Acqua For Life – Help us raise drops for those in need of safe, clean drinking water. Gateway to the UN System's Work on Climate Change - The Earth's Changing Climate. Warming more and faster — The rate of warming of the Earth’s average surface temperature over the last 50 years was nearly twice the rate for the last 100 years. Over the past 100 years, the Earth’s average surface temperature rose by around 0.74°C. If atmospheric concentrations of the dominant greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, were to double compared to pre-industrial level, this would lead to an average warming of around 3°C. The late 1990s and early 21st century had the warmest years since modern records began. Arctic sea ice has been shrinking on average by 2.7 per cent per decade. Evidence of warming — The changes that scientists can measure in the atmosphere, oceans, ice caps and glaciers conclusively indicate that the world is already warming in response to past greenhouse gas emissions.
Less glaciers, snow and ice — One of the most dramatic consequences of global warming is sea-level rise. Next page>>> U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Home Page. Impacts of climate change on the marine environment. Marine species affected by climate change include plankton - which forms the basis of marine food chains - corals, fish, polar bears, walruses, seals, sea lions, penguins, and seabirds. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a further rise of between 1.4°C and 5.8°C by the end of the century. Climate change could therefore well be the knock-out punch for many species which are already under stress from overfishing and habitat loss. The key impacts of climate change on the marine environment are... Coral bleaching One of the most visually dramatic effects of climate change is coral bleaching, a stress response caused by high water temperatures that can lead to coral death.
Recent years have seen widespread and severe coral bleaching episodes around the world, with coral mortality reaching 70% in some regions. More on coral bleaching Stormy weather Most scientists believe that global warming will herald a new era of extreme and unpredictable weather. More on extreme weather. Earth Hour. IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.