In a recent interview with this writer, Professor Pinhas Alpert, head of Tel Aviv University’s department of Geophysics and Planetary sciences, stated that “winters here in Israel are becoming warmer, with much less precipitation annually, and these extreme temperatures, at the minimum and maximum ends of the scale, also show a greater fluctuation between them.”Thats the view of the local expert; now here’s some facts from the wider scale: According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), at the current rate of carbon emissions, global average temperatures will rise by 2% by 2050.Sea levels may increase by up to 95cm by the end of the century. This would result in 18% of the country of Bangladesh being submerged. Other scenarios are also available for countries in the Western world, including online graphics of New York and London becoming underwater cities.Despite the rise in sea levels, there will be a shortage of fresh water, and between 1 to 3 billion people in the ‘developing’ nations will not have enough.This crisis will add to the problem of around 150 million environmental refugees fleeing countries affected by climate change. For the residents of Tuvalu, an Island in the South Pacific, this has already started, as the sea laps over their diminishing country, and the islanders seek ‘environmental asylum’ elsewhere.Most of these facts are from Christian Aid’s fact sheets on the global effects of climate change. Their mission, in keeping with the religious ethos of the UK-based charity, is to bring attention to the world’s poor, and highlight how they are already being affected by adverse climate conditions.While we in the Middle East are starting to see temperature changes, people in Bangladesh and across Asia are seeing starker effects now. The charity’s campaign calls on Governments and Individuals worldwide to do everything within their power (and more) to reduce carbon every which way possible – through supporting the initiatives of Kyoto and recently in Bali, keeping countries and Industry to the promises and commitments, and to keep the issue in everyone’s face.One of the clearest ways Israeli’s will notice the change, according to Prof. Alpert, is in the reduction of snowfall: “The snow that fell in Jerusalem, at least once every 3 years, will disappear. People will be touched by this.”::IPCC
