GLOBAL

WARMING
 Glo bal Warm ing
• an average increase in the
temperature of the
atmosphere near the Earth’s
surface and in the
troposphere1, which can
contribute to changes in
global climate patterns
 Cause s
• Burning of fossil fuels (Coal/Crude oil)
– Power plants generate electricity

– Transportation-----fuels for transports (E.g. LPG,

kerosene, fuel oil)

– Industrial processes (E.g. manufacture of

cement, steel, aluminium)
Cause s
• Other greenhouse
gases emission

– Agriculture
– Forestry
– Other land uses
– Waste management
Example : Using natural gas to cook
CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O

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m e th a ne,
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or oc a
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te
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effect.
 Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
↓
Some infrared radiation is trapped
↓
Greenhouse effect

Serious greenhouse effect

Glo bal Warm ing

How serious the problem is?...
Increase in greenhouse
gases
• Concentration of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere is highly increasing by
human activities

→ Leads to the increasing seriousness of global

warming
Glo bal surface
te m pe rature s
– increased about 0.6°C/century since the
late19th century
– increased to 2°C/century over the past
25 years
Incre ase in Glo bal
te m pe rature s
Te m pe rature diffe re nce
be tw e e n diffe re nt parts o f
atm o sphe re
• troposphere temperatures (the lowest 8
kilometers of the Earth's atmosphere)
collected since 1979 also indicate warming
• Cooling effect in higher parts of the
atmosphere: stratospheric temperatures
have been decreasing
NO T glo bally unifo rm
w arm ing
• Warming parts:
– North America
– Eurasia

• Cooling parts:
– parts of the southeastern U.S.
Incre asing te m pe rature
e xtre m e s
• Regions that have temperatures (1-3°C)
warmer than the average:
– United States
– Most of the Europe
• Regions that have temperatures (1-3°C)
cooler than the average:
– Australia
Re gio nal Te m pe rature s
Se a le ve l rising
• rising at an average rate of 1 - 2
mm/year over the past 100 years
Environmental
and Human
Effects
Dire ct Te m pe rature Effe cts
Increase in average temperature

More extreme heat waves during the

summer; Less extreme cold spells during
the winter

Harmful to those with heart problems,

asthma, the elderly, the very young and
the homeless
Extre m e Eve nts
• Extreme Events:
• Heat waves; Cold waves; Storms; Floods and
Droughts
Global warming

An increase in the frequency of extreme events

More event-related deaths, injuries, infectious

diseases, and stress-related disorders
Clim ate -se nsitive dise ase s
• Increase the risk of some infectious diseases
– [particularly that appear in warm areas; are
spread by mosquitoes and other insects]
– E.g. Malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever,
encephalitis

• Algal blooms occur more frequently as

temperatures warm (particularly in areas with
polluted waters)

Diseases (e.g. cholera) accompanying algal blooms

become more frequent
Air Q uality
An increase in the concentration of
ground-level ozone

Damage lung tissue

Harmful for those with asthma and

other chronic lung diseases
Fo o d supply

Rising temperatures and variable

precipitation

Decrease the production of staple foods in

many of the poorest regions

Increasing risks of malnutrition

Po pulatio n displace m e nt
Rising sea levels

Increase the risk of coastal flooding

(Necessitate population displacement)

• More than half of the world's population now lives

within 60km of the sea.
• Most vulnerable regions: Nile delta in Egypt, the Ganges-
Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh, many small islands,
such as the Maldives, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.
UV Expo sure (Australia)

• Skin Cancer
– an abnormal growth of skin tissues.

• Premature aging
– make the skin thick, wrinkled, and leathery

• Cataracts
– No longer have transparent lenses in their eyes
UV Expo sure (Australia)
• Other Eye Damages
– Skin cancer around the eyes
– Degeneration of the yellow spot

• Suppression of Immunity
– Overexposure to UV radiation  suppress proper
functioning of the body's immune system and natural
defenses of skin
– UV-B radiation weakens the immune system 
increases the chance of infection and disease
Me asure s o n co ntro lling the
pro ble m
• Government

* set some laws to limit the amount of

pollutants produced by factories

* develop the skills of using

renewable fuels, e.g. solar energy,
wind energy
Me asure s o n co ntro lling the
pro ble m
* encourage the factories to replace fossil fuels
by renewable fuels, which would not cause
environmental pollution

* carry out energy saving scheme → reduce

the pollution produced by burning fossil fuels

* build more plants → reduce the pollutants e.g.

CO2
Me asure s o n co ntro lling the
pro ble m
• Citizens
* reduce the use of plastic bags → as burning
plastic emit CH4

* recycle the resources, e.g. plastic

* reduce the use of sprays → as CFCs would

be emitted out
Me asure s o n co ntro lling the
pro ble m

* reduce the use of air-conditioner, which will

emit CFCs

* use public transportation instead of private cars

→ reduce the pollutants emitted by cars
Sources
• http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/en/
• http://resources.emb.gov.hk/envir-ed/text/globalissu
• http://epa.gov/climatechange/effects/index.html
• http://www.tchps.edu.hk/greenweb/greenMaindGMs
• http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming
THE
END