Fill in the words in the text:
Above
Crops
Floods
Increases
Predict
Refugees
Spread
Warming
according to
current
forests
inundation
prospects
scale
substantial
worldwide.
average
events
fossil fuels
lead
reach
since
trends
by
face
implications
occurred
recent
so far
unleashed
The climate is changing before our very eyes
Rising temperatures are already the clearest sign of climate change ___________the
IPCC, global average temperatures have risen 0.6ºC _____________the pre-industrial
average. Nine of the hottest years on record have _____________since 1988; six of the
first eight months of 1998 were the warmest _________ records began in 1866; and
July 1998 was the hottest month ever. According to the IPCC's latest coupled oceanatmosphere models, if emissions continued to rise on current__________ greenhouse
gas concentrations would ____________ double pre-industrial levels - higher than for
several million years - ____2080. Were this so, we would see a global average increase
of 2.5°C, with perhaps 4°C over land masses, particularly in the northern high latitudes,
3°C to 4°C over parts of the Arctic or Antarctic, and possibly ___________regional
variations from the global __________. If the ____________in temperature seem
modest, it should be noted that a 3°C cooling brought on the most ___________ice age.
What is more, the climatologists of the IPCC ______________that if emissions
continued to rise on _____________ trends, a second doubling of pre-industrial levels
of CO² could __________to a catastrophic rise of around 10°C. Even these predictions
may understate the speed and_____________ of change (see 'Misreading the Models',
p75).
The destabilizing effect of planetary warming upon our climate systems is
already being felt. Over the past decade, worldwide, we have seen virtually
every climate record broken since reliable record-taking began a century
ago.
The_____________ for life are immense. With higher temperatures, there is more
energy driving the Earth's climatic systems, which in turn causes more violent weather
____________. Severe storms, ________, droughts, dust storms, sea surges, crumbling
coastlines, salt water intrusion of groundwater, failing ____________, dying ________,
the _______________of low-lying islands, and the ______________of endemic
diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and schistosomiasis is on the cards if the
consumption of _________________ is not phased out. Agriculture worldwide would
_____________ severe disruption and economies could tumble. There would also be
millions upon millions of environmental _______________- people fleeing from the
intruding sea, or equally from the deserts they have left in their wake after stripping the
land of its vegetation. Those are the______________ and scientific advisers to the UK
government are warning that millions will die _________because of the processes of
global____________ that have already been____________.
The destabilising effect of planetary warming upon our climate systems is already being
felt. Over the past decade, worldwide, we have seen virtually every climate record
broken since reliable record-taking began a century ago. There has been a marked
increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, heat-waves,
Tim Eailogisi. Vol. 29. No 2. March/April 1999
The climate is changing before our very eyes
Rising temperatures are already the clearest sign of climate change. So far, according to
the IPCC, global average temperatures have risen 0.6ºC above the pre-industrial
average. Nine of the hottest years on record have occurred since 1988; six of the first
eight months of 1998 were the warmest since records began in 1866; and July 1998 was
the hottest month ever. According to the IPCC's latest coupled ocean-atmosphere
models, if emissions continued to rise on current trends greenhouse gas concentrations
would reach double pre-industrial levels - higher than for several million years – by
2080. Were this so, we would see a global average increase of 2.5°C, with perhaps 4°C
over land masses, particularly in the northern high latitudes, 3°C to 4°C over parts of the
Arctic or Antarctic, and possibly substantial regional variations from the global average.
If the increases in temperature seem modest, it should be noted that a 3°C cooling
brought on the most recent ice age. What is more, the climatologists of the IPCC predict
that if emissions continued to rise on current trends, a second doubling of pre-industrial
levels of CO² could lead to a catastrophic rise of around 10°C. Even these predictions
may understate the speed and scale of change (see 'Misreading the Models', p75).
The destabilizing effect of planetary warming upon our climate systems is
already being felt. Over the past decade, worldwide, we have seen virtually
every climate record broken since reliable record-taking began a century
ago.
The implications for life are immense. With higher temperatures, there is more energy
driving the Earth's climatic systems, which in turn causes more violent weather events.
Severe storms, floods, droughts, dust storms, sea surges, crumbling coastlines, salt
water intrusion of groundwater, failing crops, dying forests, the inundation of low-lying
islands, and the spread of endemic diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and
schistosomiasis is on the cards if the consumption of fossil fuels is not phased out.
Agriculture worldwide would face severe disruption and economies could tumble.
There would also be millions upon millions of environmental refugees - people fleeing
from the intruding sea, or equally from the deserts they have left in their wake after
stripping the land of its vegetation. Those
are the prospects and scientific advisers to
the UK government are warning that
millions will die worldwide because of the
processes of global warming that have
already been unleashed.
The destabilising effect of planetary
warming upon our climate systems is
already being felt. Over the past decade,
worldwide, we have seen virtually every
climate record broken since reliable
record-taking began a century ago. There
has
been
a
marked
increase in the frequency and intensity of
droughts, heat-waves,
The Ecologist, Vol. 29. No 2. March/April 1999