CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMNT | Prepared by: PAUL ANGELO A.

TAMAYO

CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE

THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

The earths weather condition is being driven by sun’s solar radiation even though they
are separated 150 million kilometers far. It is enclosed by a thin gaseous envelope called
the atmosphere. The atmosphere is composed of 99% of atmospheric gases, including
water vapor, that extends only 30 kilometer (km) above earth's surface. The atmosphere
is composed of 78% Nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, 0 to 4 % water vapor, 0.037% carbon dioxide,
0.94% argon, 0.01% hydrogen and other gases makes up the rest.

Within the first 10 to 15 km above the earth’s surface, most of weather transpires. The
occurrences of different weather conditions is manifested by the reaction of the different
gases present in the earths atmosphere.

Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and most other gases are invisible.
Additionally, clouds are not gas, but a condensed vapor in the form of liquid droplets
while ground based smog, which is visible, contains reactants of nitrogen and ozone.
Also, nitrogen and oxygen concentrations experience little change, but carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxides, and chlorofluorocarbons are greenhouse gases experiencing
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discernable increases in concentration. CO2 has risen more than 18% since 1958. And up
to this day, there is tremendous change in CO2 concentration in the earth atmosphere.

The warming of the atmosphere is evident due to its absorbing and emitting infrared
radiation while allowing shortwave radiation to pass through. The gases mainly
responsible for the earth’s atmospheric greenhouse effect are water vapor and carbon
dioxide.

Other factors may include human and natural activities, displace tiny soil, salt, and ash
particles as suspended aerosols, as well as sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons
as pollutants coming from volcanic eruptions.

Gravity pulls gases toward earth's surface. The amount of force exerted over an area of
surface is called air pressure while air density is the number of air molecules in a given
space (volume).
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Atmospheric pressure decreases rapidly with height. Climbing to an altitude of only 5.5
km where the pressure is 500 mb, would put you above one-half of the atmosphere’s
molecules.

Atmospheric Layers

There are different layers of the atmosphere defined by constant trends in average air
temperature (which changes with pressure and radiation), where the outer exosphere is
not shown.
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1. Troposphere. This is the layer that is closest to the surface of the earth. Its elevation
ranges from 0 to 10 km. Temperature decreases w/ height and most of our weather
occurs in this layer.
2. Tropopause. A layer of the atmosphere that separates troposphere from
stratosphere.
3. Stratosphere. This layer sits on top of the troposphere. It’s elevation ranges from
10 km to around 25 km. This layer contains the ozone layer, which protects us from
harmful sunlight. Ozone is a particularly reactive form of oxygen. ozone plays a
major part in heating the air at this altitude. Stratosphere has either constant or
slowly increasing temperature with height.

4. Mesosphere. Also known as the middle atmosphere. Air is thin, pressure is low,
and the need of oxygen is important to live in this region. Air is quite cold at 90°C
near the top of mesosphere.
5. Thermosphere. This is the highest layer of the atmosphere. Its height ranges from
100 to 400 km. This is where most small meteorites burn up and is also the location
in the atmosphere that the northern lights occur (aurora borealis). It is also
considered as a “hot layer” where oxygen molecules absorb energy from solar rays
warming the air. Very few atoms and molecules are situated in this region.
ROTATION AND REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH
Rotation

The Earth’s movement through space affects life on Earth. We experience day and night
because of this movement on the Earth’s axis known as rotation. It takes the Earth 24
hours to rotate one time in which we experience day and night.
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Revolution

The earth moves along a path around the sun known as orbit. One complete movement
is known as revolution. It takes the earth 365 1/4 days to complete its journey around the
sun. Every 4 years, we take the extra 1/4 days from the previous years, combine them
and add an extra day to the calendar called leap year (February 29th).
The Tilting of the Earth

The earth’s axis is an invisible line that intersects the earth through both the North and
South Poles. The axis of the earth is no straight but is tilted at 23.5° which is the reason
why we have four seasons. The earth has two parts, the top which is the Northern
Hemisphere and the bottom which is the Southern Hemisphere.

In January, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun which makes their
season winter, while Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun which gives them
the season summer. It gives 6 months of night to the Northern hemisphere and 6 months
of days to Southern Hemisphere.

In June, the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun which makes the season
summer while the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun which gives them the
season winter.

In March and September, the sun is facing at the middle of the earth and the rays of the
sun hit the earth equally. Its not hot like summer, its not cold as winter. This brings us
spring and fall. All the season depends on the sun and the tilt of the earth.
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The movement of the earth does many things. It helps us measure time, it gives us years
and days. It gives us daytime to play and night to sleep. But most importantly, it provides
us knowledge on why we have different season of the year.
WEATHER AND CLIMATE DEFINED

Encircling the earth’s structure is a gaseous envelope or atmosphere. The earth’s

atmosphere is held in place by the gravitational attraction of the planet. According to
NASA, weather is an atmospheric behavior in a short period of time. The condition
respects its effects to multitude of life and anthropogenic activities.

Weather may also change from time-to-time considering minutes, hours days and
season. But what most people think about weather are the numerous factors such as
temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness and brightness. In short, it is what we
experience everyday.

Weather in its basic sense has a lot of components. It includes, rain, sunshine, cloud
cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, blizzards, ice storms,
thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, heat waves
and more.

The preparedness of people in the different weather conditions is made possible

with the help of the different government weather agencies in the Philippines, like
PAGASA and PHILVOCS.
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On the other hand, in the article Climate Change: A Primer for Local Government,
the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines defined climate as the combination
of different weather. It is measured by the collection of data on weather within a specific
period of time such as over years, decades, centuries or greater.

Additionally, in the study of Werndl (2016) she stated that the climate of certain
global region (region refers to a site-specific place on earth having a particular climate) is
affected by the distribution of climate variables of the region such as surface air
temperature, surface pressure, sub-surface ocean temperature, flora and fauna of the
earth.

Furthermore, it coincides with the definition of climate given by scholars, that they
scientifically look into the averages of different atmospheric conditions such as
precipitation, humidity, temperature, wind velocity, sunshine, phenomena such as
storms etc. and ways on how weather is measured over a long period of time in a specific
place.

For example, in the case of dams and lakes in the country, they look and observe
the rain gauge in comparison with satellite data, scientist can decipher that during
summer time, the weather condition in a particular area is drier that the average. If it
continues to persist than the normal summing up the many years of summer, that may
likely indicate a change in climate.

In terms of climate, the Philippines have three recognized seasons such as: (1)Tag-
init or Tag-araw (the hot season or summer from March to May), (2) Tag-ulan (the rainy
season from June to November), and (3) Taglamig (the cold season from December to
February). Moreover, in terms of winds that prevail over the country, we have the wet
southwest monsoon or “habagat”, prevailing over the country from May to
September/October; and the cool northeast monsoon or “amihan”, prevailing from
November to March.

Furthermore, when talking about extreme weather events in the Philippines

(tropical cyclones), the country is visited by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year.
With the projected increase in temperature this could mean much stronger and more
intense tropical cyclones.

Our extreme climate events are a result of the serious mixed up of our seasons by
El Niño/ La Niña effects on our climate. El Niño brings dry weather and even droughts
and is considered to be the most important source of rainfall variability from year to year.
On the other hand, La Niña is associated with more rains. It occurs less frequently but
may increase heavy rainfall and cyclone activity while El Niño events occurs irregularly
every 2-7 years but it reduces rainfall and weaken cyclone. Below is the historical trends
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMNT | Prepared by: PAUL ANGELO A. TAMAYO

and projected climate of the Philippines adapted from the article entitled Climate Change
Risk Profile of the Philippines: Country Fact Sheet published by the USAID (2017).
HISTORICAL CLIMATE

 Historic climate trends include:

o An increase in average temperature of 0.65°C from 1951–2010, with greatest
increases in northern and southern regions.
o Increased number of “hot” days/decreased number of “cold nights” from
1951–2010.
o Increased number of cyclones during El Niño years and a slight increase of
cyclone passage over Visayas since the 1970s.
o Increased sea surface temperatures of 0.6°– 1°C since 1910, with most
significant warming occurring after the 1970s.
o Sea level rise of 0.15 meters since 1940.
FUTURE CLIMATE

 Projected changes in climate by 2050 include:

o Increased temperatures of 1.8°–2.2°C.
o Reduced rainfall from March–May in most areas, making the dry season
drier.
o Increased heavy and extreme rainfall in Luzon and Visayas during the
southwest monsoon, making the wet season wetter, but decreasing rainfall
trends for most of Mindanao.
o Increased frequency of extreme weather events, including days exceeding
35°C, days with less than 2.5 mm of rain, and days exceeding 300 mm of
rain.
o Rising sea levels of 0.48–0.65 meters by 2100.
Desiderata on the Definition of Climate
(Adapted from the study of Werndl, C. (2016). On defining climate and climate change)

Desideratum 1. Climate should be empirically applicable. In particular, (1)

it should be possible to estimate the past and present climate from the time series
of observations (if good records are available), and (ii) the future climate should
be about the future values of climate variables. A definition that neither fulfills
both requirements is called empirically void.

Desideratum 2. Climate should correctly classify different climates for

time periods which are uncontroversially regarded as belonging to different
climates. For instance, the climate which prevailed in the middle of the last ice age
in London is regarded as different from the climate in London in the past few
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years. Therefore, a definition of climate should classify that these time periods
belong to different climates.

Desideratum 3. The climate should not depend on our knowledge. When

policy advisors ask what past climate was and whether there will be climate
change, they do not refer to notions which would differ if it had better or worse
knowledge. How well we can predict the climate and climate change, of course,
depends on our knowledge, but what the climate is and whether there is climate
change is independent of our knowledge.

Desideratum 4. A definition of climate should be applicable to the past,

present and future. Scientist think that there were several climates in the past, that
there is a present climate and that there will be several climates in the future. Thus,
a definition of climate should be applicable to all these cases.

Desideratum 5. A definition of climate should be mathematically well-defined.

In particular, it cannot refer to a limit which does not exist.

Collectively, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defined climate as the “average weather” or
statistically, it is a reflection of the mean and variability of pertinent quantities over a
period of time (30 years). The surface variables that are most often considered are the
quantities of temperature, precipitation and wind. In short, climate is a state, including
statistical description, of the climate system.
CLIMATE SYSTEM

Subsequently, the climate system is composed of the five major components such
as, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface and biosphere together with the
highly complex systemic relationship between them (IPCC and WMO).

Evolution occurs in the climate system as a result of the internal dynamics and
other external forces such as volcanic eruptions, solar variations and human-induced
forcing such as the changing composition of the atmosphere and land-use change (IPCC
and WMO).
CLIMATE VARIABILITY

Weather can be highly variable on a daily, weekly, or even yearly basis. Example:
Today might be dry with a temperature of 32°C. Tomorrow might be wet, with a
temperature of 31 °C. Climate variability is not a reflection nor influenced by human
activity. It is also the variation in the mean state and other statistical consideration (such
as standard deviations, the occurrence of extremes, etc.) of the climate.
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The term is often used to denote deviations of climatic statistics over a given period
of time (e.g. a month, season or year) from the long-term statistics relating to the
corresponding calendar period. In this sense, climate variability is measured by those
deviations, which are usually termed anomalies. Variability may be due to natural
processes that occurs internally within the climate system (internal variability), or the
varied changes in the natural or anthropogenic external forcing (external variability).

Over seasons and years, climate varies unlike weather which changes on a day-to-
day basis. In recent years, it has been felt that summers are warmer than the previous
ones. In some years, there were much greater or much less rainfall recorded.

It is also the way climate fluctuates yearly above or below a long-term average
value. Some years, rainy season is shorter than the average. Other years. rains are much
less than the so-called normal.

According to data adapted from PAGASA,

“The Philippines, like most parts of the globe, has also exhibited increasing
temperatures as shown in Fig.6 below. The graph of observed mean temperature
anomalies (or departures from the 1971-2000 normal values) during the period 1951
to 2010 indicate an increase of 0.648 C or an average of 0.0108 C per year-increase.”

“The increase in maximum (or daytime) temperatures and minimum

(or night time) temperatures are shown in Fig.7 and Fig.8. During
the last 60 years, maximum and minimum temperatures are seen to
have increased by 0.36 ºC and 1.0°C, respectively.”
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“Analysis of trends of tropical cyclone occurrence or passage within the so-

called Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) show that an average of 20
tropical cyclones form and/or cross the PAR per year. The trend shows a high
variability over the decades but there is no indication of increase in the
frequency. However, there is a very slight increase in the number of tropical
cyclones with maximum sustained winds of greater than 150kph and above
(typhoon category) being exhibited during El NiÑo event (See Fig.10).”
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“Moreover, the analysis on tropical cyclone passage over the three main
islands (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao), the 30-year running means show
that there has been a slight increase in the Visayas during the 1971 to 2000
as compared with the 1951 to 1980 and 1960-1990 periods (See Fig.11).”
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“To detect trends in extreme daily events, indices had been developed and
used. Analysis of extreme daily maximum and minimum temperatures (hot-
days index and cold-nights index, respectively) show there are statistically
significant increasing number of hot days but decreasing number of cool
nights (as shown in Fig.12 and Fig.13).”

“However, the trends of increases or decreases in extreme daily rainfall are

not statistically significant; although, there have been changes in extreme
rain events in certain areas in the Philippines. For instance, intensity of
extreme daily rainfall is already being experienced in most parts of the
country, but not statistically significant (see in Fig.14). Likewise, the
frequency has exhibited an increasing trend, also, not statistically
significant (as shown in Fig.15).”
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“The rates of increases or decreases in the trends are point values (i.e., specific values in the
synoptic weather stations only) and are available at PAGASA, if needed.”

CLIMATE CHANGE DEFINED

Climate change are the important notable data that have significantly change
indicators of climate such as temperature, rainfall, winds, lasting for an extended period
(at least, 30 years). The Philippine Climate Change Commission associates the changes in
climate due to anthropogenic activities.

On the other hand, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (2014) defines climate change as,

“a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. using
statistical tests) by changes in the mean or the variability of its properties,
and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer”

“climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external

forcings such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions and
persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere
or in land use”
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Climate change leads to numerous changes that affects patterns and characteristics
of rainfall, extreme weather changes (extreme heat, extreme rainfall), sea level rise
increase, and indirect effects in the ocean such as ocean acidification.

In 2007, the UN IPCC have divulged, in its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), a
strong statement on climate change. It had been concluded, based on reports, that
warming of the climate system is unequal. During the last 50 years or so, the recorded
warming has been associated with greenhouse gas concentration as a result of human
influence. The likelihood of changes in the global climate system will continue to persist
into the future and projected to have larger effects as compared to the recent past (IPCC,
2007a).

“Fig.4 shows the 0.74 C increase in global mean temperature during the last
150 years compared with the 1961-1990 global average. It is the steep
increase in temperature since the mid-20th century that is causing
worldwide concern, particularly in terms of increasing vulnerability of poor
developing countries, like the Philippines, to adverse impacts of even
incremental changes in temperatures.”
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As shown in Figure 5, the IPCC AR4 furthered that the warming of temperature
is substantiated with evidence on rising surface temperature, sea level rise, and decrease
in snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere.

It has also been cited by PAGASA that there is difference in the climatic changes
between and among regions of the world. In the Southeast Asian region where
Philippines belong, various temperature increase have been noted from one country to
another. Additionally, changing rainfall patters have also been noted as a result of
monsoon performance. Looking at the trends of extreme weather conditions on a daily
basis, like temperature and rainfall, in the Asia Pacific region, there is consistency with
the observable increase hot temperature, warm night and heat waves, and decrease cold
days and nights (Manton et. al., 2001).
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HOW IS CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTING THE PHILIPPINES?

Five of the 10 deadliest typhoons to hit the Philippines have come since 2006. Find out what’s happening
and what you can do about it.

Haiyan, Thelma, Ike, Fengshen, Washi, Durian, Bopha, Trix, Amy, Nina.

These are the ten deadliest typhoons of the Philippines between 1947 and 2014. What’s alarming is that
five of the 10 have occurred since 2006, affecting and displacing thousands of citizens every time. Seven
of these 10 deadly storms each resulted in more than 1,000 casualties. But the deadliest storm on record
in the Philippines is Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, which was responsible for more
than 6,300 lost lives, over four million displaced citizens, and $2 billion in damages in 2013.

The Philippines has long been particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. But in recent years the nation
has suffered from even more violent storms like Typhoon Haiyan. On average, about 20 tropical cyclones
enter Philippine waters each year, with eight or nine making landfall. And over the past decade, these
tropical storms have struck the nation more often and more severely, scientists believe, because of climate
change. In addition, two factors unique to the Philippines – its geography and development – have
combined to exacerbate both this threat and its devastating consequences.

Here's a deeper look at how climate change affects the Philippines and the role geography and
development play in making a tremendous challenge even greater.

GEOGRAPHY

The Global Climate Risk Index 2015 listed the Philippines as the number one most affected country by
climate change, using 2013’s data. This is thanks, in part, to its geography. The Philippines is located in
the western Pacific Ocean, surrounded by naturally warm waters that will likely get even warmer as average
sea-surface temperatures continue to rise.

To some extent, this is a normal pattern: the ocean surface warms as it absorbs sunlight. The ocean then
releases some of its heat into the atmosphere, creating wind and rain clouds. However, as the ocean’s
surface temperature increases over time from the effects of climate change, more and more heat is released
into the atmosphere. This additional heat in the ocean and air can lead to stronger and more frequent
storms – which is exactly what we’ve seen in the Philippines over the last decade.
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The Philippines also lacks natural barriers; as a collection of over 7,000 islands there is almost nothing
standing between them and the sea. In addition to their coral reefs, one of the best buffers against typhoons
are the Philippine mangrove ecosystems. These mangroves help mitigate the impact of storm surge and
stabilize soil but have disappeared by almost half since 1918 due to deforestation (an issue for another
day).

Other natural factors, like regional wind patterns or currents, can also increase the risk of tropical storms.
Geography again plays a role here, as these factors affect different areas of the country differently, due to
their unique circumstances. The graphic below from a report by the Philippine Department of Environment
and Natural Resources shows how the various regions in the Philippines can face a range of climate threats,
based on where they sit on the map.

The map also shows the region’s most vulnerable to sea-level rise, another detrimental effect of climate
change that can be exacerbated by the storm surge from tropical storms. Sea levels in the Philippines are
rising at about twice the global average. And when especially strong storms like Typhoon Haiyan make
landfall, this higher sea level contributes to storm surge that can rise upwards of 15–20 feet, displacing
thousands or even millions of citizens in coastal communities. Which brings us to our next topic:
development in the Philippines.
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DEVELOPMENT

Developmental factors have made it difficult for the Philippines to prepare and respond to disasters.
Evacuation plans, early-warning systems, and shelters are critical to dealing with extreme weather events.
Warning and relocating thousands or millions of citizens when a storm is approaching would be a massive
hurdle for any country – and in the case of a developing nation like the Philippines with nearly 100 million
citizens spread out across thousands of islands, the hurdle becomes bigger still.

Then there’s what these storms mean for the Philippines’ economy. According to a 2013 statement from
government officials, a destructive typhoon season costs the nation two percent of its gross domestic
product (GDP). It costs another two percent to rebuild the infrastructure lost, putting the Philippines at least
four percent in the hole each year from tropical storms. And when you’re a nation aspiring to grow and
create better lives for your citizens, this regular hit to the economy is the last thing you can afford.

This is not an easy problem to fix, but we need to try. The first step is educating citizens both in the
Philippines and around the world about what the nation is facing, and about the practical clean-energy
solutions available that can begin to address the harmful effects of climate change in the Philippines and
beyond.

Article adapted from: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-affecting-philippines

TEN CLEAR INDICATORS OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING

One of the important things that we have to look into, based on statistical records,
are the variabilities and anomalies that the change in climate is permanent.
As per observation, scholars from different scientific fields have identified 10
major shifts in the warming and cooling of the climate system of the earth through the
course of time driven by natural factors like variation in its orbit and the sun’s energy.
These trend that have noted by scientists over the past 50 years is unambiguous.
Average surface temperature from 1906 and 2005 have increase tremendously
from 0.6-0.9 degrees Celsius which is twice the rate in which it increases in the last 50
years.
In the last century, in what other ways did our climate systems change? Is there
any way we can decipher that the change in climate is permanent and not just merely of
period of fluctuation?
Between opinions from climate deniers and misinformation campaigns from the
fossil fuel industry, it can be a challenge to get the unobstructed facts.
Each indicator described below has been extensively studied over the past several
decades, and was captured from many different data sets and technologies.

1. Air temperatures over land are increasing

As a result of readings from different weather stations from different parts of the
world focusing on land, it shows that the average air temperatures are rising. This
then leads to frequent and severe climatic changes that is increasing such as
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droughts and heat waves. Both of which leads to environmental destructions such
as destructive wildfires, crop production failure, and low water supplies.

2. Air temperature over oceans are increasing.

The vast majority of the world’s composition is water where ocean is a part of.
Because of this, a hotter air experience by many people greatly influence the
climate system. Evaporation of water happens near the surface of the oceanic
bodies of water and becomes warmer. It can result to more flooding, formation of
typhoons and extreme weather conditions.

3. Arctic sea is decreasing

In the past 30 years, records have shown via satellite that the ice in the arctic
continues to decrease in number up to present. Although it increases during
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winter season because of less sunlight, but when longer summer season happens,
the ice formation reaches its lowest point.

It was projected, based on research, that almost all the ice in the Arctic would melt
by 2100. The prediction might also change depending on the changes in weather
condition in the next decades.

4. Glaciers are melting

One of the clearest indicators of climate change is the disappearance of glaciers.

Those people who rely on water coming from glacier are facing shortage.

If climate change is not existent, there is presence of balance as to glacier mass as

it evaporates during summer and snowfall in winter. But on the other hand, if
there is greater number of ice melting than it is being replace during winter, then
it is an indication of glacier loss by mass. In effect, it affects many lives especially
those who depend on its presence.
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5. SEA LEVELS ARE RISING

As glaciers melts faster in the past century together with the increase of water
temperature, it results to the rise of sea level which then causes oceans to expand.
It greatly affects large number of regions of the earth without forgetting those eight
cities of the 10 largest cities of the world which are nearby coastal areas.

The sea level rise will pose greater risk to millions of people, and exacerbates other
weather conditions such as storms and flooding. It also threatens marine life as it
intrudes fresh water aquifers that provides supports to the natural ecosystem and
human communities.

6. HUMIDITY IS INCREASING
When the weather is humid, it feels like the atmosphere has some degree of
wetness. Thus, it only means that water vapor is in the air which makes hot
weather feel sticky. In the water cycle, one of the important factors to consider is
water vapor. It is significant in the earth’s natural greenhouse effect. When water
vapor increases its amount in the atmosphere, air conditioners have to work
double to provide us a cool feeling. Such situation is a manifestation that more
energy is being utilized that in turn contribute to more climate change.
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7. OCEAN HEAT CONTENT IS INCREASING

Over long period of time, the ocean stores and releases heat which is an important
natural phenomenon for climate system stabilization. Like the case of El Niño, it’s
a natural climatological condition that occurs frequently because of the warming
of the ocean which in turn affects multitude of climates and marine life. The
continued increase of hotness in oceans leads to different condition such as higher
sea levels, melting glaciers, and stress to marine ecosystems.

8. SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS INCREASING

By utilizing instruments, the surface temperature of oceans continues to rise. It
might be a normal pattern to some extent since the ocean’s surface is warming as
sunlight is absorbed. In turn, the constant increase would lead to releasing some
of its heat in the atmosphere, creating wind and rain clouds. Additional heat also
further stronger and more frequent storms like tropical cyclones.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMNT | Prepared by: PAUL ANGELO A. TAMAYO

9. SNOW IS DECREASING
In Northern hemisphere, it has been an area of concern as a global climate change
indicator since satellite results have shown a decrease in the number of snows. It
helps in the control of the earth’s energy absorption from the sun. Snow also helps
in the upkeep of cooling of the planet as they, both light colored snow and ice,
reflects the energy absorbed from the sun back into space. On the other hand, the
melting of the ice and snow is replaced by bodies of ocean and dark land, both of
which functions in the absorption of energy. Based on data, its has been recorded
in the last 30 years the amount of ice and snow loss has been tremendously
increasing than what has been predicted. It only means that the earth’s solar
energy absorption is greater than what has been projected.

10. EARTH’S LOWER ATMOSPHERE TEMPERATURE IS INCREASING.

Troposphere, which is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere, shows that there is
greenhouse gases that builds up and in turn trap the heat of the sun which radiates
back to the earth based on satellite measurement.

The increase in atmospheric temperature is associated by scientists to

anthropogenic activities such as burning fossil fuels. In fact, since the industrial
revolution in 1750 the levels of carbon dioxide increased to about 40%.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMNT | Prepared by: PAUL ANGELO A. TAMAYO

THE SIGNS ARE CLEAR. IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION

These 10 climate change indicators are difficult to argue with. And as a result, it is high
time that each and every one should take part in making an action towards helping the
unwanted effects of climate change. Let us spread useful information to our family,
friends and peers.

References:

 Werndl, C. (2016). On defining climate and climate change. The British Journal for
the Philosophy of Science, 67(2), 337-364.
 NASA - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate? Retrieved from:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html
 Vidallo, R., Gonsalvez, J., Oro, E., Dalusag, J., Barbon, W. J., Jordan, J., & Rosales,
B. (2015). Understanding Climate Change: A primer for local government officials
in the Philippines.
 Climate Change: A Primer for Local Governments. Retrieved from:
https://dilg.gov.ph/PDF_File/reports_resources/dilg-reports-resources-
2016418_39818529be.pdf
 World Meteorological Organization
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/ccl/faq/faq_doc_en.html
 Climate Variability and Climate Change. Retrieved from:
https://www.weather.gov/media/climateservices/VariabilityAndChange.pdf
 Current Climate Trends in the Philippines. Retrieved from:
http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-change-in-the-
philippines
 Current Climate Change in the Philippines. Retrieved from:
http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-change-in-the-
philippines
 How is Climate Change Affecting the Philippines? (2016). Retrieved from:
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-affecting-
philippines
 TEN CLEAR INDICATORS OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING (2015). Retrieved
from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/10-indicators-that-show-
climate-change
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMNT | Prepared by: PAUL ANGELO A. TAMAYO

MEASUREMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A. IN SITU OBSERVATION

B. SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS