1.2 The changes I might be able to observe where I live in the UK
Much of the effects of global warming can be observed where we live. Rain levels and patterns are changing. There are more severe weather warnings and flooding than ever before. In many parts of the world, there are more droughts reported, and this drives farmers from their land. Sea and ocean levels are slowly rising due to thermal expansion and melting Arctic ice sheets. Record high and low temperatures are recorded more and more frequently. All these changes increase the frequency and severity of other weather extremes, like floods, droughts, hurricanes, heat waves and tornadoes.
The UK government's Department of Energy and Climate Change has written:
We face unprecedented challenges to our environment, our economy and the future security of our energy supplies, and the decisions we make now will affect the planet and our way of life for generations to come.
Many people refuse to believe that the effects of global warming can become as severe as scientists and researchers are predicting. Yet these signs are only the beginning of the effects global warming can have on our environment. As greenhouse gases continue to enter the atmosphere, these effects are only going to increase, making it harder stop them and continuing to reduce our quality of life.
Evidence of climate change in England, for example, as noted by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, in 2006 are:
The 1990s was the warmest decade in the UK since records began in the 1660s.
Four of the five warmest years on record have been in the last 10 years.
England's record temperature, 101F (38.5°C), was in 2003.
Mean temperatures in central England have risen by about 1°C since 1900 (the climatic equivalent of moving from southern England to mid France today).
The growing season has lengthened by about a month in central England since 1900, with the onset of spring occurring around two to three weeks earlier than just 30 years ago.
Frost occurrence has declined significantly over southern England in recent decades. The annual number of days with air frost for the 'England South' region has decreased from an average of 51 in 1961-90 to 46 in 1971-2000.
Source: National Trust
The following Web-based resources provide more background information:
The National Trust has written an overview of the effects of climate change on the UK, including guidance on what we can do as individuals and collectively.
The oneclimate.net website can help you in finding out what is going on in your local area.
Lord Nicholas Stern's ‘Blueprint for a safer planet’ lecture at the London School of Economics, where he outlines the climate change crisis and how we can solve it.
The BBC News article ‘Climate crisis: all change in the UK?’ on how climate change is affecting the UK.
The article ‘How climate change is affecting marine life in the UK’ by Steve Connor, the UK Independent newspaper's Science Editor, showing the species affected.
The UK government's Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides information about climate change and energy in the UK.
The RSPB reports on the impacts of climate change on UK wildlife.
The MSN.environment website covers the threat of climate change to nature and wildlife in the UK.
1 The impacts of climate change