2The history of climate change

Climate change causes different impacts.
In the past, we’ve seen these changes both in Japan and around the world. For example,

Figure 1: Differences from the global annual average temperature in the period from 1981 to 2010

Figure 2: Changes to the area of Arctic sea ice in the summer

Figure 3: Differences from the annual average temperature in Japan between 1981 and 2010

Figures 1 and 3 show us that on the whole, temperatures are rising in Japan and globally. That means both summer and winter are getting hotter.
Figure 2 shows us that the ice covering the Arctic region is melting. That’s not all: sea surface temperatures are rising and changing rainfall patterns.

Column: We’re producing more greenhouse gas emissions.

Our daily life has numerous creature comforts. We ride in cars; we fly in jets; and we use air conditioning and electricity. These creature comforts cause the rising greenhouse gas emissions rate (Figure 4). This trend is similar to that in Figure 1 showing the global temperature rise.

Figure 4: Trends in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities