In many countries, like here in Kenya, people have been forced to abandon their homes in order to survive. Climate change is exacerbating already existing water shortages, leading to drought and famine. Scientists believe that situations like these will become even more common in the future.
Climate change can also have the oppositie effect: too much water - resulting in severe flooding. Extreme weather events, like here in Haiti, are expected to become more frequent in coming decades. The World Bank has urgently warned of the drastic consequences from global warming. Climate experts predict a median temperature increase of 4 degrees Celsius.
Sea levels are risng 60 percent faster than expected, researchers warn. Small island nations are at risk of disappearing into the sea. At the climater summit, the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) has called for a faster reduction of emissions by larger countries.
As a result of rising sea levels, more salt water seeps into the ground on land, exposing vegetation to higher salinity, as on this island in Micronesia. The negative impact on plant life also presents agriculture in coastal regions with considerable problems and can make fresh water wells unpotable.
The Amazon rain forest in Brazil protects the climate by absorbing CO². But since the weather is growing hotter and drier in the region, the forest is under threat from global warming. In a worst-case scenario, the jungle could even be tranformed from a carbon dioxide absorber to a carbon dioxide emitter.
In the summer of 2012 parts of the United States suffered a severe drought. This farmer in Arkansas did not have enough water. The result: His corn cobs were much smaller than usual. To feed a growing world population, however, agriculture will have to adapt to the changing climatic conditions.
Some 85 percent of Greenland is covered with ice. Due to global warming, the ice shield is melting rapidly - and the sea level is rising. What's more, when the Arctic ice cap melts, the darker liquified water will absorb more heat, which otherwise would have been reflected back into space, increasing the warming effects.
The ice of the Antarctic is more stable than Greenland's ice shield. The most recent measurements, however, indicate that the Antarctic has been losing ice over the last 20 years - the period during which exact satellite measurements have been conducted.
The permafrost regions of the Arctic are also melting, releasing greenhouse gases, such as CO² and methane. Scientists fear that, over the long-term, this could lead to a so-called feedback effect in which the melting permafrost causes a further warming of the climate. Researchers, like here in Greenland, spend a lot of time monitoring emissions.
As oceans absorb more and more CO², this leads to acidification, lowering the pH of the water. This has an impact on sea life, such as mussels, sea snails, or crustaceans: Their shells become lighter and thinner. In waters off the island of Spitsbergen in the North Atlantic scientists are studying the effects on ocean life.
Coral reefs are also affected by more acidic water, like here on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. High levels of acidity degrade the reefs. For many people, reefs full of fish are an extremely important food source. Many smaller countries depend on coral reef tourism.
In the mountainous Himalayan country of Bhutan, monsoon rains are beginning later than they used to and are not as substantial. This, according to the United Nations, has reduced the amount of water available for growing rice.
Heat waves, drought, melting glaciers, mercurial weather patterns are factors attributed to climate change. And they are noticeable everywhere. But what comes next?
Heat waves, drought, melting glaciers, mercurial weather patterns are factors attributed to climate change. And they are noticeable everywhere. But what comes next?
