Stories of extreme weather events are almost a daily feature of news headlines around the world. Droughts, wildfires, heat waves, severe and widespread flooding: wild weather is becoming the new normal, and climate experts say these episodes are a preview of life with run away climate change.
11 July 2012
Extreme weather around the world
Last year we produced a documentary (watch it below) about the impact that climate change is having on three different communities in South Africa, Kenya, and Mali. We wanted to know how changing weather patterns were affecting people on the ground.
What we found were stories of failing crops, extremes of either too much rain all at once, or none at all, and people struggling to meet this new challenge on top of everything else.
Although the people we interviewed didn’t always know the term “climate change”, they were very well acquainted with its effects and the impact it was already having on their daily lives.
The reality is that climate change will have a disastrous impact on millions of low-income households worldwide who already spend the majority of their budget on food. The most vulnerable people, those least able to cope, will the ones hardest hit by climate change; this is a human rights issue, and not just about our environment.
Greenpeace is calling for action to tackle the root causes of this great injustice: cutting greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, switching to more resilient and ecological agricultural practices, and addressing inequalities in income and access to resources.
You can help these efforts by joining our call for more renewable energy in South Africa.
Tell government to use the Sun and Wind more: Click Here.
For more information on the facts behind the documentary, download the Facing The Weather Gods Scientific Report.
The Weather Gods Documentary