Читать книгу How Can I Stop Climate Change: What is it and how to help - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 72

The human costs of inaction on climate change are incalculable. Millions of the world’s poorest people will experience dramatic changes in their way of life.

Regions close to the Equator – many of which rely on small-scale farming for food – will see bad harvests from a temperature rise of just 1-2°C. Farmers may be able to adapt by using different crop varieties and relying more on irrigation. But studies suggest that temperature increases above 3°C will be hard to accommodate. Heat will be bad news for dairy farmers: cows are less fertile, produce less milk and do not live as long in hot conditions. Cattle and pigs are also affected by heat – they tend to breed less.

Adapting to climate change will be difficult for small and family farms, for pastoralists and people who make a subsistence living on poor land, especially in parts of Africa and Asia. Without adaptation, crop yields are likely to fall and be badly affected by extreme weather events. Wealthy areas rich in resources are likely to adapt more easily.

Fishing communities will struggle as fish species migrate or die out. River fish will be affected as rainfall and snow melt patterns change. Millions of people, particularly in some of the poorest communities, rely on fishing to supplement their families’ diet.

Food will not be the only area of the economy that is damaged. The timber industry will see extreme weather and more wildfires, insects and pests.

Thousands – if not millions – of people have already left their homes because of the changing climate. The International Red Cross says 25 million people could already be classified as ‘environmental refugees’ in 2001 and it has been estimated that climate change could push the total number of displaced people worldwide to 1 billion by 2050. One study estimated that around 15 million were likely to be displaced from Bangladesh alone. In China 4,000 villages are likely to be abandoned as a result of the spread of the Gobi desert. Huge numbers of people on the move are thought likely to increase the risk of conflict in some areas where resources are most scarce.