IPPC Flashcards
(8 cards)
For what stands IPCC?
Thé intergouvernemental panel on climate change
Define IPCC
The United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change
What does IPCC do?
The IPCC prepares comprehensive Assessment reports
The state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate change
Impacts and future risks
What are the IPCC findings on physical changes? (6)
Average sea level increased 10-20 centimetres during the 20th century
2 weeks less ice cover in northern lakes and rivers
Artic sea ice thinned 10-40% in recent decades
Mountain glaciers melted back worldwide
Snow cover decreased 10% since satellite observations began
Growing season lengthened 1-4 days each decade over the past 40 years
Biological changes were found by the IPCC (3)
Geographic ranges of many species have shifted toward the poles and up in elevation
In spring, plants are flowering earlier, birds migrating earlier, animals breading earlier and insects emerging earlier
Coral reefs are bleaching more frequently
Explain the reasons of sea level rise and the impacts
Climate change is causing glaciers to shrink and polar ice shelves to break away and melt
The increased flow of water into oceans lead to sea level rise
Sea level is also rising because oceans lead water is warming, causing water to expand in volume
Higher sea levels lead to beach erosion, coastal flooding, intrusion of saltwater into aquifers…
Climate change predictions for the future (for Europe) (6)
Temperature will rise
Droughts, floods, snowpack decline, and water shortages will create diverse problems
Temperatures extremes will cause health problems, tropical diseases will move north into the EU
Sea level rise will flood coastal wetlands and real estates
Ecosystems will change, some will disappear
Agriculture and forestry may have mixed results
What is permafrost?
Is a permanently frozen layer below the earth’s surface
It consists of soil gravel, and sound bound together by ice
