Even Climate Change is Creating Inequalities

 We are all aware that a number of controversies encompass the concept of climate change. However, if we put the possible causes to 1 side, there is a general medical consensus that the climate is changing. A changing climate might, obviously, have a significant effect on us all but in a world of differing environments and, indeed, of inequalities, some societies seem established to be adversely affected more than others do.

As a means of representing those countries, which may be more disproportionately affected, a prevent of 20 of these vulnerable countries has been formed: the actual “vulnerable20,” or “V20.” In this block, are countries that you might expect, like the low-lying Pacific island states associated with Vanuatu and Tuvalu, but others has come about as more of a surprise, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Philippines.

This demonstrates that the effects of climate change are both complex as well as far-reaching, so let us look at some possible, lesser-known problems we have in store.

With the warming climate, we can expect increasing seas as the ice hats in the Arctic and Antarctic regions begin to melt. This stands in order to affect all low-lying regions of the world without prejudice: from Birmingham, Amsterdam, and Miami, to the hazardously positioned Pacific Ocean atoll states.

Forgotten victims

However, one country that may be overlooked in this context is Bangladesh, the nation rated number one in the 2015 Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI).

This country of 168m people is located on the fertile however low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. Annual floods are normal right here during the monsoon seasons but, along with rising oceans, scientists fear that whole swathes of the country (as much as 17%) may be permanently inundated by 2050, forcing the displacement of 18m people and causing the damage of the country’s prime farming regions.

Rising sea levels will also certainly affect many of the world’s low-lying island nations – and those from the Pacific have been particularly vocal in their concerns of the possible impacts. We should not by any means belittle the justifiable concerns of these nations.  Some recent studies actually suggest that rather than becoming engulfed by a rising Pacific, the underlying coral of many saltwater islands – and the rubble these people produce – actually appears to adjust to the prevailing conditions, including the possibility that they may adjust to a rise in ocean level.

The coral question

Where problems are more likely, however, are on the more heavily developed reef islands, such as Malé, the capital city of the Indian Ocean state of the Maldives and an island in its own right. There, urbanisation has led to the construction of synthetic sea defences, including piers and harbours, that prevent the natural processes associated with coral growth, rubble accumulation, and consequent island variation, arguably making this the most vulnerable reef island. Fortunately, urbanised saltwater islands are the exception and not the rule.

There have been inconsistent findings over recent years, but a number of studies have attempted to demonstrate that with a warming climate, storm patterns and frequencies are changing, too. One hurricane study, for example, shows that while we do not seem to be experiencing any kind of real increase in the overall number of storms, we are seeing more hurricanes in the most intense as well as destructive categories, that is within the four and five categories.

The cause of these observations appears to be higher sea-surface temperatures (anything above 27°C) which aid the development of hurricanes and exotic storms. Countries at risk from these potential superstorms include those that border the Caribbean and those within the tropics, especially in the Pacific Ocean.

The Philippines is one such vulnerable country, ranked eighth in the CCVI, partly because of this potential climatic impact but increased by inequality and a perceived insufficient governmental capacity for climate change variation.

A double-edged sword

One irony of a warming climate is that it also acts as a double-edged blade in terms of how it affects global precipitation patterns. Over current decades, for example, rainfall in the drought-prone region of the Sahel in The african continent has increased by 10% over the past many years. This appears to be good news for the region, and models recommend this trend will continue if the climate continues to change. Too much rain may also be a problem, potentially leading to flooding and the associated problems of displaced individuals and water-borne disease, so we can’t see climate change as a purely good thing for Africa.

In distinction, other parts of the world, such as Ca, are experiencing severe droughts, which predict to intensify if global warming proceeds.

It is also important to remember the possible relationship between climate change and tectonic activity. It is well established that the building of dams has, previously, stimulated earthquake activity, a result of their heavy mass destabilising faults while providing plentiful water for lubrication of the fundamental fault systems, allowing them to exercise freely.

Climate change earthquakes

The weight and lubricating properties of water happen to be attributed to earthquakes throughout the globe and even to the recent devastating quake in Nepal. Researchers have suggested the redistribution of weight on the Earth’s surface as ice touches, oceans deepen and rain fall increases, may all equal to an increased seismic risk globally; indeed, seasonal earthquake patterns associated with monsoon rains have been noted.

No one can predict what the full ramifications of climate change may be, but all the evidence points to a more hazardous world, a world of brand new interrelations that we cannot hope to comprehend – perhaps not until it’s too late.

Some parts of the world could get off lightly, others might withstand the worst from the impact; the key will be adapting to these changes and, unfortunately, it is likely to be the most susceptible places that are least able to evolve in time.

Earthquakes, superstorms … and other little-known possible risks with climate change is republished with permission from The Conversation