3.3  Water cycles

Water cycles are becoming increasingly unpredictable

The oceans are changing. They are actually presently absorbing 93% of the excess heat in the Earth’s atmospheric system. We can detect this warming down to 2km. This warming is changing the composition of the oceans and sea water and is making it much more acidic. The oceans are now 30% more acidic than they were in the pre-industrial period before around 1850. This 30% rise in acidity is already adversely affecting marine life in the oceans.

The impacts of Climate Change and the rate of change are accelerating. The changes are not just unprecedented, but the rate of change is getting faster all the time.

Ice melts when it gets hotter. Glaciers are retreating all over the world. Some of the world’s largest glaciers have nearly completely disappeared already.

The water cycle is intensifying. Dry areas are tending to get drier. When droughts occur, they are tending to be more severe. Wet areas are tending to get wetter. When we get rainfall anywhere, it is tending to come down in more intense bursts simply because there is so much more energy in the atmosphere.

Cyclone intensity is increasing and there is now serious consideration to come up with a Category 6 Cyclone level.

Reference: Information from the Special IPCC Briefing with Professor Lesley Hughes – organised by Groundswell Giving - Thu 2nd Sep 2021, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm AEST