Climate change WORLD AT RISK

What is climate change? What is Climate? Climate = the average and variations of weather over a long period of time (~30 years)

What is climate change? What is Weather? Weather = all natural phenomena within the atmosphere at a given time (hours to days)

Modern Climate Systems Atmospheric circulation Sunlight

Modern Climate Systems Ocean circulation Sinking cool water, rising warm water and wind help to form global ocean current systems. The Great Ocean Conveyor (Thermohaline Circulation)

Modern Climate Systems Atmosphere and Greenhouse Effect The Earth’s atmosphere is incredibly important to life The Earth’s atmosphere keeps it around 30°C warmer than it would otherwise be. This is the Greenhouse Effect

The Greenhouse Effect is a natural process The ENHANCED Greenhouse Effect includes the effects of man

What is climate change? http://newedexcelgeog.ning.com/video/george-bush- on-global-warming

What is climate change? The changing climatic environment today is a major cause for concern and is now the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. The earth’s climate system is the balance between the amount of energy the Earth receives from the Sun and the amount of energy the Earth releases back to space. The increasing unnatural accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is now causing global climate change.

Could it all just be natural?