2.4 Impact of climate change on human systems

Why are the impacts of climate change on human systems uneven?

• Different places experience similar types of climates and natural hazards

• Developed countries are more prone to droughts than developing countries

• Varying climate variables of the place (Different places experience different types of climates and natural hazards)

• All countries recover from climate impacts at the same rate

How does climate change affect provisioning ecosystem services?

• Affect economic livelihood of people who depend on fisheries & agriculture

• Increase fish production in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

• Enhance food security in agricultural regions

• Improve crop yield during droughts

State the 5 extreme weather events caused by climate change.

• Heat waves

• Tornadoes

• Blizzards

• Earthquakes

How does climate change affect regulating ecosystem services?

• Increase in vector-borne diseases due to warmer temperatures creating conducive environments for vectors like mosquitos to breed.

• Decrease in biodiversity as species adapt to changing climates.

• Improvement in air quality as vegetation increases with warmer temperatures.

• Reduction in water availability due to increased evaporation rates.

How does climate change affect cultural ecosystem services?

• Reduce people's ability to improve their well-being through recreational activities.

• Increase economic revenue from tourism.

• Enhance traditional practices.

• Promote biodiversity in natural landscapes.

Describe how wildfires impact humans directly.

• Suffocation, injuries, and burns

• Increased agricultural productivity due to ash fertilization

• Destruction of buildings and property that can cause homelessness & economic losses

• Improved air quality due to reduced pollution

Describe how tropical cyclones impact humans directly.

• Loss of lives caused by flooding, landslides and collapsed buildings

• Increase in tourism due to better weather

• Improvement of agricultural yield

• Enhanced infrastructure development

How does climate change impact humans indirectly? (Think about the 3 ecosystem services)

• 1. Provisioning ecosystem services

• 2. Regulating ecosystem services

• 3. Cultural ecosystem services

• 4. Economic ecosystem services

Describe how floods impact humans directly.

• Deaths due to drowning and injuries

• Increased tourism and economic growth

• Improvement of agricultural land

• Enhanced water supply systems

Describe how droughts impact humans directly.

• Shortage of clean water can lead to dehydration and death

• Droughts have no significant impact on human life

• Droughts only affect animal life and not humans

• Droughts improve agricultural productivity