lOMoARcPSD|30543514

MODULE
ES 101 - Meteorology

CLIMATE CHANGE

1 What is climate change?

The term ‘climate’, in its broadest sense, refers to a statistical description of
weather and of the related conditions of oceans, land surfaces and ice
sheets. This includes consideration of averages, variability and extremes.
Climate change is an alteration in the pattern of climate over a long period of
time and may be due to a combination of natural and human induced
causes.
2 How has climate changed?
Global climate has varied greatly throughout Earth’s history. In the final
decades of the 20th century, the world experienced a rate of warming that is
unprecedented for thousands of years, as far as we can tell from the
available evidence. Global average temperature rise has been accompanied
by ongoing rises in ocean temperatures, ocean heat storage, sea levels and
atmospheric water vapor. There has also been shrinkage in the size of ice
sheets and most glaciers.
3 Are human activities causing climate change?
Human activities are increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere. This increase is extremely likely to have caused most of the
recent observed global warming, with CO2 being the largest contributor.
4 How do we expect climate to evolve in the future?
If greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow rapidly, it is expected that, by
2100, the global average air temperature over the Earth’s surface will warm
by around 4°C above mid-19th century temperatures. There are many likely
ramifications of this warming. However, if emissions are reduced sufficiently
rapidly, there is a chance that global average warming will not exceed 2°C
and other impacts will be limited.

Reference:
https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/learning/documents/climate-
change-wr.pdf
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

 The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the

early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in
paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect
was first identified.
 Climate change is caused by factors that include oceanic processes
(such as oceanic circulation), biotic processes (e.g., plants), variations
in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics and volcanic
eruptions, and human-induced alterations of the natural world.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_science#:~:text=The
%20history%20of%20the%20scientific,greenhouse%20effect%20was%20first
%20identified.&text=During%20the%201970s%2C%20scientific%20opinion
%20increasingly%20favored%20the%20warming%20viewpoint

 CAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

 The 9 Natural Causes of Climate Change

1. Solar Variation
2. Volcanic Eruptions
3. Axial Tilt
4. Precession
5. Eccentricity
6. Continental Drift
7. Ocean Current
8. Natural Forest Fire
9. Natural Greenhouse Gases.

Reference:

https://newsmoor.com/causes-of-climate-change-9-natural-causes-of-climate-change/

 The 8 Human Causes of Climate Change

1. Burning Fossil Fuels
2. Deforestation
3. Livestock Production
4. Chemical Fertilizers
5. Fluorinated Gases
6. Industrial Gases
7. Food Waste
8. Transport Vehicles

Reference:
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

https://newsmoor.com/causes-of-climate-change-eight-human-and-natural-causes-of-
climate-change/

HISTORICAL DATA
GLOBAL

Figure 1: Trends in global average surface temperature between 1990 and

2020 in degrees Fahrenheit per decade. Yellow indicates little to no change,
while orange and red show places that warmed, and blue shows places that
cooled.
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

Figure 1.2: The amount of future warming Earth will experience depends on
how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we emit in coming
decades.

 Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14° F (0.08° C) per decade since 1880,
and the rate of warming over the past 40 years is more than twice that:
0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade since 1981.
 2020 was the second-warmest year on record based on NOAA’s
temperature data, and land areas were record warm.
 Averaged across land and ocean, the 2020 surface temperature was 1.76°
F (0.98° Celsius) warmer than the twentieth-century average of 57.0°F
(13.9°C) and 2.14˚F (1.19˚C) warmer than the pre-industrial period (1880-
1900).
 Despite a late year La Niña event that cooled a wide swath of the tropical
Pacific Ocean, 2020 came just 0.04˚ Fahrenheit (0.02˚Celsius) shy of tying
2016 for warmest year on record.
 The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2005.
 From 1900 to 1980 a new temperature record was set on average every
13.5 years; from 1981–2019, a new record was set every 3 years

Reference:
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-
change-global-temperature
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

(Historical Data)

Figure 2
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

Figure 2.1
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

Figure 2.2
The Philippines has a humid equatorial climate characterized by high
temperatures and heavy rainfall. Temperatures are generally high,
particularly in the valleys and plains, averaging 27°C throughout the year.
Humidity levels are high, averaging around 82% due to the warm moist trade
winds that flow through the archipelago, as well as sea surface
temperatures, a rich and vibrant vegetative cover and abundant rainfall.
Rainfall is governed by the southwest monsoons in the summer months, and
by the northeast monsoon and tropical cyclones in the winter. The
Philippines also experiences strong periodic droughts that are linked to the El
Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The Philippines’ hottest months are April
and May, with the coldest months experienced during December, January,
and February.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Negative Outcome

1. Threats to natural ecosystems

Grasslands covering approximately 1 million hectares are extremely vulnerable to

climate change in the future. The majority of grasslands in the uplands are prone to
flames, especially during prolonged periods of dryness and lack of rainfall throughout
the summer.

2. Climate change is also altering the timing of water availability

 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

Warming, according to some climate models, increases precipitation variability,

implying that there would be more periods of excessive precipitation and drought.
During drought years, this necessitates additional water storage, as well as an increased
danger of floods and dam failure during seasons of extreme precipitation.

3. Labor productivity declined

Climate change-induced heat in the workplace is expected to result in a 1%

reduction in working hours by 2025, a 2% reduction by 2050, and a 4% reduction by
2085, according to a 2016 United Nations report.

4. More public health emergencies

Climate changes also lead to an increase in diseases such dengue fever, malaria,
cholera, and typhoid.

5. More intense droughts

Droughts can persist in some locations due to a vicious cycle in which very dry
soils and less plant cover absorb more solar radiation and heat up, stimulating the
formation of high-pressure systems that suppress rainfall even more, making an already
dry area even dryer.

Positive Outcome

1. Carbon dioxide fertilization of crops.

2. Reduced energy demand for heating are the main positive impacts.

Solutions for the Negative Outcomes of Climate Change

 Keep fossil fuels in the ground. Fossil fuels include coal, oil
and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

worse climate change will get. All countries need to move their
economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.

 Keep fossil fuels in the ground. Fossil fuels include coal, oil
and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the
worse climate change will get. All countries need to move their
economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.

 Switch to sustainable transport. Petrol and diesel vehicles,

planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, switching
to electric vehicles and minimizing plane travel will not only
help stop climate change, it will reduce air pollution too.

 Help us keep our homes cosy. Homes shouldn’t be draughty

and cold – it’s a waste of money, and miserable in the winter.
The government can help households heat our homes in a
green way – such as by insulating walls and roofs and switching
away from oil or gas boilers to heat pumps.

 Improve farming and encourage vegan diets. One of the

best ways for individuals to help stop climate change is by
reducing their meat and dairy consumption, or by going fully
vegan. Businesses and food retailers can improve farming
practices and provide more plant-based products to help
people make the shift.

 Restore nature to absorb more carbon. The natural world

is very good at cleaning up our emissions, but we need to look
after it. Planting trees in the right places or giving land back to
nature through ‘rewilding’ schemes is a good place to start.
This is because photosynthesizing plants draw down carbon
dioxide as they grow, locking it away in soils.

 Protect forests like the Amazon. Forests are crucial in the

fight against climate change and protecting them is an
important climate solution. Cutting down forests on an
industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up
huge amounts of carbon. Yet companies destroy forests to
make way for animal farming, soya or palm oil plantations.
Governments can stop them by making better laws.
 lOMoARcPSD|30543514

 Protect the oceans. Oceans also absorb large amounts of

carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our
climate stable. But many are overfished, used for oil and gas
drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Protecting oceans
and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect ourselves
from climate change.

 Reduce how much people consume. Our transport, fashion,

food and other lifestyle choices all have different impacts on
the climate. This is often by design – fashion and technology
companies, for example, will release far more products than
are realistically needed. But while reducing consumption of
these products might be hard, it’s most certainly worth it.
Reducing overall consumption in more wealthy countries can
help put less strain on the planet.

 Reduce plastic. Plastic is made from oil, and the process of

extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even
polyester, for clothing) is surprisingly carbon-intense. It doesn’t
break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which
contributes to emissions. Demand for plastic is rising so quickly
that creating and disposing of plastics will account for 17% of
the global carbon budget by 2050 (this is the emissions count
we need to stay within according to the Paris agreement).

Reference:
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/challenges/climate-change/solutions-climate-
change/

Quote:
‘’The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have the facts and
solutions. All we have to do is wake up and change.’’ – Greta Thunberg

“Every disaster in a disaster movie starts with the Government ignoring the
warning of a knowledgeable scientist.” -Anonymous