www.maganews.com.br

The Environment

The consequences of global warming

Climate change has caused great natural disasters all over the planet. If nothing is done, these problems could get even worse over the next few decades

Hurricanes, storms, droughts. These have always existed, irrespective of climate change. However, these natural phenomena have become more intense with global warming. In recent years, the Caribbean, the USA and Mexico have been struck by massively powerful tornadoes. Icecaps are melting in the planet’s coldest regions. In Brazil, the south and southeast regions have been battered by rainstorms and cyclones. Dozens of cities have been flooded. These are just a few examples of the greenhouse effect on the planet’s climate. And things could get worse in the next few decades. A study carried out by IPCC (a group of specialists from around the world) has concluded that the planet could see its temperature rise by 3 degrees by the end of the century. This would be enough to make massive natural disasters commonplace all over the world.

Gloomy outlook

According to the IPCC’s forecasts, by 2020 between 75 and 200 million people in Africa could be suffering from water shortages. Agricultural production and access to food will be impacted. Amazonia is at risk. Studies by IPCC and INPE say that in the next few decades the lush Amazonian forest could become a savannah (typical of the vegetation in Africa). And the northeast of Brazil could become a real wasteland.

Matéria publicada na edição de dezembro (número 52) da Revista Maganews.

Áudio – Andy Shepherd (sotaque britânico)

Ilustração - Calberto

Vocabulary

1 gloomy – sombrio

2 outlook – cenário / previsão / visão de mundo

3 hurricane – furacão

4 storm – tempestade

5 drought - seca

6 irrespective – independente

7 icecap – geleira

8 to melt – derreter

9 to be battered – ser atingido fortemente

10 rainstorms – chuvas intensas / tempestades

11 commonplace – rotina (virar rotina)

12 forecast – previsão

13 shortage – escassez

14 lush - exuberante

15 wasteland – deserto / lugar sem vida