The Threat of Climate Change - Energy and Climate: How to Achieve a Successful Energy Transition - page 26

. Regular rise in sea level

. The melting ice causes the sea level to
rise: over the last twelve years there has been an increase of 3mm
per year, compared with 2mm per year during the previous decades.
The higher sea level is also due to heat expansion, which would
account for about half of the rise observed. If this rise continues,
numerous coastal regions could be flooded in the future, for example
Bangladesh and the Ganges delta, theMaldives as well as a large part
of Florida and the Netherlands.
. Multiplication of heat waves and droughts

. Repeated heat waves and
droughts have been observed over the last fewyears, especially in Europe.
Although these episodes cannot be linked directly to climate change, their
multiplication gives a further indication of the effects of climate change,
to be added to the numerous other indications observed.
During the 2003 heat wave, 20 000 deaths were recorded in
Europe, including 13 000 in France.
Eleven out of the last twelve years rank amongst the top twelve
hottest years since accurate records have been available (since 1850).
Various parts of the world, including Southern Europe, the Sahel and
Australia, are suffering from serious drought, with increased risks of
desertification. Heat waves and droughts lead to more forest fires, as
we saw in particular in the summer of 2007, especially in Greece.
. Cyclones and torrential rain

. Water evaporation caused by the higher
temperature, responsible for the droughts observed, raises the air
humidity which is responsible in turn for torrential rain in other parts
of the world. Devastating floods have affected Europe and Asia, with
greater rain fall related to the monsoon.
A number of extremely violent cyclones, such as Katrina, have
struck the world over the last ten years, although at this stage they
cannot be attributed to climate change.

Impact on the biosphere . Numerous effects of climate change on the

biosphere can already be observed. Coral bleaching, which has been
put down to the increase in water temperature, is one of the most
visible consequences.
There are numerous reasons accounting for the pronounced loss of
biodiversity in the world but, for some species, the specific effect of
climate change has been demonstrated. The consequences of the
disappearance of these species gradually affect the entire ecosystem in
which they live.

.

Higher temperatures also result in displacement of ecosystems. A 3 C
temperature increase, for example, corresponds to a shift of 300-400 km