Читать книгу How Can I Stop Climate Change: What is it and how to help - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 10

As climate systems adapt to changes in temperature, winds and ocean currents alter. This is leading to unpredictable and more extreme weather: more intense periods of heavy rain, more storms, and, in some regions, extreme drought. Climate change is having other knock-on effects. Rising temperatures are melting snow and ice all over the world: glaciers are retreating, Arctic ice sheets are shrinking and Antarctic ice shelves have cracked and fallen into the sea. Melting glaciers, combined with the fact that warmer water expands, are causing rising sea levels. Sea levels rose by 17 cm during the 20th century.

Many people’s lives are already being altered by climate change. Some are adapting, but others face real hardship.

Let’s look at some of the specific ways that climate change is affecting our planet.