SHAPING OUR FUTURE THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE WHAT IS

SHAPING OUR FUTURE: THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS Climate change is nearly always in the news because it’s happening right now, but that’s just about melting ice caps, penguins and polar bears… RIGHT? WRONG! 1

PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS CLICK TO PLAY 2

LET’S START FROM THE BEGINNING… rain 3

rain wind 3

rain wind sunshine 3

rain wind sunshine fog 3

rain wind sunshine ❄ fog frost 3

rain wind sunshine ❄ fog frost snow This day-to-day change is called the weather. 3

CLIMATE The word climate means the long-term weather patterns for a particular area. The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth, a bit like a belt. The areas closest to this belt have very hot climates. Areas nearest to either of the poles have very cold climates. Equator See if you can name some of the places found in these 5 different climate zones: POLAR TEMPER ATE MEDITERRANEAN DESERT TROPICAL 4

Weather watching The weather changes in four main ways, which can be monitored and measured in order to predict what the weather will be like for the next day or the coming week. 5

WEATHER WATCHING MOVEMEN T Winds blow from all directions, knowing which way the wind is blowing can help predict the weather. 6

MOVEMEN T Winds blow from all directions, knowing which way the wind is blowing can help predict the weather. MOISTURE The moisture content of the air causes mists and fogs and of course rain, and frost if it’s cold. 6

MOVEMEN T Winds blow from all directions, knowing which way the wind is blowing can help predict the weather. MOISTURE The moisture content of the air causes mists and fogs and of course rain, and frost if it’s cold. PRESSUR E Pressure affects whether we have clear, cloudless days or thunder and lightning storms. 6

MOVEMEN T Winds blow from all directions, knowing which way the wind is blowing can help predict the weather. MOISTURE The moisture content of the air causes mists and fogs and of course rain, and frost if it’s cold. PRESSUR E TEMPERATU RE Pressure affects whether we have clear, cloudless days or thunder and lightning storms. Temperature is influenced by all of these, as well as how much sunshine reaches the Earth. 6

CLIMATE CHANGE Since the 18 th century scientists known as meteorologists have been monitoring and recording the weather. These records show that the Earth’s atmosphere is beginning to get warmer which is causing our climate to change. This is known as climate change. 7

CLIMATE SU CHANGE More heat escapes into space N So la r ra di at io er e At m osp h Gr een ho u se ga se s n Less re-emitted heat Re-radiated heat NATURAL GREENHOUS E EFFECT 8

More heat escapes into space N er e At m osp h Gr een ho u se ga se s n on io ti at ia di ad ra NATURAL GREENHOUSE EFFECT Re-radiated heat Less re-emitted heat SU N rr la So So la r Less heat escapes into space Re-radiated heat More re-emitted heat Mor e gr ee n gase hou se s CLIMATE SU CHANGE INCREASED GLOBAL CAUSED BY HUMAN WARMING ACTIVITY 8

WHY DOES IT MATTER? Human activity has caused Climate change caused by our years. greenhouse gases is changing our weather patterns leading to rising temperatures and extremes of weather - both of which are damaging our natural environment. the Earth to get warmer in the last 100 Think back to the places around the globe you named earlier. How do you think weather extremes and climate change will affect the animals and people that live there? • • © WIM VAN PASSEL / WWF 9

CLIMATE CHANGE AND US THE D RO SE VERE WEATH E W R ARNING ACROSS THE UK What about us, here in the UK? FLOOD CRISIS GRIPS CITIESWITH © GLOBAL WARMING IMAGES / WWF THENO WNIN G OF RTH ENGL OF AND E T A L O C O H C E R A S H P PRICE M 0 9 G O T RISIN S ER IN HAVIA © KATR / WWF- FINLAN D SUP WAY N O S RIM 1

Climate change affects us all! CLICK TO PLAY 1

What Is Happening in the Polar Regions? Due to climate change, the polar ice caps are melting as the regions become warmer. How do you think this is affecting the people and animals living there? Photo courtesy of Gerald Simmons (@flickr. com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

How Are Animals Affected? Animals in these areas have adapted to live in the cold weather and they rely on the ice cover and having cold and warm seasons to survive. For example, the polar bear is most active during winter and spring because this is when there is the most ice. But because the weather is warmer, the cold season is now shorter. If the warm season lasts longer, the polar bears have to survive for longer without food. Lots of polar bears have lost weight and there are now less polar bear cubs to carry on the species. There approximately only 20, 000 polar bears left in the world.

How Are People Affected? Many indigenous people rely on local wildlife, like fish and reindeer, as the main part of their diet. As the number of animals decreases, the amount of available food also goes down. The melting ice is also causing sea levels to rise, which in turn causes flooding. Photo courtesy of Gerald Simmons (@flickr. com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Tasks: -Carry out a melting ice experiment and record your results. -Complete the My Ideas to Tackle Global Warming sheet. Look at each problem and note down some ideas that you could do in your own house as well as what could be done at a national and international level to help.

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