt 2015 ). At most undesirable and worst case, these antibiotic-resistant genes containing bacteria can make their way to enter into the environment (Pruden et al. 2013 ), irrigation water used for crops and public water supplies and ultimately become a part of food chains and food webs (Ma et al. 2019 ; D. Wu et al. 2019 ). This problem has been reported manifold in several countries (Hendriksen et al. 2019 ), where wastewater as a means of irrigated water is quite common.

Climate change and vector borne-diseases

Temperature is a fundamental factor for the sustenance of living entities regardless of an ecosystem. So, a specific living being, especially a pathogen, requires a sophisticated temperature range to exist on earth. The second essential component of CC is precipitation, which also impacts numerous infectious agents’ transport and dissemination patterns. Global rising temperature is a significant cause of many species extinction. On the one hand, this changing environmental temperature may be causing species extinction, and on the other, this warming temperature might favor the thriving of some new organisms. Here, it was evident that some pathogens may also upraise once non-evident or reported (Patz et al. 2000 ). This concept can be exemplified through certain pathogenic strains of microorganisms that how the likelihood of various diseases increases in response to climate warming-induced environmental changes (Table ​ (Table2 2 ).

Examples of how various environmental changes affect various infectious diseases in humans

Source: Aron and Patz ( 2001 )

A recent example is an outburst of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Republic of China, causing pneumonia and severe acute respiratory complications (Cui et al. 2021 ; Song et al. 2021 ). The large family of viruses is harbored in numerous animals, bats, and snakes in particular (livescience.com) with the subsequent transfer into human beings. Hence, it is worth noting that the thriving of numerous vectors involved in spreading various diseases is influenced by Climate change (Ogden 2018 ; Santos et al. 2021 ).

Psychological impacts of climate change

Climate change (CC) is responsible for the rapid dissemination and exaggeration of certain epidemics and pandemics. In addition to the vast apparent impacts of climate change on health, forestry, agriculture, etc., it may also have psychological implications on vulnerable societies. It can be exemplified through the recent outburst of (COVID-19) in various countries around the world (Pal 2021 ). Besides, the victims of this viral infection have made healthy beings scarier and terrified. In the wake of such epidemics, people with common colds or fever are also frightened and must pass specific regulatory protocols. Living in such situations continuously terrifies the public and makes the stress familiar, which eventually makes them psychologically weak (npr.org).

CC boosts the extent of anxiety, distress, and other issues in public, pushing them to develop various mental-related problems. Besides, frequent exposure to extreme climatic catastrophes such as geological disasters also imprints post-traumatic disorder, and their ubiquitous occurrence paves the way to developing chronic psychological dysfunction. Moreover, repetitive listening from media also causes an increase in the person’s stress level (Association 2020 ). Similarly, communities living in flood-prone areas constantly live in extreme fear of drowning and die by floods. In addition to human lives, the flood-induced destruction of physical infrastructure is a specific reason for putting pressure on these communities (Ogden 2018 ). For instance, Ogden ( 2018 ) comprehensively denoted that Katrina’s Hurricane augmented the mental health issues in the victim communities.

Climate change impacts on the forestry sector

Forests are the global regulators of the world’s climate (FAO 2018 ) and have an indispensable role in regulating global carbon and nitrogen cycles (Rehman et al. 2021 ; Reichstein and Carvalhais 2019 ). Hence, disturbances in forest ecology affect the micro and macro-climates (Ellison et al. 2017 ). Climate warming, in return, has profound impacts on the growth and productivity of transboundary forests by influencing the temperature and precipitation patterns, etc. As CC induces specific changes in the typical structure and functions of ecosystems (Zhang et al. 2017 ) as well impacts forest health, climate change also has several devastating consequences such as forest fires, droughts, pest outbreaks (EPA 2018 ), and last but not the least is the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. The rising frequency and intensity of another CC product, i.e., droughts, pose plenty of challenges to the well-being of global forests (Diffenbaugh et al. 2017 ), which is further projected to increase soon (Hartmann et al. 2018 ; Lehner et al. 2017 ; Rehman et al. 2021 ). Hence, CC induces storms, with more significant impacts also put extra pressure on the survival of the global forests (Martínez-Alvarado et al. 2018 ), significantly since their influences are augmented during higher winter precipitations with corresponding wetter soils causing weak root anchorage of trees (Brázdil et al. 2018 ). Surging temperature regimes causes alterations in usual precipitation patterns, which is a significant hurdle for the survival of temperate forests (Allen et al. 2010 ; Flannigan et al. 2013 ), letting them encounter severe stress and disturbances which adversely affects the local tree species (Hubbart et al. 2016 ; Millar and Stephenson 2015 ; Rehman et al. 2021 ).

Climate change impacts on forest-dependent communities

Forests are the fundamental livelihood resource for about 1.6 billion people worldwide; out of them, 350 million are distinguished with relatively higher reliance (Bank 2008 ). Agro-forestry-dependent communities comprise 1.2 billion, and 60 million indigenous people solely rely on forests and their products to sustain their lives (Sunderlin et al. 2005 ). For example, in the entire African continent, more than 2/3rd of inhabitants depend on forest resources and woodlands for their alimonies, e.g., food, fuelwood and grazing (Wasiq and Ahmad 2004 ). The livings of these people are more intensely affected by the climatic disruptions making their lives harder (Brown et al. 2014 ). On the one hand, forest communities are incredibly vulnerable to CC due to their livelihoods, cultural and spiritual ties as well as socio-ecological connections, and on the other, they are not familiar with the term “climate change.” (Rahman and Alam 2016 ). Among the destructive impacts of temperature and rainfall, disruption of the agroforestry crops with resultant downscale growth and yield (Macchi et al. 2008 ). Cruz ( 2015 ) ascribed that forest-dependent smallholder farmers in the Philippines face the enigma of delayed fruiting, more severe damages by insect and pest incidences due to unfavorable temperature regimes, and changed rainfall patterns.

Among these series of challenges to forest communities, their well-being is also distinctly vulnerable to CC. Though the detailed climate change impacts on human health have been comprehensively mentioned in the previous section, some studies have listed a few more devastating effects on the prosperity of forest-dependent communities. For instance, the Himalayan people have been experiencing frequent skin-borne diseases such as malaria and other skin diseases due to increasing mosquitoes, wild boar as well, and new wasps species, particularly in higher altitudes that were almost non-existent before last 5–10 years (Xu et al. 2008 ). Similarly, people living at high altitudes in Bangladesh have experienced frequent mosquito-borne calamities (Fardous; Sharma 2012 ). In addition, the pace of other waterborne diseases such as infectious diarrhea, cholera, pathogenic induced abdominal complications and dengue has also been boosted in other distinguished regions of Bangladesh (Cell 2009 ; Gunter et al. 2008 ).

Pest outbreak

Upscaling hotter climate may positively affect the mobile organisms with shorter generation times because they can scurry from harsh conditions than the immobile species (Fettig et al. 2013 ; Schoene and Bernier 2012 ) and are also relatively more capable of adapting to new environments (Jactel et al. 2019 ). It reveals that insects adapt quickly to global warming due to their mobility advantages. Due to past outbreaks, the trees (forests) are relatively more susceptible victims (Kurz et al. 2008 ). Before CC, the influence of factors mentioned earlier, i.e., droughts and storms, was existent and made the forests susceptible to insect pest interventions; however, the global forests remain steadfast, assiduous, and green (Jactel et al. 2019 ). The typical reasons could be the insect herbivores were regulated by several tree defenses and pressures of predation (Wilkinson and Sherratt 2016 ). As climate greatly influences these phenomena, the global forests cannot be so sedulous against such challenges (Jactel et al. 2019 ). Table ​ Table3 3 demonstrates some of the particular considerations with practical examples that are essential while mitigating the impacts of CC in the forestry sector.

Essential considerations while mitigating the climate change impacts on the forestry sector

Source : Fischer ( 2019 )

Climate change impacts on tourism

Tourism is a commercial activity that has roots in multi-dimensions and an efficient tool with adequate job generation potential, revenue creation, earning of spectacular foreign exchange, enhancement in cross-cultural promulgation and cooperation, a business tool for entrepreneurs and eventually for the country’s national development (Arshad et al. 2018 ; Scott 2021 ). Among a plethora of other disciplines, the tourism industry is also a distinct victim of climate warming (Gössling et al. 2012 ; Hall et al. 2015 ) as the climate is among the essential resources that enable tourism in particular regions as most preferred locations. Different places at different times of the year attract tourists both within and across the countries depending upon the feasibility and compatibility of particular weather patterns. Hence, the massive variations in these weather patterns resulting from CC will eventually lead to monumental challenges to the local economy in that specific area’s particular and national economy (Bujosa et al. 2015 ). For instance, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report demonstrated that the global tourism industry had faced a considerable decline in the duration of ski season, including the loss of some ski areas and the dramatic shifts in tourist destinations’ climate warming.

Furthermore, different studies (Neuvonen et al. 2015 ; Scott et al. 2004 ) indicated that various currently perfect tourist spots, e.g., coastal areas, splendid islands, and ski resorts, will suffer consequences of CC. It is also worth noting that the quality and potential of administrative management potential to cope with the influence of CC on the tourism industry is of crucial significance, which renders specific strengths of resiliency to numerous destinations to withstand against it (Füssel and Hildén 2014 ). Similarly, in the partial or complete absence of adequate socio-economic and socio-political capital, the high-demanding tourist sites scurry towards the verge of vulnerability. The susceptibility of tourism is based on different components such as the extent of exposure, sensitivity, life-supporting sectors, and capacity assessment factors (Füssel and Hildén 2014 ). It is obvious corporality that sectors such as health, food, ecosystems, human habitat, infrastructure, water availability, and the accessibility of a particular region are prone to CC. Henceforth, the sensitivity of these critical sectors to CC and, in return, the adaptive measures are a hallmark in determining the composite vulnerability of climate warming (Ionescu et al. 2009 ).

Moreover, the dependence on imported food items, poor hygienic conditions, and inadequate health professionals are dominant aspects affecting the local terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. Meanwhile, the greater dependency on ecosystem services and its products also makes a destination more fragile to become a prey of CC (Rizvi et al. 2015 ). Some significant non-climatic factors are important indicators of a particular ecosystem’s typical health and functioning, e.g., resource richness and abundance portray the picture of ecosystem stability. Similarly, the species abundance is also a productive tool that ensures that the ecosystem has a higher buffering capacity, which is terrific in terms of resiliency (Roscher et al. 2013 ).

Climate change impacts on the economic sector

Climate plays a significant role in overall productivity and economic growth. Due to its increasingly global existence and its effect on economic growth, CC has become one of the major concerns of both local and international environmental policymakers (Ferreira et al. 2020 ; Gleditsch 2021 ; Abbass et al. 2021b ; Lamperti et al. 2021 ). The adverse effects of CC on the overall productivity factor of the agricultural sector are therefore significant for understanding the creation of local adaptation policies and the composition of productive climate policy contracts. Previous studies on CC in the world have already forecasted its effects on the agricultural sector. Researchers have found that global CC will impact the agricultural sector in different world regions. The study of the impacts of CC on various agrarian activities in other demographic areas and the development of relative strategies to respond to effects has become a focal point for researchers (Chandioet al. 2020 ; Gleditsch 2021 ; Mosavi et al. 2020 ).

With the rapid growth of global warming since the 1980s, the temperature has started increasing globally, which resulted in the incredible transformation of rain and evaporation in the countries. The agricultural development of many countries has been reliant, delicate, and susceptible to CC for a long time, and it is on the development of agriculture total factor productivity (ATFP) influence different crops and yields of farmers (Alhassan 2021 ; Wu  2020 ).

Food security and natural disasters are increasing rapidly in the world. Several major climatic/natural disasters have impacted local crop production in the countries concerned. The effects of these natural disasters have been poorly controlled by the development of the economies and populations and may affect human life as well. One example is China, which is among the world’s most affected countries, vulnerable to natural disasters due to its large population, harsh environmental conditions, rapid CC, low environmental stability, and disaster power. According to the January 2016 statistical survey, China experienced an economic loss of 298.3 billion Yuan, and about 137 million Chinese people were severely affected by various natural disasters (Xie et al. 2018 ).

Mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate changes

Adaptation and mitigation are the crucial factors to address the response to CC (Jahanzad et al. 2020 ). Researchers define mitigation on climate changes, and on the other hand, adaptation directly impacts climate changes like floods. To some extent, mitigation reduces or moderates greenhouse gas emission, and it becomes a critical issue both economically and environmentally (Botzen et al. 2021 ; Jahanzad et al. 2020 ; Kongsager 2018 ; Smit et al. 2000 ; Vale et al. 2021 ; Usman et al. 2021 ; Verheyen 2005 ).

Researchers have deep concern about the adaptation and mitigation methodologies in sectoral and geographical contexts. Agriculture, industry, forestry, transport, and land use are the main sectors to adapt and mitigate policies(Kärkkäinen et al. 2020 ; Waheed et al. 2021 ). Adaptation and mitigation require particular concern both at the national and international levels. The world has faced a significant problem of climate change in the last decades, and adaptation to these effects is compulsory for economic and social development. To adapt and mitigate against CC, one should develop policies and strategies at the international level (Hussain et al. 2020 ). Figure  6 depicts the list of current studies on sectoral impacts of CC with adaptation and mitigation measures globally.

Sectoral impacts of climate change with adaptation and mitigation measures.

Conclusion and future perspectives

Specific socio-agricultural, socio-economic, and physical systems are the cornerstone of psychological well-being, and the alteration in these systems by CC will have disastrous impacts. Climate variability, alongside other anthropogenic and natural stressors, influences human and environmental health sustainability. Food security is another concerning scenario that may lead to compromised food quality, higher food prices, and inadequate food distribution systems. Global forests are challenged by different climatic factors such as storms, droughts, flash floods, and intense precipitation. On the other hand, their anthropogenic wiping is aggrandizing their existence. Undoubtedly, the vulnerability scale of the world’s regions differs; however, appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures can aid the decision-making bodies in developing effective policies to tackle its impacts. Presently, modern life on earth has tailored to consistent climatic patterns, and accordingly, adapting to such considerable variations is of paramount importance. Because the faster changes in climate will make it harder to survive and adjust, this globally-raising enigma calls for immediate attention at every scale ranging from elementary community level to international level. Still, much effort, research, and dedication are required, which is the most critical time. Some policy implications can help us to mitigate the consequences of climate change, especially the most affected sectors like the agriculture sector;

Warming might lengthen the season in frost-prone growing regions (temperate and arctic zones), allowing for longer-maturing seasonal cultivars with better yields (Pfadenhauer 2020 ; Bonacci 2019 ). Extending the planting season may allow additional crops each year; when warming leads to frequent warmer months highs over critical thresholds, a split season with a brief summer fallow may be conceivable for short-period crops such as wheat barley, cereals, and many other vegetable crops. The capacity to prolong the planting season in tropical and subtropical places where the harvest season is constrained by precipitation or agriculture farming occurs after the year may be more limited and dependent on how precipitation patterns vary (Wu et al. 2017 ).

The genetic component is comprehensive for many yields, but it is restricted like kiwi fruit for a few. Ali et al. ( 2017 ) investigated how new crops will react to climatic changes (also stated in Mall et al. 2017 ). Hot temperature, drought, insect resistance; salt tolerance; and overall crop production and product quality increases would all be advantageous (Akkari 2016 ). Genetic mapping and engineering can introduce a greater spectrum of features. The adoption of genetically altered cultivars has been slowed, particularly in the early forecasts owing to the complexity in ensuring features are expediently expressed throughout the entire plant, customer concerns, economic profitability, and regulatory impediments (Wirehn 2018 ; Davidson et al. 2016 ).

To get the full benefit of the CO 2 would certainly require additional nitrogen and other fertilizers. Nitrogen not consumed by the plants may be excreted into groundwater, discharged into water surface, or emitted from the land, soil nitrous oxide when large doses of fertilizer are sprayed. Increased nitrogen levels in groundwater sources have been related to human chronic illnesses and impact marine ecosystems. Cultivation, grain drying, and other field activities have all been examined in depth in the studies (Barua et al. 2018 ).

• The technological and socio-economic adaptation

The policy consequence of the causative conclusion is that as a source of alternative energy, biofuel production is one of the routes that explain oil price volatility separate from international macroeconomic factors. Even though biofuel production has just begun in a few sample nations, there is still a tremendous worldwide need for feedstock to satisfy industrial expansion in China and the USA, which explains the food price relationship to the global oil price. Essentially, oil-exporting countries may create incentives in their economies to increase food production. It may accomplish by giving farmers financing, seedlings, fertilizers, and farming equipment. Because of the declining global oil price and, as a result, their earnings from oil export, oil-producing nations may be unable to subsidize food imports even in the near term. As a result, these countries can boost the agricultural value chain for export. It may be accomplished through R&D and adding value to their food products to increase income by correcting exchange rate misalignment and adverse trade terms. These nations may also diversify their economies away from oil, as dependence on oil exports alone is no longer economically viable given the extreme volatility of global oil prices. Finally, resource-rich and oil-exporting countries can convert to non-food renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro, coal, wind, wave, and tidal energy. By doing so, both world food and oil supplies would be maintained rather than harmed.

IRENA’s modeling work shows that, if a comprehensive policy framework is in place, efforts toward decarbonizing the energy future will benefit economic activity, jobs (outweighing losses in the fossil fuel industry), and welfare. Countries with weak domestic supply chains and a large reliance on fossil fuel income, in particular, must undertake structural reforms to capitalize on the opportunities inherent in the energy transition. Governments continue to give major policy assistance to extract fossil fuels, including tax incentives, financing, direct infrastructure expenditures, exemptions from environmental regulations, and other measures. The majority of major oil and gas producing countries intend to increase output. Some countries intend to cut coal output, while others plan to maintain or expand it. While some nations are beginning to explore and execute policies aimed at a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuel production, these efforts have yet to impact major producing countries’ plans and goals. Verifiable and comparable data on fossil fuel output and assistance from governments and industries are critical to closing the production gap. Governments could increase openness by declaring their production intentions in their climate obligations under the Paris Agreement.

It is firmly believed that achieving the Paris Agreement commitments is doubtlful without undergoing renewable energy transition across the globe (Murshed 2020 ; Zhao et al. 2022 ). Policy instruments play the most important role in determining the degree of investment in renewable energy technology. This study examines the efficacy of various policy strategies in the renewable energy industry of multiple nations. Although its impact is more visible in established renewable energy markets, a renewable portfolio standard is also a useful policy instrument. The cost of producing renewable energy is still greater than other traditional energy sources. Furthermore, government incentives in the R&D sector can foster innovation in this field, resulting in cost reductions in the renewable energy industry. These nations may export their technologies and share their policy experiences by forming networks among their renewable energy-focused organizations. All policy measures aim to reduce production costs while increasing the proportion of renewables to a country’s energy system. Meanwhile, long-term contracts with renewable energy providers, government commitment and control, and the establishment of long-term goals can assist developing nations in deploying renewable energy technology in their energy sector.

Author contribution

KA: Writing the original manuscript, data collection, data analysis, Study design, Formal analysis, Visualization, Revised draft, Writing-review, and editing. MZQ: Writing the original manuscript, data collection, data analysis, Writing-review, and editing. HS: Contribution to the contextualization of the theme, Conceptualization, Validation, Supervision, literature review, Revised drapt, and writing review and editing. MM: Writing review and editing, compiling the literature review, language editing. HM: Writing review and editing, compiling the literature review, language editing. IY: Contribution to the contextualization of the theme, literature review, and writing review and editing.

Availability of data and material

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Contributor Information

Kashif Abbass, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@ssabbafihsak .

Muhammad Zeeshan Qasim, Email: moc.kooltuo@888misaqnahseez .

Huaming Song, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@gnimauh .

Muntasir Murshed, Email: [email protected] .

Haider Mahmood, Email: moc.liamtoh@doomhamrediah .

Ijaz Younis, Email: nc.ude.tsujn@sinuoyzaji .

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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Your environment. your health., human health impacts of climate change.

Climate change impacts human health in both direct and indirect ways 1 , 2 . Extreme heat waves, rising sea level, changes in precipitation resulting in flooding and droughts, and intense hurricanes can directly cause injury, illness, and even death 3 . The effects of climate change can also indirectly affect health through alterations to the environment. For example, worsening air pollution levels can have negative impacts on respiratory and cardiovascular conditions 4 . Changes in temperature and rainfall can alter the survival, distribution, and behavior of insects and other species that can lead to changes in infectious diseases 5 . Increases in precipitation, storm surge, and sea temperature can lead to more water-related illnesses 6 . Climate change can also affect food safety, exposing people to contaminated foods that can result in foodborne illnesses 7 . In addition, climate change can affect mental health and well-being 8 , 9 .

Exposure to climate-related hazards can include biological, chemical, or physical stressors and can differ in time, locations, populations, and severity. These are referred to as exposure pathways. These threats can occur simultaneously, resulting in compounding health impacts. Climate change threats may also accumulate over time, leading to longer-term changes in resilience and health.

Climate change can affect human health by changing the severity, duration, or frequency of health problems and by creating unprecedented or unanticipated health problems or health threats in places or populations where they have not previously occurred 10 . While everyone is exposed to climate-related health threats, not everyone experiences the same harms. Individuals may experience greater risk from climate-related health effects because: they have greater exposure to climate-related hazards; they are more sensitive to the effects of climate stressors; their own present state of health and wellbeing; or they do not have sufficient capacity or resources to cope or remove themselves from harm 11 . An effective public health response to mitigate the risks of climate change is essential to preventing injuries and illnesses and enhancing overall public health preparedness.

NIEHS supports research that can be used to make decisions that can help reduce the threats of climate change. In the 2016 report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program,  The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health: A Scientific Assessment , the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health describes seven different types of health threats that help outline the major research areas. These include the following:

• Foodborne Illness and Nutrition
• Health Impacts of Air Quality
• Health Impacts of Extreme Weather Events
• Mental Health and Well-being
• People Who Are Vulnerable to Climate Change
• Temperature-Related Death and Illness
• Vector-borne Diseases
• Water-related Illnesses

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• Cissé, G., R. McLeman, H. Adams, P. Aldunce, K. Bowen, D. Campbell-Lendrum, S. Clayton, K.L. Ebi, J. Hess, C. Huang, Q. Liu, G. McGregor, J. Semenza, and M.C. Tirado, 2022: Health, Wellbeing, and the Changing Structure of Communities. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press. [ Full Text Cissé, G., R. McLeman, H. Adams, P. Aldunce, K. Bowen, D. Campbell-Lendrum, S. Clayton, K.L. Ebi, J. Hess, C. Huang, Q. Liu, G. McGregor, J. Semenza, and M.C. Tirado, 2022: Health, Wellbeing, and the Changing Structure of Communities. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press. ]
• Cianconi P, Betrò S, and Janiri L. 2020 The impact of climate change on mental health: a systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11 (2020): 74. [ Abstract Cianconi P, Betrò S, and Janiri L. 2020 The impact of climate change on mental health: a systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11 (2020): 74. ] [ Full Text Cianconi P, Betrò S, and Janiri L. 2020 The impact of climate change on mental health: a systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11 (2020): 74. ]
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• Perspective
• Published: 26 October 2022

The missing risks of climate change

• James Rising   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8514-4748 1 ,
• Marco Tedesco   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7549-9307 2 ,
• Franziska Piontek   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4305-7552 3 &
• David A. Stainforth   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6476-733X 4 , 5  

Nature volume  610 ,  pages 643–651 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Climate-change impacts

The risks of climate change are enormous, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions to billions of people. The economic consequences of many of the complex risks associated with climate change cannot, however, currently be quantified. Here we argue that these unquantified, poorly understood and often deeply uncertain risks can and should be included in economic evaluations and decision-making processes. We present an overview of these unquantified risks and an ontology of them founded on the reasons behind their lack of robust evaluation. These consist of risks missing owing to delays in sharing knowledge and expertise across disciplines, spatial and temporal variations of climate impacts, feedbacks and interactions between risks, deep uncertainty in our knowledge, and currently unidentified risks. We highlight collaboration needs within and between the natural and social science communities to address these gaps. We also provide an approach for integrating assessments or speculations of these risks in a way that accounts for interdependencies, avoids double counting and makes assumptions clear. Multiple paths exist for engaging with these missing risks, with both model-based quantification and non-model-based qualitative assessments playing crucial roles. A wide range of climate impacts are understudied or challenging to quantify, and are missing from current evaluations of the climate risks to lives and livelihoods. Strong interdisciplinary collaboration and deeper engagement with uncertainty is needed to properly inform policymakers and the public about climate risks.

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There is overwhelming evidence that the risks and impacts from increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are very significant, will impact nearly every aspect of human life and the environment, and could ultimately prove to be devastating. An apparent incongruity exists between the pervasiveness of anticipated physical changes and the relatively modest total losses often estimated in economic evaluations 1 , 2 . Part of the explanation for this mismatch comes from ‘missing risks’: the risks that are not currently included in economic evaluations because of their uncertainty, because of our limited understanding of them or because existing economic models do not capture them in sufficient detail.

The interplay within and between different physical and social systems plays a crucial role in defining when and where impacts will manifest themselves, and these interactions are often only poorly understood. This leads to large and growing uncertainty estimates and a wide range of incompletely understood and underestimated risks 3 . For example, the potential for climate change impacts to drive social discontent, dislocation and relocation, and instability and conflict, are all deeply uncertain, but potentially crippling.

Excluding these risks from economic assessments is equivalent to placing a probability of zero on their occurrence. This, clearly, is not the case. Similarly, the common practice of engaging with only the expected levels of impacts and reporting central confidence bounds can undermine the ability of decision-makers to engage with the actual range of risks. The overall consequence is an underestimation of the total risks of climate change. This Perspective aims to identify, classify and suggest ways to engage with some of the most significant risks that are not currently captured by socioeconomic evaluations of climate change, from both a natural perspective and a social perspective. As an example of how this can be achieved, we present a demonstration of how diverse impact estimates or assumptions can be coherently combined.

Economic evaluations of the risks of climate change are a crucial input into policymaking and long-term planning processes for businesses and communities. Various studies have projected the costs of climate impacts (damages) across multiple sectors 4 , 5 , whereas integrated assessment models (IAMs) produce global estimates of the social cost of carbon 6 (throughout the paper, we use the term IAM to refer to both benefit–cost IAMs, which incorporate damages as standard, and detailed-process IAMs, which traditionally focus on cost-effectiveness analysis of mitigation strategies, but are increasingly developed to integrate impact estimates). Such assessments generally intend to go far beyond financial risks and involve ‘non-market’ effects, such as losses to ecosystems and broader human well-being.

The aim in quantifying climate risks is usually to produce probability distributions for possible impacts in quantities such as metres of sea-level rise, decreased biodiversity indices, people affected by certain types of event or percent losses to gross domestic product (GDP). Anthropogenic climate change, however, takes the climate–social system into a regime never before experienced, and consequently robust, reliable probabilities are rarely a possibility 7 , 8 , 9 . Nevertheless, even scientifically founded rough estimates of such distributions are valuable for illuminating the characteristics of the integrated complexities of the economic impacts of climate change. Indeed, even where no credible quantifications exist, we might still be able to set plausible limits.

The distributions of climate change impacts produced by economic models are often taken as probability distributions, but in practice they suffer from deep uncertainties 7 , 10 . Consequently, although models play a part in supporting policy, model outputs are insufficient to facilitate effective engagement with many risks and it is important to consider risks associated with climate change even when no quantifications exist or deep uncertainties abound.

The full range of risks from climate change is currently missing from economic evaluations. There are two broad reasons for this. First, a considerable time delay exists between the understanding of physical risks, the economic understanding of the implications of those risks and their nonlinear social feedbacks, and the incorporation of this understanding into economic models and analyses. Second, high levels of uncertainty and incomplete understanding of physical processes can drive scientists to be conservative in reporting them, or drive them to focus on central estimates.

It is helpful to distinguish five kinds of uncertainty that factor into economic impact uncertainty (Box 1 , visualized in Fig. 1 ). The first derives from uncertainty about future socioeconomic policy scenarios (UC1). This scenario uncertainty will not be an important part of our discussion because we are concerned with informing policy choices, which generally involves a comparison of different socioeconomic and policy scenarios. The second kind refers to the parameters that describe the processes of the climate and social systems (UC2), such as climate sensitivity, elasticity of marginal utility of consumption, rate of ice loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the potential increased mortality related to heat and so on. Model uncertainty (UC3) arises from differences in how the structure of the problem is approached by different experts and modelling centres and the choice of computational and statistical parameters available for tuning. Even small differences in models could produce large differences in outcomes over time 11 (a proposed hawkmoth effect analogous to the butterfly effect).

The process for developing risk estimates depends on several stages of analysis, with uncertainty compounding across stages. Distributions are shown for an illustrative projection of changes to death rates in New Delhi (using data from ref. 40 ). Axes are constructed so that the expected value of the distribution of each policy scenario is aligned across subfigures. Uncertainty in emissions scenarios and their associated baseline socioeconomics contributes to uncertainty in climate changes, local hazards, impacts and economic damages (including costs of adaptation). As climate risks can then affect emissions (for example, populations after death tolls), there are also feedbacks between these processes further increasing uncertainty.

Trajectory uncertainty (UC4) describes the intrinsic, aleatoric, uncertainty in what the future trajectory will actually be. In deterministic models such as global climate models (GCMs), it arises from their nonlinear dynamical behaviour and is referred to as ‘initial-condition uncertainty’ 7 . Although IAMs typically do not have this form of chaotic variability, the socioeconomic system they represent is similarly nonlinear and variable, and trajectory uncertainty can be explored within them using stochastic representations 12 , 13 , 14 .

Finally, model inadequacy (UC5) refers to the known and unknown limitations in our models: their incomplete representation of processes that could significantly influence the outcome in the real-world system they are designed to represent. Acknowledging model assumptions and inadequacies is particularly important where quantitative models are aimed at informing policy decisions, and increasing model coverage and complexity often will not increase its relevance and accuracy 15 .

Although epistemologically distinct, parameter, model and trajectory uncertainty (UC2–UC4) can be combined in impact evaluations, as they are functionally similar for decision-makers. Scientists, however, engage with them quite differently. Of these, parameter uncertainty is the most susceptible to reduction through data collection and empirical studies, although this can be a slow process. Scientific progress may increase or decrease model uncertainty. The sensitivity behind trajectory uncertainty derives from both the finest details of the starting conditions 16 and their large-scale, generic features 17 . The former is irreducible but the latter is, at least potentially, reducible through further research and better observations 7 . We argue that risk evaluations should incorporate UC2–UC4, alongside descriptions of model limitations (UC5) to describe our combined uncertainty around final outcomes.

Decision-makers are often adept at handling uncertainty and could use information on both low-probability/high-damage outcomes and unknown-probability/high-damage outcomes. Consider, for instance, the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report, which allows for up to 10% probability that climate sensitivity is outside the 2–5 °C range, with much of this probability reflecting the deep uncertainty in the upper tail of the probability distribution 18 , 19 . The associated risk of high levels of warming is significantly higher than acceptable risk levels in public health (for example, 1 in 10,000 (ref. 20 )) and indeed uncertainty in the tail probabilities have been shown to have orders of magnitude impact on economic assessments of future welfare and therefore on the value of emissions reductions 21 . Even the possibility of a runaway greenhouse effect owing to anthropogenic climate change cannot be entirely ruled out 22 . Typically decision-making has multiple objectives, and harmful, low-probability outcomes can play a significant role. It is therefore important for decision-makers to be aware of harmful processes, even if their likelihood is unknown. For example, there is little basis for knowing whether climate impacts on GDP growth rates 23 will continue into the future, but if they do, the result would be devastating. Furthermore, risks are sometimes excluded when they are not fully understood or where there is considerable variation in estimates (for example, health risks 24 ). If only those risks considered ‘likely’ (above 66% probability) in the IPCC reports are accounted for, a large portion of potential impacts would be erroneously given a 0% probability. Some of these risks are incredibly complex, with impacts cascading across multiple sectors and involving considerable path dependence (for example, biodiversity or ecosystem losses). Most are fraught with ‘deep uncertainty’, with scientists disagreeing on the basis for providing reliable estimates (for example, the potential for climate-driven conflict 25 ). These challenges are not, however, insurmountable barriers to their inclusion in policymaking or economic valuations. There are opportunities to use imprecise probabilities, formal possibilistic approaches and informal possibilistic approaches 26 such as ‘tales of the future’, which encapsulate physically realistic and plausible futures focused on the aspects of the system of concern 27 , 28 .

Box 1
 Types of within-process uncertainty

Ontology of missing risks

Here we distinguish between five categories of currently missing risks and suggest potential solutions on how to start integrating them into current and future studies. The categories below are based on the reasons behind their exclusions, and these reasons provide insight into how they can be engaged with in the near future.

Missing biophysical impacts

One group of missing risks arises from the calibration of the IAMs, which are often decades out of date 29 . This is true of several risks now considered to have high probability at current and future levels of warming, such as the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation by 2300 (assessed as likely as not) 30 and abrupt permafrost melt by 2100 (assessed as high probability) 31 (also see Supplementary Fig. 1 ). The pathway from improved understanding of a climate phenomenon to its valuation in economic models can be long. It often requires that the understanding of relevant climate drivers reaches a point where the science is available beyond the climate science community, for instance, through media such as IPCC reports. As part of this process. biophysical modelling is often required to translate climate risks into physical impacts; economists need to develop an understanding of the response of social systems to the physical impact, and a welfare valuation of these responses; and the risk then needs to be incorporated into IAMs, computable general equilibrium models or other comprehensive analyses. This requires close collaboration between multiple disciplines 32 , 33 .

The physical impacts and population exposure for a large number of relevant risks have already been quantified (Supplementary Table 1 ). In some cases, a translation from impacts into welfare or monetary damages is readily available and these can be rapidly incorporated into evaluations. In other cases, credible valuations are unavailable (for example, biodiversity loss and natural disasters) or resilience and general equilibrium effects are first-order concerns (for example, water stress and migration). In this case, considerable work is needed to translate biophysical risks into economic ones. Examples of recent developments that are not captured in economic assessments include exposure of populations to natural disasters 34 , 35 , the latest process-based impact-model intercomparisons across multiple sectors 36 , and new statistical models of health, productivity, agriculture and energy 37 . These impact estimates represent substantial developments beyond existing representations of these risks in the IAMs 38 , 39 .

There are several possible causes for this gap, including: the disagreements within the impact community over the scale of impacts; a culture in economics that does not encourage large-team collaboration; and, to some extent, limited funding available for economic model development. The process for including these risks in the near future must confront multiple challenges. Economic damage assessments need damage functions that reflect the widest possible range of credible responses: recent advances in empirical damage estimates 37 go in the right direction but face the challenges of both connecting short-term weather-related impacts to long-term climate ones, and incorporating the endogeneity of adaptation. One approach to this problem is being pioneered at the Climate Impact Lab, and tries to address both problems. To account for adaptation, they use observed variation in temperature sensitivity 40 . To support incorporating these results into economic models as functions of climate rather than weather, they estimate impacts under downscaled projected weather and then index these uncertain impacts to expected climate, which allows them to be emulated in models that do not have daily weather or disaggregated sectors 41 . Parallel work at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research develops channel-specific damage functions using process models for use in economic models (for example, ref. 42 ). However, integration of this work into economic analyses requires that issues of valuation, equilibrium adjustments and double counting are resolved, which requires an interdisciplinary approach 43 .

The ability to incorporate many risks into economic evaluations is being undermined by difficulties in bridging the climate science, economics and modelling cultures. Examples include climate tipping points, conflict and migration, and topics from climate justice. Natural scientists and economic modellers struggle to find a common language to discuss the possible consequences of climate change. Bridging these gaps requires the repeated, collaboration-focused convening of researchers engaged in all aspects of the problem.

Spatial and temporal extremes

The spatial and demographic variations in impacts has emerged as one of the central features of economic damages: poor and socioeconomically vulnerable groups in many regions are the most exposed to risks 5 , 43 . IAMs often represent the world in highly aggregated terms, describing only global results (for example, the DICE model 44 ) or across multi-national regions (for example, PAGE 14 , FUND 45 and RICE 46 ) and for representative agents. Although these variations can be parameterized in damage functions 47 or elasticity parameters 48 , doing so hides the underlying source and consequences of climate risk.

Temporal extremes are also likely to play a significant role. Although impacts of climate change result from the long-term evolution of temperature changes and sea-level rise, many will manifest as extreme shocks: heatwaves, storms and droughts. While projections of many natural disasters are available 35 , 49 , they are not represented in IAMs and reported metrics typically hide the role of variability 4 . See examples of risks arising from spatial and temporal extremes in Supplementary Section  D .

It is a conceptual challenge to integrate the small spatial and temporal scales relevant for extreme events or the effects on different income groups and related distributional effects into the IAMs operating on large world regions and long timescales. Spatially detailed research requires simulations and data often available for only a few countries. Research examining the complexity of systems and potential impacts of climate change responses at scales ranging from individual households to national policy and global governance can help in this regard.

Traditionally, the highly aggregated approach of benefit–cost IAMs has supported their use in identifying climate policies that maximize global welfare, by relying on intertemporal optimization. Economic assessments of scenarios, however, do not require optimization, and higher-resolution economic risk assessments have been produced for the United States and Europe 33 , the consequences of tipping points 50 and country-level-scale information using empirical damage estimates 51 . Improvements in stochastic optimization techniques also provide a pathway to increasing resolution while studying optimal mitigation 52 .

A way to better engage with these features is to improve how heterogeneity, variability and uncertainty are approached generally. We propose that there is an emerging way forwards for combining parameter, model and trajectory uncertainty, while considering model inadequacy, at high spatial and temporal resolution. First, impact models should be driven by downscaled inputs available at a monthly or higher frequency, over multi-decadal periods. This captures the interaction between the dynamic uncertainty represented by both natural variability of theclimate system and climate change. Parameter uncertainty within the impact models should be represented by probability distributions over parameter values, simulated using Monte Carlos across multiple downscaled GCMs and multiple impact models, ideally drawing from initial-condition ensembles.

It is in addition important to improve how uncertainty is communicated to policymakers. When presenting model-based information, we recommend separating variability from uncertainty, that is, the 1-in-100-chance outcome for an impact conditioned on a model, alongside how that number varies between models. Finally, model inadequacy needs to be stated clearly, and unmodelled risks represented (for example, with ember plots).

Feedback risks and interactions

Feedback processes are ubiquitous within and among the climate, environment and economic systems. Critical and sometimes overlooked risks arise from the complex interplay of climate change and variability, demographic shifts, economic insecurity and political processes (Supplementary Section  E ). Physical risks are not independent of each other and climate change can act as a catalyst and stressor that accelerates and exacerbates conditions leading to cascading effects in the climate system and societal tipping points (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Section F ). Feedback processes are often the source of heavy-tailed distributions and are therefore closely linked to black-swan events (see ‘Deep uncertainty’). However, these interactions are often missing from analyses and thus represent a source of missing risks.

The red arrows show channels of interaction. Cascading tipping points refers to the increased probability of one tipping point because of the triggering of another 75 . Cascading disasters can occur as natural disasters heighten the risk of other disasters (for example, droughts causing wildfire). With multiple stressors, as climate stresses proliferate, the resilience and adaptive capacity of populations can be sapped 53 . As with the climate system, cascading social changes can emerge, such as migration increasing the risk of conflict 54 . As populations adapt and develop, this will produce simultaneous exposure/sensitivity changes, which may increase risks (for example, if populations further concentrate on coasts or along rivers).

The complexity of feedback systems has slowed the process of both understanding them and modelling them. Compound, sequential, and concurrent extremes would lead to lower thresholds (for a single driver) for substantial impacts as well as deeper impacts when two drivers align 53 . The overall lack of representation for this type of secondary effect leads to an underestimation of risk.

There is a need for assessment and risk management frameworks that better incorporate uncertainty and complex, cascading risks, including systems approaches built on interacting sectors, actors, geophysical hazards, scenarios and storylines. Approaches that utilize agent-based modelling and computable general equilibrium models are now being developed, but more effort is needed to understand their potential contribution in a climate change context.

An important class of feedback risks is tipping points 54 . Climate, ecological and social tipping points are transitory states of a feedback process beyond which a new basin of attraction will drive further system change, resulting in a qualitatively different and self-reinforcing regime. A wide variety of tipping points have been incorporated into analyses for individual papers, but representing the full collection has been a challenge 50 .

One barrier to research on tipping points and climatic extremes being incorporated into economic evaluations is that they are not well represented in GCMs, and their associated downscaled products. Social scientists look to natural scientists to provide probabilities, time evolutions and gridded projections to support their work. This is not always possible. Ensuring that climate scientists provide results in a form that is both robustly justifiable and can be readily incorporated into economic analysis requires bringing together the two disciplines.

Deep uncertainty

Deep uncertainty describes processes for which robust probability distributions do not exist. For many impacts, one or more steps in the estimation of hazards, exposure, vulnerability and welfare suffer from deep uncertainty, in terms of, for instance, the extent of their impacts and their spatiotemporal probability or frequency (Supplementary Section  G ). In some cases, the appropriate metrics for quantification are unclear. Yet, they can (and should) still be factored into risk assessment and planning.

One class of impacts suffering from deep uncertainty is black-swan events, characterized by their extreme nature and long-lasting consequences 55 . Statistically, black-swan events are outcomes from the tails of heavy-tailed distributions, which are common in natural and human systems 54 , 56 , 57 , 58 . These events are difficult to predict, because they are so far outside of what we normally observe and often arise from interlinked instabilities. Because they depend on and trigger changes throughout their systems, each black-swan event can dramatically alter exposure to risks and force the need for developing new decision contexts. As advancing climate change places new stresses on climate and social systems, outcomes beyond the extremes observed within the historical record are increasingly possible. The high frequency of previously considered ‘highly improbable’ events requires their consideration in climate change evaluations. Some examples include technological breakthroughs (unforeseen dramatic efficiency gains, consequences of a new green revolution and so on); governance and geopolitical reorganization (conflict, trade blocs and so on); new climate regimes (unforeseen ocean circulation or ecosystem changes and so on); funding mechanisms (green development banks, subsidies to tip the balance towards renewables and so on); and disease outbreaks (coronavirus disease 2019, Ebola and so on).

Some of these deep uncertainties and black-swan events can be explored through scenarios. Scenarios as a combination of broad narratives and quantitative projections based on models have been employed in climate science in the past 59 . It is important that climate narratives represent sequential and concurrent events across multiple regions and sectors of the global economy. The currently used Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) cover a range of socioeconomic futures, but these scenarios do not necessarily capture disruptive deviations from the past 60 . To truly assess deep uncertainty, the diversity and robustness of scenarios needs to receive more attention 61 . Computational techniques such as cross-impact balances can be used to systematically explore large numbers of scenarios and the coverage of scenarios space. Alternatively, the vulnerability of a (policy) strategy to disruptions can be studied. A number of projects have built on a storyline approach 27 , 28 , 62 , 63 , 64 . Speculative storylines can begin an iterative process whereby global and regional modelling exercises and storyline refinements can offer insights.

It is noted that assessments of model uncertainty in multi-model intercomparisons and perturbed physics and parameter studies cannot provide robust probabilities owing to the shared features across models, their limited exploration of possibilities and the conceptual lack of any basis for defining the shape of ‘model space’ across which probabilities must be built 7 . Nevertheless, the uncertainty derived from such ensembles represents a starting point for consideration of deep uncertainty. Example applications include model evaluation with historical data and developing multi-sector, multi-model projections 65 , 66 , 67 .

A similar process of reflection on deep uncertainties should be initiated with IAMs (and other models capturing impacts) and the economic damage integration process in general. Although IAMs have been intercompared in the past, a concerted intercomparison project would have a much broader focus on consideration of the implications of what is missing or inadequately incorporated at present.

Unidentified risks

Finally, it is appropriate to recognize a further set of risks completely unidentified in the academic literature. The coupled global environmental–human system can be disrupted in many ways that are unexpected or have not been studied. We take for granted many of the ways that the environment currently supports human needs, and not all of these functions are known, much less their sensitivity to climate change. Populations may respond to changes in their environments in unpredictable ways, driving social movements that take on a life of their own.

As these risks are fully unknown and unquantified, we cannot directly include them in valuations, but we can still factor unidentified risks into decision-making. Approaches exist for doing so. First, we could consider a precautionary principle, arguing that we might want to maintain the state with which we have long historical experience, even in the absence of clearly identified risks. The precautionary principle is already embedded in the Paris Agreement, and underlies the results of detailed-process IAMs, which identify cost-effective implementations of given mitigation scenarios 6 . We can understand the risks we face by comparing the future world to the range of conditions experienced across instrumental records (for example, see Fig. 3 ) 68 . The precautionary principle would motivate pairing economic welfare calculations with planetary boundaries or other deviations from historical ranges 69 .

a , Hazards that most exceed the distribution from recent (1980–2009) history, measured with a z -score from nine GCMs in WorldClim 76 in 2050 under SSP3-7.0, using high logged precipitation in the wettest month (labelled 'Flood'), low logged annual precipitation (Drought), coefficient of variation of precipitation (Precipitation variation), minimum temperature of the coldest month (Chill) and maximum temperature of the warmest month (Heat). Significance is determined by bootstrapping the 95% confidence interval, and determined to be at a z -score of 0.98. b , The same as a , but showing the distribution of the z -scores across the global population.

Second, there are normative, ethical arguments to maintain the natural state of the planet, out of a rights-based demand to not subject people to undue risks, for example 70 , 71 . The argument is that economic systems should conform to the values held by their stakeholders and that comprehensive economic evaluations should therefore account for infringements on the stated priorities of each community.

Third, there are results from complexity science that provide ways to monitor the fingerprints of risks, even if we do not know their nature 72 . These can provide early warning signals, and suggest improving resilience even without clear dangers in sight.

Moving forwards

Improving our representation and understanding of the missing risks in economic assessments of climate change impacts is a long-term goal. It demands greater coordination between the climate, impact and economic scientific communities, better approaches for grounding economic projections in data, systems understanding and the latest climate science, and better representations of complex, interacting, heterogeneous systems. The different classes of missing risks described above each require different approaches for moving forwards. Furthermore, foundational work is needed to understand the basis for deriving robust, actionable information when combining different kinds of information sources to generate comprehensive assessments—we should avoid potentially misleading, model-sensitive data.

We can distinguish three overlapping stages in this broad agenda. With existing knowledge, we can already offer a better picture of the total risks of climate change by engaging in detailed, integrative work. This stage depends on collating existing knowledge, preparing better narratives and interpreting results in the context of missing risks. The second stage consists of work to map out the spaces that current models miss and to analyse where there may be value in improving existing models or developing better non-model-based approaches. This stage involves improving scientific inputs into quantitative economic assessments, improving representations of uncertainty, and engaging in explorations of the potential behaviour and model intercomparisons of IAMs with respect to impact modelling. Finally, there is a long-term agenda, which requires targeted funding to support intensive engagement across disciplines, model approaches and types of modelling experiments designed to robustly test the sensitivity of policy-relevant conclusions to the nonlinear consequences of the initial state, structural model error and stochastic behaviour and assumptions.

Finally, some risks have been treated as insignificant because of the long time horizon before they will be experienced with a measurable effect. Welfare losses in the future are typically discounted (reduced) in cost–benefit calculations. We will not address discounting in this paper, but we offer a few comments. First, discounting is inherently an ethical decision, so decision-makers should be careful about applying common conventions from the academic economic literature and might benefit from greater awareness of the undiscounted stream of damages. Second, under the risk of negative economic growth, it may not be economically or socially sensible to discount the future (for example, under Ramsey discounting 73 ). Third, alternatives to standard discounting are available (for example, ref. 74 ), but best practices are needed.

Rapidly quantifying missing risks

Considerable information is available on many of the risks discussed in the ‘Ontology of missing risks’ section, but it is not integrated in a way that can lead to comprehensive quantification. Here we propose an illustrative general approach for combining uncertain and qualitative information about an indefinite but growing collection of risks. The framework highlights the gaps in existing knowledge, and aims to rapidly lower the barrier to incorporating a large number of currently missing risks.

Conditional on a temperature change of Δ T , we posit that each risk i can be described by an imprecise and possibly subjective distribution of possible consequences or impacts, x i  ≈  f i (Δ T ), a probability distribution over possible impacts. For our purposes, we are agnostic about the quantification of x i , so long as the metric is consistent across all risks: for example, they could be in terms of percent welfare-equivalent GDP lost or lives negatively affected over the course of each lifespan. Suppose that each distribution embodies all forms of uncertainty (UC2–UC5).

We can distinguish two broad forms of interdependencies between individual risks. First, the drivers behind the forms of uncertainty can be shared, so that a high impact from one risk is correlated with a high impact from another. For example, damages owing to droughts and wildfires both depend on precipitation changes, and are likely to be correlated, even after accounting for temperature changes. However, this points to the other form of interdependence: double counting. If the same area is at risk from both droughts and wildfires, damages from one may already be accounted for in the estimation of damages from the other.

We address these both using a copula approach, which simplifies the representation of these interdependencies, and is detailed in Supplementary Section  A . This simple framework decomposes the problem of understanding the total missing risks into a series of discrete and cumulative steps: (1) identifying a common metric for measuring risks; (2) estimating or otherwise generating a probability distribution representing losses from each risk; (3) determining the correlation of uncertainty between pairs of risks; (4) determining the degree of double counting between pairs of risks.

Furthermore, additional risks can be incorporated without revisiting existing estimates, allowing the process of including more missing risks to occur in a distributed fashion. The estimates used for steps 2, 3 and 4 may be subjective and will certainly involve deep uncertainty, but they allow us to better understand risks and their interactions under various assumptions.

As an illustrative application of this framework, we combine estimates for a range of risks from recent literature, including natural disasters, ecosystem impacts, conflict, migration, sea-level rise, heat and cold mortality, and economic growth impacts (Supplementary Table 1 ). As a consistent metric across all risks, we describe the number of lives disrupted, in terms of the population in 2010, at various levels of warming. As such, the results presented here do not provide a complete path to incorporating these risks in economic assessments, as welfare losses are not quantified.

We show these risks and their combined effects in Fig. 4 . The greatest risks, in terms of central estimates for populations affected, are multi-sector energy risks (46% at 2 °C and 85% at 4 °C) and relative conflict risk (32% at 2 °C and 75% at 4 °C). However, heatwaves, productivity and water stress all have tail risks (95% quantile) of greater than a quarter of the global population being affected. These risks can also be combined into a smooth functional form, potentially applicable in IAM-style models (Fig. 4b ). If the common metric were economic damages (for example, loss of GDP), the results could be used in IAMs in the form of a damage function.

a , Each panel shows the distribution of the portion of the global population that could be impacted by a risk or a combination of risks for 2 °C, 3 °C, and 4 °C warming. These represent some of the major missing risks discussed in the text. Each distribution is based on a single study, and the collection of missing risks is not comprehensive. The dashed lines represent the 99th percentile of the distributions. Specifics on how calculations are done and population impacts are determined are described in Supplementary Section  B . b , Smooth spline representation of the combined population affected across all risks shown in a . Spline is fit to each Monte Carlo drawn value at 2 °C, 3 °C and 4 °C, and constrained to a value and slope of 0 and a global mean surface temperature (GMST) change of 0 °C and to be weakly monotonic after 4 °C. The shaded region shows the 1st–99th percentiles.

Here we have discussed only the negative impacts incident on populations, but there are entangled positive impacts as well. Some of these are direct, such as increases in economic growth in some sectors and lives saved by milder cold winters. In addition, adaptation and migration can significantly reduce the overall risks.

Understanding the risk of 2 °C, 3 °C and 4 °C global mean surface temperature anomalies requires not only a reporting of the existing risks that models provide but also the incorporation of new classes of risks as well as the potential for disruptive unknown risks that could dramatically alter the context of future societal systems and anthropogenic climate change risks. It is hoped that recognition of these ‘missing risks’ will improve the overall level of accounting for consequences associated with climate change under credible warming scenarios.

Data availability

All data used here are publicly available at the sources cited in the  Supplementary Information .

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Acknowledgements

D.S. acknowledges support from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP; ref. ES/R009708/1), and the Natural Environment Research Council through Optimising the Design of Ensembles to Support Science and Society (ODESSS; ref NE/V011790/1). F.P. acknowledges funding through the CHIPS project, part of AXIS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, funded by FORMAS (Sweden), DLR/BMBF (Germany, grant number 01LS1904A), AEI (Spain) and ANR (France) with co-funding by the European Union (grant number 776608).

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Franziska Piontek

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

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Impacts of Climate Change

Climate change is happening. Global average temperature has increased about 1.8°F from 1901 to 2016. 1 Changes of one or two degrees in the average temperature of the planet can cause potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. These real, observable changes are what we call climate change  impacts ​​​​​​ because they are the visible ways that climate change is affecting the Earth. For example, many places have experienced changes in rainfall , resulting in more floods , droughts , or intense rain , as well as more frequent and severe heat waves .

The planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced changes— oceans are warming and becoming more acidic , ice caps are melting , and sea level is rising . As these and other changes become more pronounced in the coming decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and our environment.

Seeing the Impacts

Climate change impacts our health, environment, and economy. For example:

• Warmer temperatures increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, 2 which can pose health risks , particularly for young children and the elderly .
• Climate change can also impact human health by worsening air and water quality, increasing the spread of certain diseases , and altering the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events . 3
• Rising sea level threatens coastal communities and ecosystems. 4
• Changes in the patterns and amount of rainfall , as well as changes in the timing and amount of stream flow , can affect water supplies and water quality and the production of hydroelectricity. 5
• Changing ecosystems influence geographic ranges of many plant and animal species and the timing of their lifecycle events, such as migration and reproduction. 6
• Increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts , and floods, can increase losses to property, cause costly disruptions to society , and reduce the affordability of insurance. 7

Looking Ahead

Elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide will persist in the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years, so the earth will continue to warm in the coming decades. The warmer it gets, the greater the risk for more severe changes to the climate and the earth's system. Although it's difficult to predict the exact impacts of climate change, what's clear is that the climate we are accustomed to is no longer a reliable guide for what to expect in the future.

Consequences of climate change

Climate change affects all regions around the world. Polar ice shields are melting and the sea is rising. In some regions, extreme weather events and rainfall are becoming more common while others are experiencing more extreme heat waves and droughts. We need climate action now, or these impacts will only intensify.

Climate change is a very serious threat, and its consequences impact many different aspects of our lives. Below, you can find a list of climate change’s main consequences. Click on the + signs for more information.

Natural consequences

What are the consequences of climate change for the natural world?

High temperatures

The climate crisis has increased the average global temperature and is leading to more frequent high-temperature extremes, such as heatwaves. Higher temperatures can cause increased mortality, reduced productivity and damage to infrastructure. The most vulnerable members of the population, such as the elderly and infants, will be most severely affected.

Higher temperatures are also expected to cause a shift in the geographical distribution of climate zones. These changes are altering the distribution and abundance of many plant and animal species, which are already under pressure from habitat loss and pollution.

Temperature rises are also likely to influence phenology – the behaviour and lifecycles of animal and plant species. This could in turn lead to increased numbers of pests and invasive species, and a higher incidence of certain human diseases.

Meanwhile, the yields and viability of agriculture and livestock, or the capacity of ecosystems to provide important services and goods (such as the supply of clean water or cool and clean air) could be diminished.

Higher temperatures increase the evaporation of water, which – together with the lack of precipitation – increases the risks of severe droughts.

Low-temperature extremes (cold spells, frosty days) could become less frequent in Europe. However, global warming affects the predictability of events and therefore our capacity to respond effectively.

Drought and wildfires

Due to the changing climate, many European regions are already facing more frequent, severe, and longer lasting droughts. A drought is an unusual and temporary deficit in water availability caused by the combination of lack of precipitation and more evaporation (due to high temperatures). It differs from water scarcity, which is the structural year-round lack of fresh water resulting from the over-consumption of water..

Droughts often have knock-on effects, for example on transport infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, water and biodiversity. They reduce water levels in rivers and ground water, stunt tree and crop growth, increase pest attacks and fuel wildfires.

In Europe, most of the roughly EUR 9 billion annual losses caused by drought affect agriculture, the energy sector and the public water supply. Extreme droughts are becoming more common in Europe, and the damage they cause is also growing.

With a global average temperature increase of 3°C, it is projected that droughts would happen twice as often and absolute annual losses from droughts in Europe would increase to EUR 40 billion per year, with the most severe impacts in the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions . More frequent and severe droughts will increase the length and severity of the wildfire season, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Climate change is also expanding the area at risk from wildfires. Regions that are not currently prone to fires could become risk areas.

Availability of fresh water

As the climate heats up, rainfall patterns change, evaporation increases, glaciers melt and sea levels rise. All these factors affect the availability of fresh water.

More frequent and severe droughts and rising water temperatures are expected to cause a decrease in water quality. Such conditions encourage the growth of toxic algae and bacteria, which will worsen the problem of water scarcity that has been largely caused by human activity.

The increase of cloudburst events (sudden extreme rainfall) is also likely to influence the quality and quantity of fresh water available, as storm water can cause uncleaned sewage to enter surface water.

Europe’s rivers generally originate in mountainous areas, and 40% of Europe’s fresh water comes from the Alps. However, changes in snow and glacier dynamics, and patterns of rainfall may lead to temporary water shortages across Europe. Changes to river flows due to drought may also affect inland shipping and the production of hydroelectric power.

Climate change is expected to lead an increase of precipitation in many areas. Increased rainfall over extended periods will mainly lead to fluvial (river) flooding, while short, intense cloudbursts can cause pluvial floods, where extreme rainfall causes flooding without any body of water overflowing.

River flooding is a common natural disaster in Europe, which has, along with storms, resulted in fatalities, affected millions of people and incurred massive economic losses in the last three decades. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of flooding across Europe in the coming years.

Heavy rainstorms are projected to become more common and more intense due to higher temperatures, with flash floods expected to become more frequent across Europe.

In some regions, certain risks such as early spring floods could decrease in the short term with less winter snowfall, but the increased risk of flash flooding in mountain areas overloading the river system may offset those effects in the medium term.

Sea-level rise and coastal areas

The sea level rose over the course of the 20th century, and the tendency has accelerated in recent decades.

The rise is mostly due to thermal expansion of the oceans because of warming. But melting ice from glaciers and the Antarctic ice sheet is also contributing. It is predicted that Europe will experience an average 60 to 80 cm sea-level rise by the end of the century, mainly depending on the rate at which the Antarctic ice sheet melts.

Around a third of the EU’s population lives within 50 km of the coast and these areas generate over 30% of the Union’s total GDP. The economic value of assets within 500 m of Europe’s seas totals between EUR 500 billion to 1,000 billion.

Alongside other climate change impacts, sea-level rise will increase the risk of flooding and erosion around the coasts, with significant consequences for the people, infrastructure, businesses and nature in these areas.

Moreover, sea level rise is projected to reduce the amount of available fresh water, as seawater pushes further into underground water tables. This is also likely to lead to much more saltwater intrusion into bodies of fresh water, affecting agriculture and the supply of drinking water.

It will also affect biodiversity in coastal habitats, and the natural services and goods they provide. Many wetlands will be lost, threatening unique bird and plant species, and removing the natural protection these areas provide against storm surges.

Biodiversity

Climate change is happening so fast that many plants and animal species are struggling to cope. There is clear evidence to show that biodiversity is already responding to climate change and will continue to do so. Direct impacts include changes in phenology (the behaviour and lifecycles of animal and plant species), species abundance and distribution, community composition, habitat structure and ecosystem processes.

Climate change is also leading to indirect impacts on biodiversity through changes in the use of land and other resources. These may be more damaging than the direct impacts due to their scale, scope and speed. The indirect impacts include: habitat fragmentation and loss; over-exploitation; pollution of air, water and soil; and the spread of invasive species. They will further reduce the resilience of ecosystems to climate change and their capacity to deliver essential services; such as climate regulation, food, clean air and water, and the control of floods or erosion.

Climate change may aggravate erosion, decline in organic matter, salinisation, soil biodiversity loss, landslides, desertification and flooding. The effect of climate change on soil carbon storage can be related to changing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, increased temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Extreme precipitation events, fast melting of snow or ice, high river discharges and increased droughts are all climate-related events which influence soil degradation. Deforestation and other human activities (agriculture, skiing) also play a role. Saline soils are expected to increase in coastal areas as a result of saltwater intrusion from the seaside because of rising sea levels and (periodically) low river discharges.

Inland water

Climate change is predicted to lead to major changes in water availability across Europe, due to less predictable rainfall patterns and more intense storms. This will result in increased water scarcity, especially in southern and south-eastern Europe, and an increased risk of flooding throughout much of the continent. The resulting changes will affect many land and marine regions, and many different natural environments and species.

Water temperature is one of the central parameters that determine the overall health of aquatic ecosystems because aquatic organisms have a specific range of temperatures they can tolerate. The changes in climate have increased water temperatures of rivers and lakes, decreased ice cover, thereby affecting water quality and freshwater ecosystems.

Marine environment

The impacts of climate change, such as increasing sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification and shifts in currents and wind patterns will significantly alter the physical and biological make-up of the oceans. Changes in temperatures and ocean circulation have the potential to change geographical fish distribution. An increasing sea temperature might also enable alien species to expand into regions where they previously could not survive. Ocean acidification for example will have an impact on various calcium carbonate-secreting organisms. These changes will have unavoidable impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems, resulting in major socio-economic consequences for many regions.

Social threats

What social threats does climate change bring upon us?

Climate change is a significant threat not only to human health but also to animal and plant health. While a changing climate might not create many new or unknown health threats, existing effects will be exacerbated and more pronounced than currently seen.

The most important health effects from future climate change are projected to include:

• Increases in summer heat-related mortality (deaths) and morbidity (illness);
• Decreases in winter cold-related mortality (deaths) and morbidity (illness);
• Increases in the risk of accidents and impacts on wider well-being from extreme weather events (floods, fires and storms);
• Changes in the impact of diseases e.g. from vector-, rodent-, water- or food-borne disease;
• Changes in the seasonal distribution of some allergenic pollen species, range of virus, pest and disease distribution;
• Emerging and re-emerging animal diseases increasing challenges to European animal and human health by viral zoonotic diseases and vector-borne diseases;
• Emerging and re-emerging plant pests (insect, pathogens and other pests) and diseases affecting forest and crop systems;
• Risks in relation to change in air quality and ozone.

Vulnerable population

People living in low-income urban areas with poor infrastructure, and, generally speaking, population groups with lower incomes and assets, are more exposed to climate impacts but have less capacity to face them.

Women may be disproportionately impacted by climate change and are at a disadvantage when expensive adaptation measures are required. At the same time, women are key actors in adaptation and more generally sustainable practices.

 Unemployed and socially marginalised people are among the most vulnerable to climate risks.

Europe's ageing population, disproportionately affected by reduced mobility or health impediments, will result in a higher share of the population being vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Climate change has also already started to have an impact on displacement and migration. Although climate is only of several drivers of displacement and migration, many partner countries on their path towards sustainable development are among the most affected. People living there often depend heavily on their natural environment, and they have the least resources to cope with the changing climate

The impact of temperature increases, changes in precipitation regimes or sea-level rise will affect – directly or indirectly – the productivity and viability of all economic sectors in all EU Member States, with labour market implications.

Climate change may affect workforce availability due to a decrease in the health conditions of the population and additional occupational health constraints (higher temperature at work, more frequent and intense natural hazards keeping people from reaching their workplace).

Moreover, several economic sectors are highly vulnerable because of their dependence on regular climate conditions. Sectoral production shifts – in agriculture and tourism for instance – are expected as a consequence of climate change.

Major investments in adaptation could offer employment and income opportunities in activities such as reinforcing coastal defences, buildings and (green) infrastructure, water management and relocation of exposed settlements. Yet, uncertainty remains regarding the possible net job creation effects of such investments. Labour skills upgrading will be necessary to grasp these opportunities.

Reducing vulnerability and implementing adaptation measures is not only the task and responsibility of governments. The severity of climate change requires public and private actors to work together in reducing vulnerability and adapting to the impacts. However, not all stakeholders are aware and informed about their vulnerability and the measures they can take to pro-actively adapt to climate change. Education and awareness-raising is therefore an important component of the adaptation process to manage the impacts of climate change, enhance adaptive capacity, and reduce overall vulnerability.

Threats to business

How does climate change represent a threat to business?

Infrastructure and buildings

The impacts of climate change are particularly pertinent to infrastructure and buildings given their long lifespan and their high initial cost, as well as their essential role in the functioning of our societies and economies.

Buildings and infrastructure can be vulnerable to climate change because of their design (low resistance to storms) or location (e.g. in flood-prone areas, landslides, avalanches). Indeed they can be damaged or rendered unfit for use by any changing climatic condition or extreme weather event: rising sea level, extreme precipitation and floods, occurrences of extreme low or high temperatures , heavy snowfalls, strong winds…

Consequences of climate change for buildings and infrastructure will differ from region to region.

Climate threats for the European energy system already exist and are projected to increase. Climate change is expected to reduce demand for heating in northern and north-western Europe and to strongly increase energy demand for cooling in southern Europe, which may further exacerbate peaks in electricity demand in the summer.

More intense and frequent heatwaves will shift energy supply and demand patterns, often in opposite directions. Further increases in temperature and droughts may limit the availability of cooling water for thermal power generation in summer (lowering energy supply), whereas demand for air conditioning will increase.

Moreover, greater magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events will cause threats for physical energy infrastructure: overhead transmission and distribution, but also substations or transformers.

Climate change also brings increased uncertainty in weather patterns across Europe. This has a direct negative impact in the long term on the production of renewable energy. Some immediate examples would be less sun or wind in areas where there is usually more or heat and droughts affecting the crops intended for the production of energy from biomass.

Agriculture

Climate change already has and will continue to have a significant negative impact on European agriculture throughout the 21 st century due to increased heat, drought, floods, pests, diseases and the decreasing health of soils:

• Substantial losses in agricultural production (lower crop yields)  
• Reduction in suitable areas for crop cultivation

Southern regions of Europe will be hit the hardest due to heat and water shortage. While in the North of Europe higher temperatures may open up new areas for warm-season crops, these gains won’t offset the losses in other regions.

Forests are also affected by climate change, with increased risks of droughts, storms, fires, pests, and diseases disturbing forest health.

The biodiversity of European forests is expected to change, because climate change poses a particular threat to species that are highly adapted to specific climatic and environmental conditions. For example, the limited diversity of tree species in boreal forests makes them less resilient to natural disturbances and therefore more vulnerable to climate change.

Southern Europe is likely to see a general decrease in forest growth due to decreasing precipitation. Furthermore, the impact of wildfires is particularly strong on already degraded ecosystems in the South, and it's expected to get worse with longer and more severe fire seasons.

The frequency and intensity of most types of extreme events is expected to change significantly as a result of climate change. In the short term, as long as due allowance is made for the underlying trend, premiums would rise gradually and the insurance market would absorb such changes without disruption. However, risk knowledge often advances in ‘steps’, which can lead to jumps in the price over a short period. In the longer term, particularly in most vulnerable sectors or areas, climate change could indirectly increase social disparities as insurance premiums become unaffordable for a fringe of the population.

The economic consequences of climate change for regions where tourism is important can be substantial. The suitability of southern Europe for tourism is projected to decline markedly during the key summer months but improve in other seasons. Central Europe is projected to increase its tourism appeal throughout the year. Projected reductions in snow cover will negatively affect the winter sports industry in many regions.

Cross-cutting issues for businesses

Climate change threatens all businesses, as all exist on Earth. However, some are more vulnerable than others. Impacts are expected to fall disproportionately on SMEs including disrupting business operations, property damage, disruption to supply chains and infrastructure, leading to increased costs of maintenance and materials, and higher prices. However, climate action offers a wide range of new opportunities for businesses to develop products and services that would help both reduce emissions and adapt to a warming world.

Territorial threats

How are different areas affected by climate change?

The Arctic faces major changes including a higher-than-average temperature increase, a decrease in summer sea ice cover and thawing of permafrost. The reduction of ice cover is accelerating and projected to continue to impact local natural and human systems. It also opens up potential additional burdens on the environment, such as extensive oil and gas exploration and the opening of new shipping routes. Thawing of permafrost has the potential to seriously affect human systems, for example by creating infrastructure problems. The fragile Arctic ecosystems have suffered significantly from above-average temperature increases and these impacts are expected to continue.

Northern Europe

Projections suggest less snow and lake and river ice cover, increased winter and spring river flows in some parts and decreases in other parts (e.g. Finland), and greater damage by winter storms. More frequent and intense extreme weather events in the medium to long term might adversely impact the region, for example by making crop yields more variable.

North-western Europe

Coastal flooding has impacted low-lying coastal areas in north-western Europe in the past and the risks are expected to increase due to sea level rise and an increased risk of storm surges. North Sea countries are particularly vulnerable. Higher winter precipitation is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of winter and spring river flooding, although to date no increased trends in flooding have been observed.

Central and eastern Europe

Temperature extremes are projected to be a key impact in central and eastern Europe. Together with reduced summer precipitation this can increase the risk of droughts, and is projected to increase energy demand in summer. The intensity and frequency of river floods in winter and spring (in various regions) is projected to increase due to greater winter precipitation. Climate change is also projected to lead to higher crop-yield variability and more frequent forest fires.

Mediterranean region

The Mediterranean region has been subject to major impacts over recent decades as a result of decreased precipitation and increased temperature, and these are expected to worsen as the climate continues to change. The main impacts are decreases in water availability and crop yields, increasing risks of droughts and biodiversity loss, forest fires, and heat waves. Increasing irrigation efficiency in agriculture can reduce water withdrawals to some degree, but will not be sufficient to compensate for climate-induced increases in water stress. In addition, the hydropower sector will be increasingly affected by lower water availability and increasing energy demand, while the tourism industry will face less favourable conditions in summer. Environmental flows, which are important for the healthy maintenance of aquatic ecosystems, are threatened by climate change impacts and socio-economic developments.

Cities and urban areas

In previous years, increasing urban land take and urban population growth have in many places increased the exposure of European cities to different climate impacts such as heatwaves, flooding, and droughts. The impacts of extreme events such as the flooding of the river Elbe in 2002 or the urban drainage flood in Copenhagen in 2011 demonstrate the high vulnerability of cities to extreme weather events. In the future, ongoing urban land take, growth and concentration of population in cities, as well as an aging population, will contribute to further increase  the vulnerability of cities to climate change. Urban design, urban management and enhancing green infrastructure may partly address these effects.

Mountain areas

The increase in temperature is particularly significant in many mountain regions, where loss of glacier mass, reduced snow cover, thawing of permafrost and changing precipitation patterns, including less precipitation falling as snow, have been observed and are expected to increase further. This could lead to an increase in the frequency and intensity of floods in some mountain areas (e.g. in parts of Scandinavia) that can impact people and the built environment. Additional projected impacts include reduced winter tourism, lower energy potential from hydropower in southern Europe, a shift in vegetation zones and extensive biodiversity loss. Plant and animal species living close to mountain tops face the risk of becoming extinct due to the inability to migrate to higher regions.

The retreat of the vast majority of glaciers also affects water availability in downstream areas.

As you can see, climate change is a serious matter and it affects us all. This can be overwhelming, but there’s good news: solutions exist. Find out about what the EU is doing to fight the climate crisis and how you can play your part too.

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Essay: To fix climate anxiety (and also climate change), we first have to fix individualism

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How do you cope? I feel the sorrow, the quiet plea for guidance every time someone asks me this question. As an environmental reporter dedicated to helping people make sense of climate change, I know I should have answers. But the truth is, it took me until now to face my own grief.

My heart keeps breaking whenever I meet yet another child struggling with asthma amid orange, smoke-filled skies. I, too, am reeling from the whiplash of extreme drought and extreme rain , and I’m still haunted by the thought of a mother having to call each of her daughters to say goodbye as the homes around her cave to fire.

Each year, as I reflect on my own reporting on the floods that keep getting worse and the toxic pollution building up in all forms of life , I find myself questioning whether I could ever justify bringing my own children into this world. I agonize over the amount of plastic we can’t avoid using and mourn the monarch butterflies that have vanished. With each new heat record shattered, and each new report declaring a code red for humanity , I can’t help but feel like we’re just counting down the days to our own extinction.

In the face of sea level rise, can we reimagine California’s vanishing coastline?

“Climate anxiety” is the term we now use to describe these feelings, but I must confess, I was perplexed when I first heard these words a few years ago. Anger, frustration, helplessness, exhaustion — these are the emotions I come across more often when getting to know the communities bracing for, or recovering from, the devastation of what they’ve long considered home.

Then a college student asked me about climate anxiety. It came up again on social media, and again in personal essays and polls. This paralyzing dread was suddenly the talk of the town — but it has also, very noticeably, remained absent in some circles.

All this has led me to wonder: What, exactly, is climate anxiety? And how should we cope? At first blush, this anxiety seems rooted in a fear that we’ll never go back to normal, that the future we were once promised is now gone. But who this “normal” is even for (and what we’re actually afraid of losing) speaks to a much more complicated question:

Is this anxiety pointing to a deeper responsibility that we all must face — and ultimately, is this anxiety something we can transcend?

For Jade Sasser, whose research on climate emotions has been grounded by her own experiences as a Black woman, these questions sharpened into focus during a research-methods seminar that she was teaching early last year at UC Riverside.

The class — all female, many from low-income immigrant communities — had been a fairly quiet group all quarter, so Sasser was surprised when the room completely erupted after she broached what she thought would be an academic, somewhat dispassionate discussion about climate change and the future.

Every student was suddenly talking, even yelling, over one another. Thought after thought tumbled out as they shared that not only does the future feel bleak when it comes to the job market, the housing crisis and whether their generation will ever be able to “settle down with kids” — but all this is many times worse when you’re not white, not documented and not born into a college-educated family.

How can they feel hopeful about the future, they asked, when, on top of everything already stacked against them, they also have to worry about wildfires, extreme heat and air pollution getting out of control?

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“It was literally a collective meltdown unlike anything I had ever experienced,” said Sasser, whose podcast and book, “ Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question, ” were largely inspired by her students that day. “I understood in that moment that you cannot assume someone does not also experience anxiety simply because their way of talking about it may not be the same as yours.”

It doesn’t help, she added, that many people don’t realize what they’re feeling is climate anxiety because the way we talk about it tends to center the experiences of white and more privileged people — people who have been insulated from oppression and have rarely (until now) had to worry about the safety of their own future.

“For a lot of people, climate anxiety looks a certain way: It looks very scared, it looks very sad, and it looks like a person who is ready, willing and able to talk about it,” Sasser said. “But for those who are experiencing many compounding forms of vulnerability at the same time, you can’t just pick out one part of it and say, ‘Oh, this is what’s causing me to feel this way.’”

A brave first step is to acknowledge privilege — and to support, and perhaps even learn, from those who have had to be resilient long before climate change became so overwhelming.

“For me, this work is a matter of survival,” said Kevin J. Patel, who grew up in South L.A. and has been fighting for climate justice since he was 11. He was contemplative, nodding, when I shared what I learned from Sasser, and he gently added that one privilege many communities don’t have is the ability to turn it off. Not everyone can go on a vacation or take a day to recharge, he said. Even having the time to talk about your sadness can be a luxury.

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Patel learned at a young age that not all communities get the same level of care. Growing up with hazy air, in a neighborhood hemmed in by the 10 and 110 freeways, Patel almost collapsed one day in front of his sixth-grade class when his heart suddenly started pounding at more than 300 beats per minute.

His parents, farmers from Gujarat, India, rushed Patel to the emergency room and held his hand while everyone around him thought he was dying. After months of hospital visits and procedures, doctors determined that he had developed a severe heart condition in large part due to the smog.

‘For me, this work is a matter of survival.’

— Kevin J. Patel

As he learned to live with an irregular heartbeat, he found joy in his family’s tiny garden and marveled at all the ladybugs that gathered on the tulsi, a special type of basil. He taught his classmates that food came from the ground, not the grocery store, and together, they went on to form an environmental club.

Today, Patel speaks with the hardened wisdom of someone who has experienced much more than the typical 23-year-old. He’s constantly doing something — whether it’s supporting a neighbor, getting water bottle refill stations installed at his school, or turning the idea of a Los Angeles County Youth Climate Commission into reality. For years, he has guided other marginalized youth through OneUpAction , a grassroots environmental group that he built from the ground up.

Even if he doesn’t call it anxiety, he admits he sometimes has trouble focusing, and there’s a tenseness in his body that can be hard to shake off. But he’s usually able to turn it around by talking to his friends or elders, or by reciting his favorite proverb:

They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.

“It’s not about what I need, it’s about what my community needs,” he said. “There is joy in caring for one another. There is joy in coming together to fight for a future that we believe in.”

When talking about climate anxiety, it’s important to differentiate whether you’re assessing these emotions as a mental health condition, or as a cultural phenomenon.

Let’s start with mental health: Polls show climate anxiety is on the rise and that people all around the world are losing sleep over climate change. Organizations like the Climate-Aware Therapist Directory and the American Psychiatric Assn. have put together an increasing number of guides and resources to help more people understand how climate change has affected our emotional well-being.

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Just knowing that climate change is getting worse can trigger serious psychological responses. And the shock and trauma are all the more great if you’ve already had to live through the kinds of disasters that keep the rest of us up at night.

It’s also important to note that social media has magnified our sense of doom. What you see on social media tends to be a particularly intense and cherry-picked version of reality, but studies show that’s exactly how the vast majority of young people are getting their information about climate change: online rather than in school.

But you can’t treat climate anxiety like other forms of anxiety, and here’s where the cultural politics come in: The only way to make climate anxiety go away is to make climate change go away, and given the fraught and deeply systemic underpinnings of climate change, we must also consider this context when it comes to our climate emotions. How we feel is just as much a product of the narratives that have shaped the way we perceive and respond to the world.

“Climate anxiety can’t be limited to just a clinical setting — we have to take it out of the therapy room and look at it through a lens of privilege, and power, and the economic, historical and social structures that are at the root of the problem,” said Sarah Jaquette Ray, whose book “ A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety ” is a call to arms to think more expansively about our despair. “Treating a person’s climate anxiety without challenging these systems only addresses the symptoms, not the causes... and if white or more privileged emotions get the most airtime, and if we don’t see how climate is intersecting with all these other problems, that can result in a greater silencing of the people most impacted.”

Ray, an environmental humanist who chairs the environmental studies program at Cal Poly Humboldt, also emphasized that our distress can actually be a catalyst for much-needed change. These emotions are meant to shake us out of complacency, to sound the alarm to the very real crisis before us. But if we don’t openly talk about climate anxiety as something that is not only normal but also expected, we run the risk of further individualizing the problem. We already have a tendency to shut down and feel alone in our sorrows, which traps us into thinking only about ourselves.

“One huge reason why climate anxiety feels so awful is this feeling of not being able to do anything about it,” Ray said. “But if you actually saw yourself as part of a collective, as interconnected with all these other movements doing meaningful things, you wouldn’t be feeling this despair and loneliness.”

The trick to fixing climate anxiety is to fix individualism, she said. Start small, tap into what you’re already good at, join something bigger than yourself.

And by fixing individualism, as many young activists like Patel have already figured out, we just might have a better shot at fixing climate change.

Let us consider, for a moment, how the words that we use can also limit the way we think about our vulnerability and despair.

Something as simple as the “climate” in “climate anxiety” and how we define “environment” can unintentionally reinforce who we center in the conversation.

“In Nigeria, what we call our environment — it’s not just trees and mountains — it’s also about our food, our jobs, the biodiversity that gives us the life support that we need to thrive every day. That’s what we call our environment; it’s about our people,” said Jennifer Uchendu, who founded SustyVibes , a youth-led sustainability group based in her home country, as well as the Eco-Anxiety in Africa Project , which seeks to validate the emotions and experiences of communities often overlooked in climate conversations. “So if people are being oppressed by the system, it is still linked to our idea of the environment.”

Many of Uchendu’s elders have expressed a lifetime of feeling frustrated and powerless, for example, but she said they didn’t immediately connect these feelings to climate change because “climate anxiety” sounded to them like a new and elite phenomenon.

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We hear so often today that climate change is the existential crisis of our time, but that dismisses the trauma and violence to all the people who have been fighting to survive for centuries. Colonization, greed and exploitation are inseparable from climate change, Uchendu said, but we miss these connections when we consider our emotions only through a Western lens.

For Jessa Calderon, a Chumash and Tongva songwriter, these disconnects are ever-present in the concrete-hardened rivers snaking through Los Angeles, and the sour taste of industrialization often singeing the air. In her darkest moments, her heart hurts wondering if her son, Honor, will grow up to know clean water.

Her voice cracked as she recalled a brown bear that had been struck dead on the freeway near the Cajon Pass. As she watched strangers gawk at the limp body and share videos online, she wished she had been able to put the bear to rest and sing him into the spirit world.

“If we don’t see them as our people, then we have no hope for ourselves as a people, because we’re showing that we care about nothing more than ourselves,” she said. “And if we care about nothing more than ourselves, then we’re going to continue to devastate each other and the land.”

It is not too late to turn your climate anxiety into climate empathy. Acknowledging the emotional toll on people beyond yourself can be an opportunity to listen and support one another. Embracing our feelings — and then finding others who also want to turn their fear into action — can be the missing spark to much-needed social and environmental healing.

There is also wisdom to be learned in the songs and traditions of past movements, when people banded together — for civil rights, for women’s suffrage — and found ways to keep hope alive against all odds. And the more we look to the young people still caring for their elders in Nigeria, and to our Indigenous neighbors who continue to sing and love and tend to every living being, the better we might also comprehend the resilience required of all of us in the warming years ahead.

Opinion: Here are the places that could become too hot for humans due to climate change

So how should we cope? For Patel, living with his irregular but unwavering heartbeat, he finds strength in the words of adrienne maree brown, who famously wrote in “ Emergent Strategy ” that in the same way our lives are shaped today by our ancestors, we ourselves are future ancestors. Calderon, who similarly taught her son to leave this Earth better with every passing generation, confided to me that on the days when the sorrow feels too great, she sneaks off to plant native manzanita seeds in neighborhoods stripped of plants and trees.

As I’m reminded of all the love we can still sow for the future, I think of Phoenix Armenta, a longtime climate justice organizer in Oakland who has inspired numerous people, including myself, to take heart in all the times we actually got it right. (Remember acid rain? It was a huge problem, but collective action inspired multiple countries to join forces in the 1980s, and we did what needed to be done.)

“Imagine what kind of world you actually want to live in and start working to make that happen,” said Armenta, who recently made the switch to government planning to help more communities find their voice and determine their own visions for the future.

To grieve the world as we know it is to miss out on opportunities to transform our world for the better. To believe we have nothing left to hope for is a self-fulfilling void. We must find the courage to care, to change, to reimagine the systems that got us into such a devastating crisis in the first place — and we must allow ourselves to dream.

“But it can’t just be my dream, or your dream. It has to be our collective dream,” Armenta said. “I’ve known for a very long time that I can’t save the world, but we can save the world together.”

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Climate Change: Evidence and Causes: Update 2020 (2020)

Chapter: conclusion, c onclusion.

This document explains that there are well-understood physical mechanisms by which changes in the amounts of greenhouse gases cause climate changes. It discusses the evidence that the concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere have increased and are still increasing rapidly, that climate change is occurring, and that most of the recent change is almost certainly due to emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. Further climate change is inevitable; if emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated, future changes will substantially exceed those that have occurred so far. There remains a range of estimates of the magnitude and regional expression of future change, but increases in the extremes of climate that can adversely affect natural ecosystems and human activities and infrastructure are expected.

Citizens and governments can choose among several options (or a mixture of those options) in response to this information: they can change their pattern of energy production and usage in order to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and hence the magnitude of climate changes; they can wait for changes to occur and accept the losses, damage, and suffering that arise; they can adapt to actual and expected changes as much as possible; or they can seek as yet unproven “geoengineering” solutions to counteract some of the climate changes that would otherwise occur. Each of these options has risks, attractions and costs, and what is actually done may be a mixture of these different options. Different nations and communities will vary in their vulnerability and their capacity to adapt. There is an important debate to be had about choices among these options, to decide what is best for each group or nation, and most importantly for the global population as a whole. The options have to be discussed at a global scale because in many cases those communities that are most vulnerable control few of the emissions, either past or future. Our description of the science of climate change, with both its facts and its uncertainties, is offered as a basis to inform that policy debate.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following individuals served as the primary writing team for the 2014 and 2020 editions of this document:

• Eric Wolff FRS, (UK lead), University of Cambridge
• Inez Fung (NAS, US lead), University of California, Berkeley
• Brian Hoskins FRS, Grantham Institute for Climate Change
• John F.B. Mitchell FRS, UK Met Office
• Tim Palmer FRS, University of Oxford
• Benjamin Santer (NAS), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• John Shepherd FRS, University of Southampton
• Keith Shine FRS, University of Reading.
• Susan Solomon (NAS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research
• John Walsh, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Don Wuebbles, University of Illinois

Staff support for the 2020 revision was provided by Richard Walker, Amanda Purcell, Nancy Huddleston, and Michael Hudson. We offer special thanks to Rebecca Lindsey and NOAA Climate.gov for providing data and figure updates.

The following individuals served as reviewers of the 2014 document in accordance with procedures approved by the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences:

• Richard Alley (NAS), Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University
• Alec Broers FRS, Former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
• Harry Elderfield FRS, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
• Joanna Haigh FRS, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London
• Isaac Held (NAS), NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
• John Kutzbach (NAS), Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin
• Jerry Meehl, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research
• John Pendry FRS, Imperial College London
• John Pyle FRS, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
• Gavin Schmidt, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Emily Shuckburgh, British Antarctic Survey
• Gabrielle Walker, Journalist
• Andrew Watson FRS, University of East Anglia

The Support for the 2014 Edition was provided by NAS Endowment Funds. We offer sincere thanks to the Ralph J. and Carol M. Cicerone Endowment for NAS Missions for supporting the production of this 2020 Edition.

F OR FURTHER READING

For more detailed discussion of the topics addressed in this document (including references to the underlying original research), see:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2019: Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [ https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc ]
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), 2019: Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25259 ]
• Royal Society, 2018: Greenhouse gas removal [ https://raeng.org.uk/greenhousegasremoval ]
• U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), 2018: Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States [ https://nca2018.globalchange.gov ]
• IPCC, 2018: Global Warming of 1.5°C [ https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15 ]
• USGCRP, 2017: Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume I: Climate Science Special Reports [ https://science2017.globalchange.gov ]
• NASEM, 2016: Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/21852 ]
• IPCC, 2013: Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) Working Group 1. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis [ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1 ]
• NRC, 2013: Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18373 ]
• NRC, 2011: Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts Over Decades to Millennia [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12877 ]
• Royal Society 2010: Climate Change: A Summary of the Science [ https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/publications/2010/climate-change-summary-science ]
• NRC, 2010: America’s Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change [ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12782 ]

Much of the original data underlying the scientific findings discussed here are available at:

• https://data.ucar.edu/
• https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu
• https://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu
• https://ess-dive.lbl.gov/
• https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
• https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
• http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu
• http://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth's climate. The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, with their similar missions to promote the use of science to benefit society and to inform critical policy debates, produced the original Climate Change: Evidence and Causes in 2014. It was written and reviewed by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists. This new edition, prepared by the same author team, has been updated with the most recent climate data and scientific analyses, all of which reinforce our understanding of human-caused climate change.

Scientific information is a vital component for society to make informed decisions about how to reduce the magnitude of climate change and how to adapt to its impacts. This booklet serves as a key reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and others seeking authoritative answers about the current state of climate-change science.

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