Essay - Climate Change in Cities - Assessment Answer

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Case Scenario/ Task

1. Climate change impact and adaptation in cities. a review of literature.

2. United nations development programme.

3. Assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities.

4. Cynthia Rosenzweig, William Solecki, Stephen A. Hammer & shagun Mehrota 2010. Cities lead the way in climate- change action.

1. Climate change is the change in weather patterns for an extended time which leads to negative impact on environment, health, economic etc. For years the climate change in urban cities has been in focus all over the world. For the future development of urban cities it is necessary to find information regarding the climate changes in the cities. Urban cities are home for half of the population in the world and so is it prone to more and more risks (Rosenzweig and solecki, 2016). These changes will have different impacts and economic costs on different sectors and regions. Cities are the centre for political and economic activity and thus there is a growing significance of these issues (Hunt and watkiss, 2011). This essay outlines the climate changes in cities and its impact and how it can be mitigated.
2. Climate change most likely will have negative impact on the development in urban cities. The type of impact depends upon the type of city. Some of the impacts are rise in the sea level. This will increase the risk of storm and will be a threat to beaches, wetland and coastal regions. The quality of the water will be decreased and also the availability of water will also be a problem. Due to high temperature and ultra violet rays air pollution will be increased. Due to hail storms, rains, floods, landslides the infrastructure in the cities will be destroyed. Climate changes will also cause health issues like bone related problems, food and water related diseases. High ultra violet rays cause damage to skin and may lead to pre - mature cataract. Extreme weather disasters like hurricane Katrina in 2005 shows how weather changes can hamper the normal functioning of the cities and have major impacts on infrastructure, trade and business, crops, health, economic performance etc (Dawson and walsh, 2010). But this will in some way help to reduce the temperature and heat in the areas. Recovery from all these damages will require lot of economic activities and joint efforts of both citizens and government.
3. The impacts of climate changes can be reduced by mitigation of the problems causing it. Production of GHG gases have to be reduced and the new processes have to be identified to reduce the emission of GHG gases into the atmosphere (Hunt and watkiss, 2011). By doing this the quality of the air can be increased substantially and reduce the air pollution. Cleaner technologies to generate energies have to be used. For example the use of solar devices will be helpful in preserving energy and prevent the wastage of other energies like cylinders. Due to growing agricultural needs deforestation and release of harmful gases into soils and air has been identified. Farmers must adopt good agricultural practices and reduce the emission of gases by pesticides (Dawson and walsh, 2010).
4. Adaptation in cities requires joint thinking which includes whole range of urban functions. It is important to adapt to reduce the effects and exploit the changes that are beneficial to the environment. Adaptation measures like cooling and heating systems in the cities are in –comported. For example if a city has high temperature then the buildings should be built by use of shading, natural ventilations, green roofs and coolers. Cities which are prone to floods should have buildings which are flood proof. In case of water availability issues it is necessary that the building should have rain water harvesting, water reservoirs etc (Dawson and walsh, 2010). By adapting to the climate changes many of the impacts can be reduced.
5. Both mitigation and adaptation will potentially reduce the damage caused due to the global climate change. Understanding of both mitigation and adaptation undoubtedly will have effective climate proofing. They both also help the development of both present and future in a sustainable manner. Sometimes the techniques used in adaptation may have adverse effects on the mitigation strategies like use of air conditioner will lead to use of more energy. Vice versa mitigation strategies may cause problem in adaptation like cavity wall insulation will cause mal adaptation to flood risk (Dawson and walsh, 2010). Despite the differences between these strategies, both are essential to reduce the risks and hence opportunities are developed to properly make use of these strategies.
6. In conclusion, the rapid change in the climate is mainly due to the migration from rural to urban cities by the people which have led to deforestation and increase in green house gases. Urban cities are making risk assessments to find the effects of climate changes in future. Mitigation strategies are being used such as use of new technologies, processes and good agricultural practices. However more serious problems like emission of GHG gases should be addressed as they have more negative effects on the urban cities. Many adaptation techniques have been used in all the major cities to adapt to the climate changes and lessen the impacts. Cities will be much safer if they consider the impacts of climate change and disaster in their risk reduction assessment.