Consequences of global climate change
Practice Flashcards
Define a temperature anomaly.
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All Flashcards in Topic 2.2
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2.2.111 cards
Define a temperature anomaly.
How much warmer or cooler a place is than its long-term average (e.g. +12C = 12C above normal).
Name four physical/environmental impacts of climate change.
**Sea-level rise, falling albedo (ice melt), shifting biomes, more extreme weather.**
Define albedo.
How much sunlight a surface reflects -- bright ice/snow = high albedo, dark ocean/land = low albedo.
Why does melting ice lower albedo?
Bright reflective ice is replaced by **dark** ocean/land that absorbs more heat -- a positive feedback.
Two reasons sea levels rise as the planet warms?
**Thermal expansion** (warm water expands) and **melting land ice** (glaciers + ice sheets add water).
What is thermal expansion?
Warming ocean water expands and takes up more space, raising sea level with no extra water added.
How does climate change shift biomes?
Temperature belts move **polewards/uphill**, so the climate a biome/species needs moves too.
How does warming change animal migration?
Animals migrate **earlier** (warmth arrives sooner) and shift their range **polewards** to track climate/food.
How is melting Arctic ice affecting shipping?
It opens new **shipping routes** (e.g. Northern Sea Route) for part of the year, but storms/ice can disrupt them.
Data: Identify vs Describe?
**Identify** = read a value/region straight off; **Describe** = state the trend/pattern AND quote figures.
What structure suits a [10] 'to what extent' climate essay?
**For / Against / Judgement**, each side anchored to a named example, ending on a justified stance.
2.2.210 cards
Define a health hazard.
Something in the environment that can cause illness, injury or death.
Name the direct heat-related health hazard of climate change.
**Heat stress** -- heatstroke, dehydration and heart strain, worst in heatwaves.
Why does warming spread vector-borne disease?
Warmth lets mosquitoes and other vectors survive in new, once-cooler areas, spreading malaria and dengue.
How does climate change affect water and food safety?
Heat speeds bacterial growth (dirtier water) and droughts cut harvests, raising disease and malnutrition.
Give two DISTINCT climate-change health hazards.
Heat illness, and the spread of infectious disease (also water/food insecurity, mental health).
Define a climate migrant.
A person forced to move because climate change makes their home unlivable.
Which groups suffer most from climate-health hazards?
The elderly, the very young, the sick and the poor.
Why is climate change rarely the single cause of migration?
It usually acts **alongside** poverty, jobs and conflict, not on its own.
How do you answer a 'to what extent' migration essay?
Weigh climate change FOR/AGAINST other drivers with named examples, then give a justified judgement.
Command term Outline vs Explain?
**Outline** = state the feature briefly; **Explain** = give the mechanism / chain of cause and effect.
2.2.312 cards
Define vulnerability to climate change.
How likely a group is to be harmed by a hazard, and how badly.
Define exposure.
Whether people are physically in the path of a hazard (e.g. living on a flood plain).
Define adaptive capacity.
The ability to prepare for, cope with and recover from impacts (money, defences, warnings).
Vulnerability = ? + ?
**Exposure** (in the hazard's path) + **low adaptive capacity** (little ability to cope).
Name three human factors that raise vulnerability.
Poverty, where people are forced to live, and weak governance (also reliance on farming, gender/age).
Why are richer people less exposed to harm?
Wealth buys **defences, insurance and safer locations**, so they cope and recover better.
Why is Bangladesh highly vulnerable to climate change?
A low, flat, poor delta with dense populations on flood plains and little protection or savings.
Why is the Netherlands less vulnerable despite being low-lying?
High income funds strong sea defences, pumps and early-warning - high adaptive capacity.
Why are women in low-income countries often more vulnerable?
They do much farming/water work, own fewer assets, and may be last to eat or evacuate.
What does 'uneven impacts' mean?
Climate harms fall **unequally** across places and social groups - the poorest are hit hardest.
How must a 'To what extent' answer end?
With a **clear, justified judgement**, not just a list of both sides.
Suggest = ? in the markscheme.
Give a plausible factor AND **develop** it (factor -> why it raises vulnerability).
Topic 2.2 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Consequences of global climate change
Geography exam skills
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