The effects of climate change, in pictures

21 november 2016,

From coral bleaching and drought to melting ice and coastal erosion. Here’s a photo gallery that shows the undeniable, appalling effects of global warming.

Climate Change Conference

The effects of climate change, in pictures

Esemplare di orso polare (Ursus maritimus) osserva sconsolato lo scioglimento del pack (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The effects of climate change - melting ice

Arctic ice is alarmingly and steadily shrinking. Sea ice surface during autumn months has dropped by 27.3 per cent between 1979 and 2010 © Mario Tama/Getty Images

The effects of climate change - pollution

China’s dependence on coal has led the country to produce nearly one third of the world’s CO2 emissions, significantly contributing to climate change © Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The most polluting industry, which contributes the most to climate change, is animal farming. It generates more greenhouse gases than the entire transport industry. According to FAO, cattle contribute to nearly two thirds of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and to 78 per cent of methane emissions © Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

Climate change fragments Arctic ice, where bears use to hunt. Thus, these animals are forced to endure longer periods without food. Exhausted by hunger and strain, many of them don’t survive © Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

A girl of Kenya's Turkana tribe digs in a riverbed to find water. More than 23 million of people in eastern Africa face the lack of food and water, exacerbated by climate change © Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

In Kenya, the traditional nomadic and livestock-dependent lifestyles are threatened by more frequent draughts © Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A thick fog due to pollution blankets the centre of Hong Kong. The levels of CO2, methane, and nitric oxide in the atmosphere have reached unprecedented levels © Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images

In Russia, rising temperatures cause ice to melt and force polar bears to roam larger distance in look for food, getting close to human settlements and entering into conflict with dogs © Vladimir Melnik

The effects of climate change - flooding

A flooded village in Pakistan, Punjab province. In the northern areas of the country glaciers are melting, while the population is steadily increasing. Thus, flooding cause millions of climate refugees every year © Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

Penguins are threatened as climate change is putting at risk their habitat’s survival, Antarctica, which is literally melting © Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images

A weak, dehydrated sheep in Australia, one of the countries that are most vulnerable to draught © Neil Sands/AFP/Getty Images

The effects of climate change - extreme weather events

Every year, Bangladesh is affected by monsoons, which flood houses, agricultural fields and cattle. Climate change is likely to worsen the intensity and duration of flooding © Shaikh Mohir Uddin/ Getty Images

The effects of climate change - coastal erosion

Erosion due to rising sea levels wipes out some 6 metres of coasts in Alaska every year, damaging coastal communities © Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

The chronic lack of water in Africa’s savannah, exacerbated by climate change, is threatening the very survival of wildlife © JTB/UIG via Getty Images

Swiss glacier Aletsch, which is the Alps’ largest, is rapidly shrinking due to rising temperatures. European glaciers have been shrinking since 1870 and this phenomenon is now happening at an alarming rate © Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The effects of climate change - Coral bleaching

The main threat to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, is posed by climate change. 35 per cent of corals making up the reef has died due to coral bleaching caused by rising water temperature © Reinhard Dirscherl/Getty Images

Limiting the global temperature rise

The effects of climate change are clear and undeniable and threaten the survival of millions of people worldwide. The 22nd United Nations climate change conference (COP22) just ended in Marrakech, Morocco, with the aim to put into action the Paris Agreement, reached in occasion of COP21 and entered into force on the 4th of November. Countries have pledge to take action to keep the global temperature rise “well below 2°C”.

Translated by Camilla Soldati

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