The climate is warming faster than at any time during the past 10,000 years and much of the warming can be attributed to the activities of humans, which have enhanced the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms Earth’s atmosphere. Without it much of the Earth would be covered in ice!. Heat from the sun penetrates the atmosphere and arrives at the Earth’s surface. Some of this heat is absorbed, causing the land temperature to increase, which in turn leads to the radiation of heat back towards space.. This heat can become trapped in the atmosphere before it escapes into space by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. This causes a warming of the atmosphere.

It is widely accepted that the burning of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution, deforestation, and intensive livestock farming have increased the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Today, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is 30% higher than it was 200 years ago and by 2050 could be 100% higher. This has caused an average rise in temperature of 0.6°C over the past century. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1995.

In Torbay, the average annual temperature will be up to 4°C higher by 2080 than it was in 1990. This will lead to a 50% reduction in summer rainfall and a 20% increase in winter rainfall as well as an increase in sea level of up to 90 centimetres. Changes to our climate on this scale will have wide ranging impacts upon agricultural practices, water resources, coastal defences, transport, public health, wildlife, landscape, and the make-up of Torbay’s economy.

If we take immediate effective action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the impending impacts of climate change upon society and the natural environment can be reduced.

Present Effects of Global Warming

• Ice caps are retreating from many mountain peaks like Kilimanjaro
• Global mean sea level rose by 1-2mm a year during the 20th century
• Summer and autumn Arctic sea ice has thinned by 40% in recent decades
• Global snow cover has decreased by 10% since the 1960s
• El Niño events have become more frequent and intense during the last 20-30 years
• Weather-related economic losses to communities and businesses have increased ten-fold over the last 40 years
• Deserts are spreading up into southern Europe
• Barn owls, robins and hornets are arriving in the Arctic for the first time

Follow the links to the left of this page to find out what your council is doing to tackle climate change and how you can help.

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