CLIMATE

CHANGE AND Karim M. Morsy,

Ph.D., P.E.

SUSTAINABILITY
Lecture outline
1. What are the impacts of climate change?

2. How climate change affects water

3. How climate change affects agriculture

4. How does climate change lead to sea level rise, and how will this will impact coastal
cities?

5. How climate change affects health

1.What are the impacts of climate
change?
What are the impacts of climate
change?
• The impacts of climate change will disrupt the natural, economic and social
systems we depend on. This disruption will impact global food security,
damage infrastructure and jobs, and harm human health. These impacts
are unevenly distributed around the world, with some countries facing far
greater risks than others. However, all countries, communities and companies
will feel the effects of climate change.

• This lecture explores the impacts that climate change will have on natural and
human systems across the world. It looks at the way climate change could
affect the global economy, and it explains why some of the biggest risks
for our society are the most difficult to understand.
2. How climate change affects water
How climate change affects water?
• Climate change is primarily a water crisis. We feel its
impacts through worsening floods, rising sea levels,
shrinking ice fields, wildfires and droughts.

• Water and climate change are inextricably linked.

Extreme weather events are making water more
scarce, more unpredictable, more polluted or all
three.
• These impacts throughout the water cycle threaten
sustainable development, biodiversity, and people’s
access to water and sanitation.
• Flooding and rising sea levels can contaminate land and
water resources with saltwater or faecal matter, and
cause damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, such
as waterpoints, wells, toilets and wastewater treatment
facilities.
How climate change affects water?
• Droughts and wildfires are destabilizing
communities and triggering civil unrest and migration
in many areas. Destruction of vegetation and tree cover
aggrevates soil erosion and reduces groundwater
recharge, increasing water scarcity and food insecurity.

• Growing demand for water increases the need for

energy-intensive water pumping, transportation, and
treatment, and has contributed to the degradation of
critical water-dependent carbon sinks such as
peatlands. Water-intensive agriculture for food
production, particularly meat, and for growing crops
used as biofuels, can further aggrevate water scarcity.
How climate change affects water?
Climate change impacts the world’s water in complex ways. Consider a water
cycle diagram, like the one below; global warming is altering nearly every stage in
the diagram. These changes will put pressure on drinking water supplies, food
production, property values, and more, in all around the world.
How climate change affects water?
• Evaporation
Warmer air can hold more moisture than cool air. As a result, in a warmer world, the air
will suck up more water from oceans, lakes, soil and plants. The drier conditions this air
leaves behind could negatively affect drinking water supplies and agriculture.
• Precipitation
When all that extra warm, extra wet air cools down, it drops extra rain or snow to the
ground. Thus, a warmer world means we get hit with heavier rain and snowstorms.
• Surface Runoff and Stream Flow
The heavier bursts of precipitation caused by warmer, wetter air can lead to flooding,
which can of course endanger human lives, damage homes, kill crops, and hurt the
economy.
Heavier rainstorms will also increase surface runoff — the water that flows over the
ground after a storm. This moving water may strip nutrients from the soil and pick up
pollutants, dirt, and other undesirables, flushing them into nearby bodies of water. Those
contaminants may muck up our water supplies and make it more expensive to clean
the water to drinking standards.
How climate change affects water?
• Surface Runoff and Stream Flow (cont’d)
In addition, as runoff dumps sediments and other
contaminants into lakes and streams, it could
harm fish and other wildlife. Fertilizer runoff can
cause algae blooms that ultimately end up
suffocating aquatic critters and causing a stinky
mess.
The problem is compounded by warming
water, which can’t hold as much of the
dissolved oxygen that fish need to survive.
These conditions could harm fisheries, and make
conditions unpleasant for folks who like to use
lakes and streams for fishing, swimming, and
other recreational activities.
How climate change affects water?
Oceans

• Warmer temperatures and increasing acidity are

making life difficult for sea creatures. These
changes are transforming food chains from the
bottom-up.
• In addition, many fish are moving poleward in
search of cooler waters, which has implications for
the fishing industry and people who like to eat fish.
• And of course, as ice sheets and mountaintop
glaciers melt, they’re dumping extra water into the
oceans; the resulting sea level rise jeopardizes
coastal properties around the world.
How climate change affects water?
• Snowpack
Ordinarily, as winter snowpack melts in the
springtime, it slowly adds fresh water to rivers and
streams and helps to replenish drinking water
supplies.
However, as the air warms, many areas are receiving
more of their precipitation as rain rather than snow.
This means less water is being stored for later as
snowpack. In addition, the rain actually accelerates
the melting of snow that’s already on the ground.
The lack of snowpack can lead to drier conditions
later in the year, which can be bad news for regions
that rely on snowmelt to refill their drinking water
supplies.
How climate change affects water?
• Changes in Water Demand

In addition to changing the water cycle, climate change could change how we use
water and how much we need. Higher temperatures and evaporation rates
could increase the demand for water in many areas.
Adapting to the water effects of climate
change
• Climate change is happening now. We must act, and water
is part of the solution. Water can fight climate change.

• Sustainable water management is central to building

the resilience of societies and ecosystems and to
reducing carbon emissions. Everyone has a role to play
– actions at the individual and household levels are vital.

• Adapting to the water effects of climate change will protect

children’s health and save their lives. Using water more
efficiently and transitioning to solar powered water systems
will reduce greenhouse gases and further protect children’s
futures.
• The world needs to get water smart. Everyone has a role to
play, and we cannot afford to wait.
Sustainable, affordable and scalable
water solutions include:
• Improving carbon storage. Peatlands store at least twice as much carbon as
all of Earth’s forests. Mangrove soils can sequester up to three or four times
more carbon than terrestrial soils. Protecting and expanding these types of
environments can have a major impact on climate change.
• Protecting natural buffers. Coastal mangroves and wetlands are effective and
inexpensive natural barriers to flooding, extreme weather events and erosion, as
the vegetation helps regulate water flow and binds the soil in flood plains, river
banks and coastlines.
• Harvesting rainwater. Rainwater capture is particularly useful in regions with
uneven rainfall distribution to build resilience to shocks and ensure supplies for
dry periods. Techniques include rooftop capture for small-scale use and
surface dams to slow run-off to reduce soil erosion and increase aquifer
recharge.
Sustainable, affordable and scalable
water solutions include:
• Adopting climate-smart agriculture. Using conservation techniques to improve
organic matter to increase soil moisture retention; drip irrigation; reducing post-
harvest losses and food waste; and, transforming waste into a source of
nutrients or biofuels/biogas.
• Reusing wastewater. Unconventional water resources, such as regulated
treated wastewater, can be used for irrigation and industrial and municipal
purposes. Safely managed wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source
of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials.
• Harnessing groundwater. In many places, groundwater is over-used and
polluted; in other places, it is an unknown quantity. Exploring, protecting and
sustainably using groundwater is central to adapting to climate change and
meeting the needs of a growing population.
3. How climate change affects
agriculture
How climate change affects agriculture
• Agriculture and fisheries are highly dependent on the climate.
• Increases in temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) can
increase some crop yields in some places. But to realize these
benefits, nutrient levels, soil moisture, water availability, and
other conditions must also be met. Changes in the frequency
and severity of droughts and floods could pose challenges
for farmers and ranchers and threaten food safety.
• Meanwhile, warmer water temperatures are likely to cause the
habitat ranges of many fish and shellfish species to shift,
which could disrupt ecosystems.
• Overall, climate change could make it more difficult to grow
crops, raise animals, and catch fish in the same ways and
same places as we have done in the past. The effects of
climate change also need to be considered along with other
evolving factors that affect agricultural production, such as
changes in farming practices and technology.
How climate change affects food security
• Climate change is very likely to affect food security at the
global, regional, and local level. Climate change can disrupt
food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food
quality.
• For example, projected increases in temperatures,
changes in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme
weather events, and reductions in water availability may
all result in reduced agricultural productivity. Increases in the
frequency and severity extreme weather events can also
interrupt food delivery, and resulting spikes in food prices
after extreme events are expected to be more frequent in
the future. Increasing temperatures can contribute to
spoilage and contamination.
• In developing countries, adaptation options like changes in
crop-management or ranching practices, or improvements to
irrigation are more limited.
Impacts on Crops
• Changes in temperature, atmospheric carbon
dioxide (CO2), and the frequency and intensity
of extreme weather could have significant
impacts on crop yields.
• For any particular crop, the effect of increased
temperature will depend on the crop's optimal
temperature for growth and reproduction.
• In some areas, warming may benefit the types
of crops that are typically planted there, or allow
farmers to shift to crops that are currently grown
in warmer areas.
• Conversely, if the higher temperature exceeds a
crop's optimum temperature, yields will
decline.
Impacts on Crops
• Higher CO2 levels can affect crop yields. Some laboratory
experiments suggest that elevated CO2 levels can
increase plant growth. However, other factors, such as
changing temperatures, ozone, and water and
nutrient constraints, may counteract these potential
increases in yield.
• For example, if temperature exceeds a crop's optimal
level, if sufficient water and nutrients are not available,
yield increases may be reduced or reversed.
• Elevated CO2 has been associated with reduced
protein and nitrogen content in alfalfa and soybean
plants, resulting in a loss of quality. Reduced grain
and forage quality can reduce the ability of pasture and
rangeland to support grazing livestock.
• More extreme temperature and precipitation can prevent
crops from growing. Extreme events, especially floods
and droughts, can harm crops and reduce yields.
Impacts on Crops
• Dealing with drought could become a challenge in areas where rising
summer temperatures cause soils to become drier. Although increased
irrigation might be possible in some places, in other places water supplies may
also be reduced, leaving less water available for irrigation when more is
needed.
• Many weeds, pests, and fungi thrive under warmer temperatures, wetter
climates, and increased CO2 levels.
• Though rising CO2 can stimulate plant growth, it also reduces the
nutritional value of most food crops. Rising levels of atmospheric carbon
dioxide reduce the concentrations of protein and essential minerals in
most plant species, including wheat, soybeans, and rice. This direct effect
of rising CO2 on the nutritional value of crops represents a potential threat to
human health. Human health is also threatened by increased pesticide use due
to increased pest pressures and reductions in the efficacy of pesticides.
Impacts on Livestock
Changes in climate could affect animals both directly and
indirectly.
• Heat waves, which are projected to increase under
climate change, could directly threaten livestock. In
2011, exposure to high temperature events caused
over $1 billion in heat-related losses to agricultural
producers.
• Heat stress affects animals both directly and indirectly.
Over time, heat stress can increase vulnerability to
disease, reduce fertility, and reduce milk production.
• Drought may threaten pasture and feed supplies. Drought reduces the amount of
quality forage (‫ )ﻋﻠف‬available to grazing livestock. Some areas could experience
longer, more intense droughts, resulting from higher summer temperatures
and reduced precipitation. For animals that rely on grain, changes in crop
production due to drought could also become a problem.
Impacts on Livestock
• Climate change may increase the
prevalence of parasites and diseases
that affect livestock. The earlier onset of
spring and warmer winters could allow
some parasites and pathogens to survive
more easily.

• Increases in carbon dioxide (CO2) may increase the productivity of

pastures, but may also decrease their quality. Increases in atmospheric
CO2 can increase the productivity of plants on which livestock feed.
However, the quality of some of the forage found in pasturelands
decreases with higher CO2. As a result, cattle would need to eat more
to get the same nutritional benefits.
Impacts on Fisheries
• Many aquatic species can find colder areas of streams
and lakes or move north along the coast or in the
ocean. Nevertheless, moving into new areas may put
these species into competition with other species
over food and other resources.
• Some marine disease outbreaks have been linked
with changing climate. Higher water temperatures
and higher estuarine salinities have enabled an oyster
parasite to spread farther north along the Atlantic
coast. Winter warming in the Arctic is contributing to
salmon diseases in the Bering Sea and a resulting
reduction in the Yukon Chinook Salmon.
• Finally, warmer temperatures have caused disease
outbreaks in coral “bleaching”.
Impacts on Fisheries
• Changes in temperature and seasons can affect the
timing of reproduction and migration. Many steps
within an aquatic animal's lifecycle are controlled by
temperature and the changing of the seasons. For
example, in the Northwest warmer water
temperatures may affect the lifecycle of salmon and
increase the likelihood of disease. Combined with
other climate impacts, these effects are projected to
lead to large declines in salmon populations.
• In addition to warming, the world's oceans are gradually becoming more acidic due
to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Increasing acidity could harm
shellfish by weakening their shells, which are created by removing calcium
from seawater. Acidification also threatens the structures of sensitive
ecosystems upon which some fish and shellfish rely.
4. How does climate change lead to sea
level rise, and how will this will impact
coastal cities?
How does climate change lead to sea level
rise, and how will this will impact coastal
cities
• As the world warms, ice sheets and glaciers on land melt and flow into the
ocean. The ocean itself also warms and expands, as it absorbs significant
amounts of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gas effect. These changes
cause the sea level to rise.
• Sea level rise continues to speed up as human-
induced global warming increases. Sea levels were
rising at a rate of around 8cm per 100 years in the
late nineteenth century, 21cm per 100 years in the
mid-twentieth century, and now up to around 32cm
per 100 years.
• Future sea level rise depends on how quickly we
reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Different emissions scenarios
• In a scenario where emissions are reduced rapidly and the rise in global
temperatures stay below 2°C, sea level rise will still reach 29–59 cm in the
next hundred years with respect to 1986-2005 levels. This is because the
effect of CO2 already in the atmosphere has a time lag; it heats the atmosphere
slowly.
• If emissions continue as they are, and ice-sheets respond to this in an expected
manner, sea levels could rise by up by 1 m by 2100 compared to 1986-2005
levels. This would bring serious risks for coastal regions around the world,
including low-lying islands and major cities like Shanghai, Alexandria and
Miami. More than half of the world’s largest cities lie along the coast, and just
over 1 billion people live in coastal areas within 10 meters of sea level.
• Adaptation measures can help protect these areas against serious risks of
flooding if they go beyond maintaining today’s standards of protection and
prepare for rising sea levels.
Sea level rise implications
• The largest threat of future sea level rise
comes from the possibility that the
massive ice sheets in the Antarctic and
Greenland could melt. In particular, the
West Antarctic ice sheet is thought to
be vulnerable to collapse.
• It rests on a bed more than 2 km below
sea level and contains enough ice to
raise global sea levels by around 3.5 m.
• In total, there is enough ice on the planet to raise sea levels by 70 m. It is
difficult to predict at what level of warming this kind of dangerous change could
occur, however the risk grows as global temperatures increase.
5. How climate change affects health
Impacts on health
• Climate change is already impacting health
in many ways, leading to death and illness
from increasingly frequent extreme
weather events, such as heatwaves,
storms and floods, the disruption of food
systems, increases in zoonoses and
food-, water- and vector-borne diseases,
and mental health issues.
• These climate-sensitive health risks are
disproportionately felt by the most
vulnerable and disadvantaged, including
women, children, poor communities,
migrants or displaced persons, older
populations, and those with underlying
health conditions.
How does climate change affect physical
and mental health?
1. Physical health
• The toll of extreme climate events on our physical health has been well
documented. Worldwide, more than 5 million deaths each year are linked to
abnormally hot and cold temperatures.
• Air pollution produced by wildfires is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular
illness. In 2019 alone, fine particulate matter in the atmosphere resulted in at
least 1.8 million deaths globally. Extremely hot weather and heat waves can lead
to heat stroke and exhaustion and worsen chronic health conditions. As
temperatures rise, research shows that approximately 5,600 heat-related
deaths occurred each year from 1997–2006.
• Floods, the most common natural disaster, cause injuries and drownings and
spread waterborne disease. In 2016, floods — excluding the landslides often
caused by them — affected more than 74 million people globally.
How does climate change affect physical
and mental health?
2. Mental health
• Each year since 2008, an average of more than 20 million people worldwide
are forced to move because of weather-related events. The impacts on mental health
caused by such trauma and loss are harder to quantify than the effects on physical
health. But they are no less acute.
• Flooding and prolonged droughts, for example, have been associated with elevated
levels of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Extreme heat can
fuel mood and anxiety disorders and lead to suicide, interpersonal violence, and
aggression. Alterations to the natural environment can cause grief, emotional pain,
and disorientation; they can also lead to poor work performance, lower self-esteem,
and harm interpersonal relationships.
• Geographic displacement, which could be brought about by climate change, can
produce distress, anxiety, and depression — and can even weaken social cohesion.
Thank You!