Bangladesh ​- People living in the flood-prone delta nation are feeling the full force of climate change.

Frequent flooding wipes out crops, spreads disease and destroys homes. A country with a population of 164
million on a landmass the size of New York State, with more people moving inland. The pressures are
already apparent. Bangladesh has been gradually developing, with great progress in life expectancy and
GDP. However, the impact of climate change may overwhelm this progress. According to the Bangladesh
government’s 2009 Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, “in an ‘average’ year, approximately one
quarter of the country is inundated.” Every four to five years, “there is a severe flood that may cover over
60% of the country.” Rapid erosion of coastal areas has inundated dozens of islands in the Bay. For
example, Sandwip Island, near Chittagong, has lost 90 percent of its original 23-square-miles—mostly in the
last two decades.

Sudan ​- Rising temperatures are

causing the Sahara Desert to
expand, eating into the farmland
on the edge of the wastelands and
causing immense pressure for
food. Rainfall in the northern
regions of Sudan, including
war-torn Darfur, is down by 30 per
cent over the past 40 years, with
the Sahara advancing by well over
a mile every year. Scientists
believe that Darfur is an example
of climate change conflict, with
tribal disputes being exacerbated
by increased demand for scarce fertile land and water reserves. Many people are being forced to flee their
homes, most to bordering Chad, hoping to seek support in one of the many refugee camps.
Caribbean ​- Warmer seas are believed to be
bolstering the power of hurricanes, which rip
through the Caribbean regions with
increasing frequency and savagery.
Hurricane Katrina swept through New
Orleans in 2005, killing 1,600 people and
causing an estimated $40 billion of
damages, while research published in this
summer in the science journal Nature
suggests that hurricanes in the Atlantic are
more frequent than at any time in the last
1,000 years.

Australia ​- Australia's arid climate means it has

always been prone to forest fires, but scientists
believe the ferocity of recent blazes is linked to
climate change. The temperature has been
rising steadily since the 1950s and this is
increasing the intensity and frequency of
outbreaks. Bushfires have accounted for over
800 deaths in Australia since 1851 and the total
accumulated cost is estimated at $1.6 billion.
These numbers will grow exponentially with the
increasing intensity and frequency of breakouts.

Siberia ​- In one of the world's last

wildernesses, global warming is causing
profound changes to the lives of its people.
Winters that used to reach -50 degrees are
now a comparatively mild -30, which is
causing the permafrost to melt. Arctic houses
are subsiding, and the nomadic people of the
tundra find that their annual migrations are
disrupted by unseasonably warm
temperatures or unexpected snow falls. Huge
craters are opening up due to melting
permafrost. The Batagiaka crater in eastern
Siberia, already the largest of its kind, is 0.6
miles long and 282 feet deep. These numbers
are expected to continue gradually increasing.
Tuvalu​ - The low-lying Pacific islands of Tuvalu face the very real
threat that they could be wiped out by climate change. The highest
point of the islands reaches only four and a half metres above sea
level, and the coral upon which the islands are built is seeping sea
water, making much of the land too salty to farm (salinization). A
study found that more than 70 per cent of households in Tuvalu
reported family members would migrate if climate stressors
worsened. However, only about a quarter of households have the
financial means to support migration, leaving many households
“trapped” in worsening environmental conditions.

Great Barrier Reef ​- Climatologists

believe that Australia is experiencing
"accelerated climate change", which
puts the vast Great Barrier Reef at
severe risk. Rising ocean temperatures
cause bleaching of the coral, when the
plants expel the tiny animals living
inside them and turning into colourless
calcium skeletons. In the 36 years
since the reef was declared a World
Heritage Area, mounting stresses from
human activity have left it struggling.
Combined, climate change and human
activities are already affecting fishing,
tourism and health industries. The
tourism industry is worth $6 billion a year and employs perhaps 60,000 people.

Alps ​- The much-loved European

winter playground is increasingly
under threat from warmer
temperatures, disrupting the snowfall
and causing the ice to melt. Scientists
from the Convention for the Protection
of the Alps published a report in June
this year claiming that the Alps were
gradually being split in two, with the
southern regions receiving 10 per cent
less precipitation over the past 100
years and the northern regions facing
flooding and landslides. It is predicted to lose 70% snow cover by 2099.
Britain​ - Although climate change in Britain may not be as keenly
felt as in Bangladesh or Tuvalu, scientists still maintain its effects
are noticeable. The National Trust warns of threats to historic
properties and estates from flooding and storm surges, and
highlights the worrying loss of wildlife habitats. However,
increasing temperatures will improve crop cultivation such as
grape vines. Britain could become one of the world's leading wine
producers by 2100. A study shows that conditions in central and
eastern England may be ideal for Sauvignon Blanc while Scotland
could produce Pinot Grigio.

Northern Europe - ​countries across Northern

Europe will experience milder winters which
means lower heating bills as well as reduced
health issues related to cold weather. For the
last decade, Brits have been dying from the cold
at the average rate of 29,000 excess deaths
each winter. Compare this to the heatwave ten
years ago, which claimed 15,000 lives in France
and just 2,000 in Britain. In the ten years since,
there has been no summer death spike at all.
Excess winter deaths hit the poor harder than
the rich for the obvious reason: they cannot
afford heating.

USA - ​Population shifts and development choices are making more

Americans vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. An aging
populace and continued population shifts to the Southeast, Southwest,
and coastal cities amplify risks associated with extreme heat, sea-level
rise, storm surge, and increasing water scarcity in some regions.
Climate change is already affecting California, causing worsening water
shortages each year. The government have increased water rates by
10% in attempt to prompt people to conserve water.
Climate change and agriculture
Climate change is already affecting agriculture, with effects unevenly distributed across the world. Future
climate change will likely negatively affect crop production in low latitude countries, while effects in northern
latitudes may be positive or negative. Climate change will probably increase the risk of food insecurity for some
vulnerable groups, such as the poor.

The IPCC Third Assessment Report, published in 2001, concluded that the poorest countries would be hardest
hit, with reductions in crop yields in most tropical and sub-tropical regions due to decreased water availability,
and new or changed insect pest incidence. In Africa and Latin America many rainfed crops are near their
maximum temperature tolerance, so that yields are likely to fall sharply for even small climate changes; falls in
agricultural productivity of up to 30% over the 21st century are projected.

In the long run, the climatic change could affect agriculture in several ways :
● productivity​, in terms of ​quantity​ and ​quality​ of crops
● agricultural practices​, through changes of water use (irrigation) and agricultural inputs such as
herbicides​, ​insecticides​ and ​fertilizers
● environmental effects​, in particular in relation of frequency and intensity of soil ​drainage​ (leading to
nitrogen leaching), ​soil erosion​, reduction of ​crop diversity
● rural space​, through the loss and gain of cultivated lands, land ​speculation​, land renunciation, and
hydraulic amenities.
● adaptation​, organisms may become more or less competitive, as well as humans may develop urgency
to develop more competitive organisms, such as flood resistant or salt resistant varie​ties of rice.

Global warming could lead to an increase in pest insect populations, harming yields of staple crops like wheat,
soybeans, and corn. While warmer temperatures create longer growing seasons, and faster growth rates for plants,
it also increases the metabolic rate and number of breeding cycles of insect populations. Insects that previously had
only two breeding cycles per year could gain an additional cycle if warm growing seasons extend, causing a
population boom. Temperate places and higher latitudes are more likely to experience a dramatic change in insect
populations.

Droughts have been occurring more frequently because of global warming and they are expected to become more
frequent and intense in Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East, most of the Americas, Australia, and Southeast
Asia. Their impacts are aggravated because of increased water demand, population growth, urban expansion, and
environmental protection efforts in many areas. Droughts result in crop failures and the loss of pasture grazing land
for livestock.

With high confidence, IPCC (2007:14–15) projected that over the first few decades of this century, moderate
climate change would increase aggregate yields of rain-fed agriculture by 5–20%, but with important variability
among regions. Major challenges were projected for crops that are near the warm end of their suitable range or
which depend on highly utilized water resources. Droughts are becoming more frequent and intense in arid and
semiarid western North America as temperatures have been rising, advancing the timing and magnitude of
spring snow melt oods and reducing river flow volume in summer.
Projected changes in yields of selected crops with global warming. This graph is based on several studies.

In Africa, IPCC (2007:13) projected that climate variability and change would severely compromise agricultural
production and access to food. This projection was assigned "high confidence." Africa's geography makes it
particularly vulnerable to climate change, and seventy per cent of the population rely on rain-fed agriculture for
their livelihoods. Tanzania's official report on climate change suggests that the areas that usually get two
rainfalls in the year will probably get more, and those that get only one rainy season will get far less. As of
2005, the net result was expected to be that 33% less maize—the country's staple crop—would be grown.

In East and Southeast Asia, IPCC (2007:13) projected that crop yields could increase up to 20% by the
mid-21st century. In Central and South Asia, projections suggested that yields might decrease by up to 30%,
over the same time period. These projections were assigned "medium confidence." Taken together, the risk of
hunger was projected to remain very high in several developing countries. More detailed analysis of rice yields
by the International Rice Research Institute forecast 20% reduction in yields over the region per degree
Celsius of temperature rise. Rice becomes sterile if exposed to temperatures above 35 degrees for more than
one hour during flowering and consequently produces no grain.