Not exact matches
«According to climate predictions, annual precipitation is likely to decrease in the Southwest but
increase in the eastern United States during the 21st century, therefore, the
observed diverse trends of
surface water body
areas since 1984 could continue to occur in the future,» said Xiao.
That's the case in Antarctica, which is geographically very different to the Arctic, where an
increase in
surface sea ice
area, but not total volume, is currently being
observed due to
increased precipitation and
increased surface water run off.
The
observed effects of cryosphere reduction include modification of river regimes due to enhanced glacial melt, snowmelt advance and enhanced winter base flow; formation of thermokarst terrain and disappearance of
surface lakes in thawing permafrost; decrease in potential travel days of vehicles over frozen roads in the Arctic; enhanced potential for glacier hazards and slope instability due to mechanical weakening driven by ice and permafrost melting; regional ocean freshening; sea - level rise due to glacier and ice sheet shrinkage; biotic colonisation and faunal changes in deglaciated terrain; changes in freshwater and marine ecosystems affected by lake - ice and sea - ice reduction; changes in livelihoods; reduced tourism activities related to skiing, ice climbing and scenic activities in cryospheric
areas affected by degradation; and
increased ease of ship transportation in the Arctic.
The IPCC has already concluded that it is «virtually certain that human influence has warmed the global climate system» and that it is «extremely likely that more than half of the
observed increase in global average
surface temperature from 1951 to 2010» is anthropogenic.1 Its new report outlines the future threats of further global warming:
increased scarcity of food and fresh water; extreme weather events; rise in sea level; loss of biodiversity;
areas becoming uninhabitable; and mass human migration, conflict and violence.