Lecture 2

Introduction to Climate Change

2024-2025 (Monsoon)

Prof. Riya Dutta

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering
IIT (ISM) Dhanbad

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES

(ESO401/NESO401)
 Introduction

• The sun provides the primary

source of energy driving Earth’s
climate system.
• The sun’s energy, called solar
radiation, isn’t equally distributed
across the globe because of Earth’s
spherical shape.

• This “unequal distribution” of solar radiation

across our planet is effectively what causes
weather and climate.
• Differences in solar radiation lead to differences
in temperature and differences in temperature
ultimately lead to stormy weather – storms.

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Earth’s Energy Balance
Balance between incoming energy from the Sun and
outgoing energy from the Earth.

since the Earth is much cooler than the emitted as shortwave light and ultraviolet energy
Sun, its radiating energy is much weaker
(long wavelength) infrared energy

When it reaches the Earth, some is reflected back to space by clouds, some
is absorbed by the atmosphere, and some is absorbed at the Earth's surface.

• The earth-atmosphere energy balance is achieved as the energy

received from the Sun balances the energy lost by the Earth back into
space.
• In this way, the Earth maintains a stable average temperature and
therefore a stable climate.

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Radiation

When radiation strikes a surface,

it is either reflected or absorbed

fraction reflected is called the albedo (lies between 0 to 1)

• deep water bodies absorb most of the radiation they receive, having 𝛼 ≈ 0.06
• fresh snow reflects most of the incoming radiation, with a as high as 0.9
Radiation is also continuously emitted from all bodies at rates depending on their surface
temperatures.

So, the net radiation (𝑅𝑛 ), net input of radiation at the surface at any instant, can be
estimated as,
Net radiation at the earth’s surface is the major
𝑅𝑛 = 𝑅𝑖 1 − 𝛼 − 𝑅𝑒 energy input for evaporation of water.

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 Emission
Radiation emission is governed by the Stefan-Boltzmann law,

𝑅𝑒 = 𝑒𝜎𝑇 4 Absolute temperature of the

surface in degree Kelvin
Emissivity at the surface
𝑊
Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 × 10−8 𝑚2𝐾4)

For a perfect radiator, or black body, the emissivity is e = 1; for water surfaces e = 0.97.

The wavelength 𝜆 (𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠) of emitted radiation is inversely proportional to the surface
temperature, as given by Wien’s law,
2.90 × 10−3
𝜆=
𝑇
As a consequence of Wien’s law, the radiation emitted by the sun has a much
shorter wavelength than that emitted by the cooler earth.

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Reflection and Scattering
• The albedo measures the proportion of incoming radiation that is reflected
back into the atmosphere.
• The albedo varies somewhat depending on the wavelength of the radiation
and its angle of incidence, but it is customary to adopt a single value typical
of the type of surface.
• When radiation strikes tiny particles in the atmosphere of a size on the same
order of magnitude as the radiation wavelength, the radiation is scattered
randomly in all directions. Small groups of molecules called aerosols scatter
light in this way.
• The addition of aerosols and dust particles to the atmosphere from human
activity in modern times has given rise to concern about the greenhouse effect,
in which some of the radiation emitted by the earth is scattered back by the
atmosphere; increased scattering results in a general warming of the earth’s
surface.
• However, the precise magnitude of the earth’s warming by this mechanism is
not yet known.

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Net radiation at Earth’s surface
The intensity of solar radiation arriving at the top of the atmosphere is decreased by three
effects before reaching a unit area of the earth’s surface:
• scattering in the atmosphere,
• absorption by clouds, and
• obliqueness of the earth’s surface to the incoming radiation (a function of latitude, season,
and time of day).

The intensity of solar radiation received per unit area of the

earth’s surface is denoted by 𝑅𝑠 .

The atmosphere also acts as a radiator, especially on cloudy days, emitting longer wave
radiation than the sun because its temperature is lower.

The intensity of this radiation is denoted 𝑅𝑙 .

𝑅𝑛 = 𝑅𝑖 1 − 𝛼 − 𝑅𝑒
𝑆𝑜, 𝑅𝑖 = 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑙
𝑅𝑛 = 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑙 1 − 𝛼 − 𝑅𝑒
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)
Earth’s Energy Balance

Radiation and heat balance in the atmosphere and at the earth’s surface

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Green House Effect
PROCESS THROUGH WHICH HEAT IS TRAPPED
NEAR EARTH'S SURFACE BY SUBSTANCES KNOWN
AS 'GREENHOUSE GASES'

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

How does Green House Effect Work?

Why do greenhouse gases absorb

heat?

As the heat makes its way through the

atmosphere and back out to space, greenhouse
gases absorb much of it.

• Greenhouse gases are more complex than other gas molecules in the atmosphere,
with a structure that can absorb heat.
• They radiate the heat back to the Earth's surface, to another greenhouse gas
molecule, or out to space.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

 Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, F-Gases, and water vapor

Plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability reacts to temperature changes and
of Earth's atmosphere. If carbon dioxide were referred to as a 'feedback', because it
removed, the terrestrial greenhouse effect amplifies the effect of forces that
would collapse, and Earth's surface temperature initially caused the warming. Warmer
would drop significantly, by approximately air holds more moisture than cooler
33°C. air.

Chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons,
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and
sulphur hexafluoride
Greenhouse gases are part of Earth's atmosphere.
• Part of what makes Earth so amenable is its natural greenhouse effect, which maintains an
average temperature of 15 °C (59 °F) .
• However, in the last century, human activities, primarily from burning fossil fuels that
have led to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
have disrupted Earth's energy balance.

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Greenhouse Gases
• These gas molecules all are
made of three or more atoms.
• The atoms are held together
loosely enough that they vibrate
when they absorb heat.
• Eventually, the vibrating
molecules release the radiation,
which will likely be absorbed by
another greenhouse gas
molecule.
• This process keeps heat near the
Earth’s surface.
• Most of the gas in the • Different greenhouse gases can remain in
atmosphere is nitrogen and the atmosphere for different amounts of
oxygen, which cannot absorb time, ranging from a few years to thousands
heat and contribute to the of years.
greenhouse effect. • In addition, some gases are more effective
than others at making the planet warmer.

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Global Warming Potential
Summary: Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the Earth by absorbing energy and slowing
the rate at which the energy escapes to space.

Different GHGs can have different effects on the Earth's warming. Two key ways in
which these gases differ from each other are,

radiative efficiency ability to absorb energy

lifetime how long they stay in the atmosphere

Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming
impacts of different gases.

A measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given
period of time, relative to 1 ton of carbon dioxide.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Global Warming Potential
• Larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that
time period.
• The time period usually used for GWPs is 100 years.
• GWPs provide a common unit of measure, which allows analysts to add up emissions
estimates of different gases (e.g., to compile a national GHG inventory), and allows
policymakers to compare emissions reduction opportunities across sectors and gases.

• GWP of 1 regardless of the time period used, because it is the gas being
used as the reference.
• CO2 remains in the climate system for a very long time.

• Methane is estimated to have a GWP of 27-30 over 100 years.

• CH4 emitted today lasts about a decade on average, which is much less
time than CO2.
• But CH4 also absorbs much more energy than CO2.
• The net effect of the shorter lifetime and higher energy absorption is
reflected in the GWP.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Global Warming Potential
• GWP 273 times that of CO2 for a 100-year timescale.
• N2O emitted today remains in the atmosphere for more than 100
years, on average.

• Are sometimes called high-GWP gases because,

for a given amount of mass, they trap
substantially more heat than CO2.

The scientific community has developed a number of other

metrics that could be used for comparing one GHG to another.
These metrics may differ based on timeframe, the climate
endpoint measured, or the method of calculation.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

More Greenhouse Gases = A Warmer Earth
• Even though only a tiny amount of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere are
greenhouse gases, they have a huge effect on climate.
• Sometime during this century, the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere is expected to double.
• Other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide are increasing as
well.
• The quantity of greenhouse gases is increasing as fossil fuels are burned,
releasing the gases and other air pollutants into the atmosphere.
• Greenhouse gases also make their way to the atmosphere from other
sources. Farm animals, for example, release methane gas as they digest
food. As cement is made from limestone, it releases carbon dioxide.
• With more greenhouse gases in the air, heat passing through on its way out
of the atmosphere is more likely to be stopped.
• With more greenhouse gases, heat will stick around, warming the planet.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

More Greenhouse Gases = A Warmer Earth

The excess heat in the atmosphere has caused the average global temperature to rise
overtime, otherwise known as global warming.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)
Global Warming
• Global warming has presented another issue called climate change.
• Sometimes these phrases are used interchangeably, however, they are
different.
• Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons
around the world.
• It also refers to sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and
melting ice sheets and glaciers.
• Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life
on Earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather.
Scientists continue to study global warming and its impact on Earth.

The data shows the Earth is warming and it's up to us to

make the changes necessary for a healthier planet.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

 Global Warming
Climate feedbacks are natural processes that respond to global warming by
offsetting or further increasing change in the climate system.

Feedbacks that offset the change in Feedbacks that amplify changes

climate are called negative feedbacks are called positive feedbacks.

• Clouds can have both warming and • Water vapor appears to cause the most
cooling effects on climate. important positive feedback.
• They cool the planet by reflecting • As the earth warms, the rate of evaporation
sunlight during the day, and they and the amount of water vapor in the air
warm the planet by slowing the both increase.
escape of heat to space (this is most
apparent at night, as cloudy nights are • Because water vapor is a greenhouse gas,
usually warmer than clear nights). this leads to further warming.

melting of Arctic sea ice ?? positive climate feedback

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Climate Change
AS PER UNITED NATIONS (UN) CLIMATE CHANGE
REFERS TO LONG-TERM SHIFTS IN TEMPERATURES
AND WEATHER PAT TERNS.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

What is Climate Change?
Observed changes over the 20th century include,

increases in global air and

ocean temperature

rising global sea levels

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

 What is Climate Change?

long-term sustained
widespread reduction of
snow and ice cover

changes in atmospheric and

ocean circulation as well as
regional weather patterns

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Anthropogenic Change
• Human activity leads to change in the atmospheric composition either directly
(via emissions of gases or particles) or indirectly (via atmospheric chemistry).
• Anthropogenic emissions have driven the changes in WMGHG (Well Mixed
GHG) concentrations during the Industrial Era.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Mitigation and
Adaptation
THE MAGNITUDE AND RATE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND
ASSOCIATED RISKS DEPEND STRONGLY ON NEAR-TERM
MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION ACTIONS.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Adaptation
Anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to
prevent or minimize the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of
opportunities that may arise.

Examples

large-scale infrastructure changes,

such as building defenses to protect
against sea-level rise

behavioral shifts, such as individuals

reducing their food waste

In essence, adaptation can be

understood as the process of
adjusting to the current and future
effects of climate change

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Mitigation
Making the impacts of climate change less severe by preventing or reducing the
emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere.
Mitigation is achieved either by reducing the sources of these gases
e.g. increasing the share of renewable energies
establishing a cleaner mobility system

Enhancing the storage of these gases

e.g. increasing the size of forests

Mitigation is a human intervention that

reduces the sources of GHG emissions
and/or enhances the sinks.

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)

Thank You

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES (ESO401/NESO401)