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The Effects of Climate Change on Asia Will Carry Fatal Consequences
Many reports have made media coverage about the effects of climate change on Asia. The Internet also provides several articles on the effects of climate change on Asia as well.
The International Panel on Climate Change has issued the warning that the effects of climate on Asia and Africa will be felt the hardest. Within the next few decades these climate changes will have serious consequences. Executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, Achim Steiner says, the effects of climate change on Asia are, "too alarming to contemplate." He goes on to say, "Unchecked climate change will be an environmental and economic catastrophe, but above all it will be a human tragedy. It is absolutely vital that international action is taken now to avoid dangerous climate change."
It is expected that at least 130 million people in Asian countries will suffer from hunger due famines created by global warming conditions, effecting rainfall, causing draughts, and destroying crops. Many people will die because of severe food and water shortages.
Sea levels of between 1 – 3 millimeters though less than an inch high will continue to rise yearly causing massive flooding, death, land and property devastation, and relocation emergencies for nearly 100 million Asian people.
Just as little as a temperature hike of 2 degree Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to affect crop production in China by five percent to 12 percent. Rice fields are depended upon rainfall; this shortage of rain due to global warming would mean famine conditions for many people. Similarly, by the year 2050, Bangladesh could experience a 30 percent reduction in wheat productions, and shortages of up to 10 percent on the cultivation of rice.
India will also suffer from the effects of climate change on Asia. Himalayan glaciers are melting. First the effects from the melting ice caps will cause floods but as time goes by the lack of ice is going to have the reverse effect and create massive water shortages in India, Nepal and China. The importance of this phenomenon cannot be stressed enough. The Himalayan glaciers are the largest storehouse for water of its kind, next in size to the polar ice caps. This water source feeds into no less than seven major rivers across Asia namely the: Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Thanlwin, Yangtze and Yellow rivers. These rivers are already starting to experience lower water levels estimated at about thirty-three to forty-nine feet yearly.
Australia and New Zealand will experience severe weather conditions and the situation will become so grave in the south pacific islands that the whole way of life will be severely jeopardized with rising sea levels causing floods, surge, and devastation to coastal regions. These conditions will affect the fishing industry, agriculture, coral reefs, and even tourism in small island nations.
We must heed the warnings of the scientists and governments across the globe and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce the effects of climate change on Asia as a matter of morality, and human survival.
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