Climate Change Impact World Map Unveiled

climate change impact map image
Image via the BBC

To the uninitiated, climate change can seem like a vague, apocalyptic problem that's either too far away to bother with, or too chaotic and confusing to attempt to understand. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, more droughts, more rainfall, more storms, and so on. And yes, global warming will cause each of these--but it might be useful for people to know what it's going to do to them. Enter the world climate impact map.

Designed by the UK government, the map (as you can see) displays which parts of the world are going to be afflicted by which climate change-induced perils at a 4 degree Celsius temperature rise.

As you can see, crop yields will fall in North America, sea levels will rise especially high around Bangladesh and India, ice sheets would decline in Greenland, and most of South America will face a water crisis.

The BBC reports on the map's unveiling:

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, agricultural yields would be expected to decrease for all major cereal crops in all major regions of production. In addition, half of all Himalayan glaciers will be significantly reduced by 2050, leading to 23% of the population of China being deprived of the vital dry season glacial meltwater.

I truly think we need more references like this--tools the public can use to see the tangible effects of climate change. These may be more effective at inspiring change than across-the-board climate change doomsday scenarios (real though they may be). Or scary TV commercials.

More on World Climate Change Impacts
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SuperFreakonomics Screws Up Climate Change