Global Hazards

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  • Created by: em42
  • Created on: 25-04-15 14:05
1. What are the two major categories of global hazards and how are they formed?
Hydrometeorological - formed by hydrological (floods) and atmospheric (storms and droughts) processes. Geophysical - formed by tectonic/geological events (earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis).
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2. Describe a disaster hotspot.
A place where a vulnerable population is exposed to two or more hazard types.
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3. What is a chronic hazard?
A hazard which affects the whole world e.g. climate change/sea level rise.
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4. What is the difference between a hazard and a disaster?
A hazard is something which is a potential threat to human life or property, however, a disaster is when a hazard seiously affects humans i.e.the actual consequences of a hazard.
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5. State the disaster risk equation.
R=(H*V)/C.
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6. What does R stand for in the disaster risk equation?
R: risk is the probability of a hazard occuring and becoming a disaster as the result of deaths and loss of livelihoods, goods and property; the likely exposure to a hazardous event.
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7. What does H stand for in the disaster risk equation?
H: the frequency or magnitude of hazard in a given country/area.
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8. What does V stand for in the disaster risk equation?
V: vulnerability is how susceptible a population is to the damage caused by a hazard & is shaped by the underlying state of human development which include inequalities of income as well as the poor health, subsistence living & fragile environments.
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9. What does C stand for in the disaster risk equation?
C: capacity to cope is the ability to deal with the consequences of a hazard e.g. people in remote areas live further from help so have a lower capacity to cope.
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10. How can the risk of disaster increase?
The frequency/severity of hazards increase. People's vulnerability increases. People's capacity to cope is decreased.
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11. Why is/can the risk of disaster increasing/increase?
The frequency/magnitude of hazards are increasing with climate change. Vulnerability is increasing due to unsustainable development leading to poor land use & environmental degredation. Capacity to cope decreasing due to poverty & urbanisation.
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12. Why is climate change a global problem?
All areas of the world will be affected to a lesser or greater degree. However, the impacts are various and are often unique to a particular country.
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13. Rising temperatures due to climate change can amplify other problems. What would the effects be of climate belt migration towards the poles?
There will be a severe impact on ecology and wildlife and lead to the spread of diseases such as malaria.
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14. Rising temperatures due to climate change can amplify other problems. What would the effects be of rising ocean temperatures?
They may be the cause of more frequent atmospheric/oceanic oscillations (e.g. El Niño) and increasing frequency and magnitude of hurricanes.
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15. Is climate change just an environmental problem?
No, it has range of impacts on societies and economies, threatening their very existence in terms of water availability, food security, health and wellbeing.
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16. Climate change is unpredictable and depending on whether, or how fast, the tipping point is reached it could become catastrophic. What are the physical factors this depends on?
There are a number of interlocking systems that can affect each other via positive and negative feedback. E.g. rising temperatures melt ice sheets, more incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the land & sea (ice & snow have greater albedo
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16. Climate change is unpredictable and depending on whether, or how fast, the tipping point is reached it could become catastrophic. What are the physical factors this depends on? [continued]
(reflective power)), so melting of the ice sheet > more melting - positive feedback. Melting ice sheets > ocean becoming diluted, could have an effect on ocean current circulation so weakening warming powers of N.Atlantic Drift - negative feedback.
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17. Climate change is unpredictable and depending on whether, or how fast, the tipping point is reached it could become catastrophic. What are the human factors this depends on?
Related to how effectively world can mitigate the damaging effects of climate change by reducing the production of greenhouse gases to slow down rate of global warming. People argue only radical solutions will halt the impacts.
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18. Name an indirect impact of climate change.
Thermal expansion of the oceans would contribute to rising sea levels and these have already created the world's first 'environmental refugees' in the islands of the Ganges' delta and the S.Pacific.
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19. Why is it particularly hard to convince people about the severity of global warming?
Climate change prediction requires successful modellng of the future by scientists in the IPCC for direct impacts and indirect impacts. The complexity of the calculations makes the process very difficult & there is huge variation in the scenarios.
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20. Why is it difficult to seperate the effects of global warming from other influences on present day weather?
Many of the changing weather patterns (e.g. more extremes with greater climate variability/big storms and widespread flooding) may be attributable to global warming, but are more likely to be linked to oceanic/atmospheric oscillations.
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21. Climate change needs global solutions, mainly in tackling CO2 emissions, what are the problems in creating these solutions?
Political problems involve the fact that it's unfair to have a 2-speed world where MEDCs pollute & LEDCs are vulnerable victims. A further problem is the emergence of Chindia & Brazil as rapidly expanding economies which feel their industrial
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21. Climate change needs global solutions, mainly in tackling CO2 emissions, what are the problems in creating these solutions? [continued]
development should not be harmed by targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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22. Alhough climate change is widely accepted, why are there still some sceptics?
Some find weaknesses in the data and their interpretations; some have vested interests (eg oil companies) which claim that global warming and the resulting hazards are due to factors other than the burning of fossil fuels.
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23. Why is climate change a costly problem to solve?
It is a problem of enormous scale and proportions.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

2. Describe a disaster hotspot.

Back

A place where a vulnerable population is exposed to two or more hazard types.

Card 3

Front

3. What is a chronic hazard?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

4. What is the difference between a hazard and a disaster?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

5. State the disaster risk equation.

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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