Outlines the essentials of the compulsory case studies of impacts of climate change on the Arctic and Africa and disaster hotspots of Philippines and California

1. COMPULSORY CASE STUDIES

2. IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING
Environmental (anything to do with the environment
including ice loss) and ecological (ecosystems) in the
Arctic
• Summer Arctic ice will shrink (probably gone by 2050)
so the albedo effect (which reflects radiation and
therefore cools the earth) will be less effective and so it
will warm up even more
• As ice is lost the species which rely on it will also be lost
– seals (breed on ice and have defence against
predators) and polar bears
• As temperatures rise tundra ecosystems will be lost in
northern Canada, Russia, Alaska etc
• Boreal (conifer) forest ecosystems will move north
replacing tundra and temperate forest will creep north to
replace conifers.
• As tundra is lost the specialized species which inhabit it
will become extinct (names of animals?)

3. Economic and social impacts in Africa
• Already poorest continent (most countries LDCs) so can’t cope well.
29% of population hungry now. Many countries already indebted.
• Important cities often on the coast – Accra in Ghana, Lagos in
Nigeria – threatened by sea level rising
• 60% of population dependent on agriculture so very climate
dependent
• Nile Delta (v. important for agriculture) threatened by sea level rise
• Sahara desert spreading (desertification) affecting farming
• Mountains currently not affected by malaria mosquitoes (because
it’s too cold) will in future be in range
• More cyclones and droughts in South West Africa already causing
financial problems and destroying crops.
• Burkina Faso, LDC, Sahel (edge of Sahara), already marginal for
agriculture. 30% of GDP from agriculture (16% of exports) 90% of
population subsistence farmers. Most of water is used for
agriculture. Rainfall fluctuates a lot which makes it tough.
Desertification is causing crop loss and more poverty.
• Uganda, LDC, East Africa, 20% of export earnings from Coffee, with
a 2 degree rise in temperature the amount of land suitable for
growing coffee will shrink dramatically.

4. Disaster hotspot - Philippines
Country vulnerable because:
• History of political problems
• NIC but more than one third of people still in agriculture
• Economy has been hit by series of natural disasters.
• GDP per capita 2007 $3,300 (not high, many people in
poverty and living in poor quality housing/poor diet, etc)
Tectonic/geological hazards – plate boundaries (handy to
learn the map), Pinatubu, Mayon eruptions plus what
happened after the typhoon struck in 2006
Landslide hazard – Leyte island, 2006
Typhoon Fengshen 2008
All these hazards interact – earth tremors cause landslides,
volcanoes cause steep slopes and they are affected by
landslides and mudslides when typhoons/storms happen

5. California
• USA is the richest country in the world and California is a
very important state economically, with high population
density along the coast, so potential impacts severe
• San Andreas major conservative plate boundary with lots
of less well known ones, causing occasional serious
earthquakes (San Francisco 1906, Loma Prieta 1989,
Northridge 1994)
• No prediction of earthquakes and although they are quite
well prepared they can’t avoid damage to the economy
and all deaths (death toll held down by building
regulations)
• There are possible volcanic zones
• Forest fires during the summer drought (it has a
Meditteranean climate)
• El Nino (which only happens every few years) causes
heavy rain, flooding and landslides