The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis

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Links between climate-induced physical changes and human impact
Climate change damages human habitat
areas of
human impact
Increased temperatures produce rises in sea level, melt glaciers, increase unpredictable weather
events and change rainfall patterns. They also bring more frequent, more intense weather-related
disasters. Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20 th century is
very likely linked to the rise in green house gas emission—emissions generated by human activities. 65
These physical changes manifest themselves through gradual environmental degradation such as
desertification and weather-related disasters such as floods. 65 In the future, potential large scale
tipping-point events such as the rapid melting of the Arctic and Greenland ice sheets, a retreat of
the Amazon and the Boreal forests or a shutdown of the Gulf Stream would each have a potentially
enormous impact on global climate patterns. However, as these events are unlikely to occur within
the next 20 years, their potential influence is not included in this report.
Through a complex set of effects, climate change impacts human health, livelihoods, safety, and society
This report seeks to identify the most reliable evidence measuring the human impact of events that
can be attributed directly to climate change. Climate change impacts on people in the following ways:
• Food security: More poor people, especially children, suffer from hunger due to reduced
agricultural yield, livestock and fish supply as a result of environmental degradation.
• Health: Health threats like diarrhoea, malaria, asthma and stroke affect more people when
temperatures rise.
• Poverty: Livelihoods are destroyed when income from agriculture, livestock, tourism and fishing
is lost due to weather-related disasters and desertification.
• Water: Increased water scarcity results from a decline in the overall supply of clean water and
more frequent and severe floods and droughts.
• Displacement: More climate-displaced people are expected due to sea level rise, desertification
and floods.
• Security: More people live under the continuous threat of potential conflict and institutional
break down due to migration, weather-related disaster and water scarcity.