The Earth’s climate has changed continually since it was formed 4,600 million years ago. The rate of climate change has increased dramatically during the Twentieth Century. Rising global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather.

Natural causes
The Earth's climate varies naturally as a result of interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, changes in the Earth's orbit, changes in energy received from the sun and volcanic eruptions.

Human causes
The main human influence on global climate is likely to be emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). At present, about 6.5 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted globally each year, mostly through burning coal, oil and gas for energy. CO2 is present naturally but human activity is increasing concentrations in the atmosphere.

• Road transport causes 25 per cent of UK CO2 emissions.
• Air travel is one of the most significant and problematic sources of emissions and demand for air travel is projected to grow by 5 per cent per year for the next 15 years
• There are also large volumes of emissions produced by farming animals eg cattle.

In Northern Ireland:

• 9 of the 15 warmest years recorded since 1841 have occurred since 1990
• In 2005 nine days in December were hotter than in the preceding summer
• The average sea level is now about 10 cms higher than it was in 1900
• Over 40,000 properties are currently at risk of river flooding
• In 2006 Northern Ireland had its warmest July since records began.

Projections for future climate change indicate that:

• World temperatures could increase between 20° and 60°C by 2100;
• In Northern Ireland average annual temperatures could increase by up to 30°C by 2080;

• By 2080 estimates suggest that mean sea levels around Northern Ireland could rise by between 9cm and 69cm

• Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health concluded that climate change would mean that by 2050:
• cold-related winter deaths are likely to decline substantially - possibly by as much as 20,000 per year;
• heat-related summer deaths are likely to increase to around 2,800 per year;
• cases of food poisoning are likely to increase by about 10,000 cases per year;

• vector-borne and water-borne diseases may increase but their impact is likely to be small;
• indigenous malaria could re-establish by 2050;

• the risk of major disasters caused by gales and coastal flooding is likely to increase significantly;
• effects of air pollutants on health are likely to decline, but effects of summer ozone may increase.

© 2013 The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland and CCEA

Produced by CCEA | Multimedia

Acknowledgements