heat waves in Europe
The past decade has seen chaotic weather across Europe. A heat wave in 2003 contributed to the death of an estimated 35,000 people across the continent, prompting experts to call it one of the deadliest climate-related disasters in Western history. Financially the damage was estimated at more than 13 billion euros. Harvests were badly hit and in France six power stations had to close because of low water levels in the rivers used for cooling systems.
And it appears 2003 was not an exception: temperatures again hit record highs of 46°C in south-east Europe in 2007, contributing to the deaths of more than 500 people in Hungary. According to climate experts, summers like 2003 are likely to become more and more common.
CURRANT CONCERN:
Fruits such as apple, strawberry, and blackcurrant need a sustained cold period to flower and fruit normally. But winters are becoming progressively milder – worrying times for the UK’s £230 million-a-year fruit industry.
English wine – treading new ground
Total area of vineyards in production in the UK
Source: Indicators of Climate Change in the UK (ICCUK)
The expansion of English and Welsh vineyards, although not attributable to climate change alone, shows the impact of warmer summers, market forces and wine-makers’ expectations of global warming within our lifetime.
have potatoes had their chips?
Walter Simon has been growing potatoes in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for more than 20 years. Farming has altered in that time, he says, as a result of changes in the weather. Planting happens earlier, and the harvest comes earlier too. Walter concedes that milder winters have made life on the farm easier in some ways – outside pipes no longer need lagging and the sheds where he lays out the potatoes for seed no longer have to be proofed against draughts. Now his main worry is making sure the sheds get enough ventilation to keep them cool.
Walter grows early potatoes and relies on irrigation to water his crop, but he worries about growing seasons extending elsewhere in the country. An earlier harvest in the east of England, for example, could push him out of the market. In 20 years’ time, he says, they probably won’t be growing potatoes in Pembrokeshire. ‘We’ll be growing apricots or something,’ he suggests. ‘But it is the speed of the change that concerns people. It’s not been as gradual an evolution as things may have been in the past.’
down under gets a roasting
In the space of just five years, 2002-2006, Australia suffered three of its worst droughts on record. ‘A frightening glimpse of the future with global warming’ was how South Australia’s Premier, Mike Rann, described the 2006 drought.
In South West Australia annual total rainfall has declined by some 15-20 per cent in the past 30 years. As elsewhere an early casualty is farming. Harvests have been failing completely or drastically reduced. Rice production has plunged by more than 90 per cent during the past decade. Irrigated crops such as citrus and vines are particularly vulnerable as water levels decline (grape production fell by nearly a third in 2007).
The high temperatures are having some more bizarre consequences. Players at the Australian Open tennis tournament in 2007 had to abandon the outside courts during the day because it was too hot. They restarted in the evening and went on into the night – one match ended at 3 am.
BREAK POINT:
Global warming affects our world from top to bottom, including sporting events such as the Australian Open, where 40 °C+ daytime temperatures forced night time play in 2006.
farming in a drier world
Farmer Alan Brown has survived ten years of below-average rainfall in New South Wales, Australia. In 2006 he had his worst year to date when, for the second time, his harvest completely failed.
An established farmer with 900 hectares of land and a mixture of sheep, cattle and winter crops, Alan says, ‘Everything I have revolves around the value of my land – and if my land is not producing, it isn’t worth anything.’ With less and less grazing available, Alan has taken to hand-feeding the animals for up to eight months of the year (he would normally do this for only three).
Winter rains are crucial in New South Wales. Moisture does not remain in the soil for long, and when winter rains fail, the outlook is dire, particularly for farmers who depend on irrigation. The financial effects are being felt in the wider community. Villages that once supported several shops and services are down to just one general store. Parents are finding it cheaper to move their children to cities for schooling – thus splitting the family. Alan worries that Australia is witnessing a prolonged drying, symptomatic of climate change. ‘If we are going to survive in a drier environment, we need plants that can survive with less water. It’s not something that we have bred for in the past.’
drying up in the Amazon
Covering an area of more than 2 million square miles, and home to a third of all animal species, the Amazon rainforest has been described as the Earth’s lungs. It absorbs vast quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, releasing oxygen and playing a crucial role in keeping our climate on an even keel.
But as our planet warms, this great natural resource is at risk from long periods of dry weather. In 2005 water in the Amazon River was so low that sections were impassable by boat. The Brazilian army was called in to distribute water and food, and big ships were left stranded. In one state alone, fire laid waste to 100,000 hectares of forest – an area two-thirds the size of Greater London. Scientists estimate that burning in the Amazon adds some 370 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year.
did you know?
Some scientists say climate change is affecting the frequency of El Niño – the occasional reversal of the weather over the Pacific region. This phenomenon has a huge influence on weather systems around the world. During El Niño flooding becomes more likely on the Pacific coast of the Americas and cold water fish supplies disappear.
the spreading desert
Dust storms are common in China when the wind blows. In northern China once-fertile land is being destroyed as the heat and lack of water kill vegetation. The dry soil quickly turns to dust. Dust and dried-up soil are whipped up from dry areas in the north of the country and move in clouds that can travel enormous distances – some have reached as far as Vladivostok in Russia.
GREEN WALL OF CHINA:
Specially planted shrubs will form part of a 700 km live barrier, intended to hold back inner Mongolia’s desertification and prevent dust storms disrupting the 2008 Olympics in nearby Beijing.
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