Severe droughts and heat waves are becoming worse in some areas, and scientists believe that this is caused by global warming. Climate change decreases crops such as spinach and broccoli, causing many crops to fail every year. In some places, there are droughts or forest fires and insect/disease outbreaks.
When crops are bad, people who work in that industry become poor. Huge storms, like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, cause enormous damage, and this damage has economic consequences, also. Shops or restaurants had to shut down because of Katrina, and lost money they might have earned.
Spinach is becoming wilted because of Global Warming
The financial consequence of storms is indicated by the amount of money that insurance companies pay to people and companies that have insured their land against weather damage.
As atmospheric temperatures have risen, the probability of severe heat waves has increased. Many more people are now getting heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Heat stroke killed 465 people in Chicago in 1995, and in 2003, 35,000 people in Europe died.
The ranges of animals that give diseases might grow bigger as the world gets warmer. Lyme disease, for example, is now taking over southern Canada. If northern Canada gets warmer, the ticks will be able to survive there, and move into northern Canada. And so on.
Additionally, as the oceans become warmer and ice keeps melting, the sea level will continue to grow. Many people are concerned by what will happen to their coastal areas and houses if this continues. 53% of people in the USA live in coastal areas. Many people will have to find new homes.
Glaciers melting. Do we really want this to happen?
Rising sea levels increase the possibility that salt water from the ocean will intrude into freshwater and contaminate it. The disappearance of glaciers also threatens water supplies. when glaciers release meltwater slowly, year after year, the meltwater feeds rivers and reservoirs. If glaciers disappear, our water source will crash.