The consequences of climate change

Overview

Rising sea level from thermal expansion and meltwater and the places it threatens, shrinking Arctic sea ice and how ice loss speeds warming, coral bleaching, more extreme weather, threats to food supply, ocean acidification, species moving towards the poles, and climate refugees.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What two processes are making global sea level rise?

   Model answer

   Thermal expansion of sea water as the ocean warms, and meltwater added from shrinking glaciers and ice sheets.

2. 2

   Which places are most threatened by rising sea level?

   Model answer

   Low-lying coasts, river deltas and small island states, where even a small rise floods land people live and farm on.

3. 3

   What is happening to sea ice in the Arctic?

   Model answer

   It is shrinking in area and getting thinner, so more of the ocean is open water each summer.

4. 4

   Why does the loss of ice speed up warming still further?

   Model answer

   Bright ice reflects sunlight away, but the dark ocean and ground beneath it absorb that energy, so the surface warms faster.

5. 5

   How is the warming of the oceans damaging coral reefs?

   Model answer

   Higher sea temperatures make corals expel the algae living inside them, so the reef bleaches white, loses its food supply and dies if the heat persists.

6. 6

   How is climate change affecting extreme weather?

   Model answer

   Heatwaves, droughts, heavy downpours and the most intense storms are all becoming more frequent and more severe.

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