U.K Affects

• Many animals and plants may not be able to cope with the rising temperature and may move north as it will be cooler there than in the south. There might not be room for all of them so some might not survive. Global warming would damage wildlife ecosystems as they are being forced to migrate away from their homes.  

• Due to the rising sea level the Thames barrier could collapse due to a direct implication of the sea level continuing to rise. Furthermore if the sea level continues on rising then the surrounding environment such as the houses of parliament could submerge and businesses around could be left in ruins, causing insurance companies to fork out a lot of money into paying for the damage. Therefore, insurance companies would be affected heavily as they will be having to pay for that damage.

World Affects

No one knows for sure what will happen in the future. But scientists can look at what has happened in the past. However some of these predictable changes may happen around the world over the next 100 years if we do nothing to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, being made

• The average temperature around the world may go up by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C over the next 100 years. This may not sound like very much but the average temperature during the last ice age, when mammoths lived on the Earth, was only 5°C less than it is today!
• The level of the sea could rise by 10 cm - 90 cm (almost 1 metre). This would mean that as many as 90 million people around the world could have their homes flooded every year. This is a lot if you think that about 60 million people live in the UK.
• There may be fewer rainforests, so fewer trees to use up the carbon dioxide. Rainforests may start to die and give out more carbon dioxide, making it even warmer.

• In many countries the amount of rainfall may change so about 3 billion people could have more problems getting the water they need for drinking, cooking, washing and for watering their crops.
• Many people in places like Asia and Africa may not be able to grow the crops they need to survive so there could be more famines.
• Diseases, like malaria, that prefer hot temperatures may spread to more places in the world as the temperature goes up.

In spite of its remoteness, the Arctic is at the forefront of climate change. As the planet continues to warm up under an increasingly dense blanket of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the far northern reaches are threatened as never before.

Many of the world's most distinctive mammals are found in the Arctic - not only the reindeer but also polar bears, walruses, Arctic foxes, collared lemmings, narwhals and bowhead whales. All have unique characteristics that adapt them to the Arctic's extreme climate.

Arctic animals and plants depend intimately on one another. For example, both polar bears and seals rear their young in snow caves - but global warming can cause the caves to collapse, exposing the young seals to bitter cold. As they are also the polar bear's main source of food, any decrease in seal prey affects its food source.

Polar bears are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The adults fast during the summer and early autumn, when they are forced to stay on land due to lack of sea ice. When the ice returns, the hunting season begins - but any change in the length of time the sea is covered in ice can have devastating effects on the polar bears and their prey.