Climate change is irreparably altering the landscape of our planet. Rising sea levels, warming temperatures, extreme weather events, invasive species, disease, and biodiversity loss are making ecosystems increasingly unrecognizable. 85% of wetlands, important carbon sinks, have disappeared. Deforestation could turn the Amazon rainforest into a savanna, making it a carbon source instead of a valuable sink.
The tundra, one of the coldest biomes, is threatened by warming temperatures. Thawing permafrost leads to increased greenhouse emissions, creating a feedback loop of even higher temperatures. As the tundra warms, animal populations like caribou and Arctic foxes will be forced to migrate, with their food sources threatened and increased parasites and diseases.
Islands around the world are threatened by rising sea levels. The Maldivesand Sierra Leone’s Nyangai Island are facing rising sea levels and more extreme weather. These countries have some of the lowest carbon footprints, but their residents are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, especially children. Recent research has shown that some of the islands in the Maldives are shrinking but some are expanding - scientists are trying to understand why.
Coral Reef Ecosystems are also disappearing. One of the most important ecosystems on the planet, coral reefs provide food and shelter to a quarter of marine life and protect coastlines from storms. According to an IPCC report, over half of coral reefs are at medium or high risk of degradation due to ocean warming and acidification from burning fossil fuels.
The Everglades , Florida’s most important freshwater resource, could be affected by rising temperatures and saltwater intrusion, leading to peat collapse and evaporation. Draining the Everglades has also altered the ecosystem, increasing greenhouse gas emissions from peat soil oxidation. Learn about the fight to help save Big Cypress National Park in the Everglades from oil development.
Climate change is causing more extreme weather events, threatening many places across the world, including Superfund sites. Hurricane Helene, the deadliest hurricane in the U.S. since Katrina, caused catastrophic damage as it moved from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Virginia Appalachian Mountains. Some of the worst devastation occurred in places far from the coast, like Asheville, NC, which had previously been hailed as a “climate-safe city.” Devastating floods made much of Asheville unrecognizable, forever changing the city. A group of scientists at California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimate that climate change “may have caused as much as 50% more rainfall” during the hurricane.
