Page 66 - (DK) Danger! Open with Extreme Caution!

2 Strike 2—Storms
Since 1980, wild weather has become
GLOBAL WARMING much more common and has killed
600,000 people. In 2005, 15 hurricanes
hit the U.S., including Hurricane Katrina,
Earth is wrapped in a blanket of gases that trap which devastated New Orleans, while 2007
the Sun’s heat like a greenhouse and keep the world saw floods in Mexico, India, Bangladesh,
and South Korea. Scientists predict more
at a temperature warm enough to sustain life. Human storms, similar to tempestuous
activity on Earth releases more of these “greenhouse Typhoon Tip in 1979, which measured
1,360 miles (2,200 km) across, with
gases,” resulting in a thicker blanket and a warmer winds of 180 mph (300 km/h).
world. Due to this, our big blue planet is hurtling
toward a plethora of big and scary changes that
3 Strike 3—Melting ice
will affect everyone and everything on Earth…
Temperatures are rising twice as fast in
the vulnerable Arctic than anywhere else,
causing huge sheets of ice to crumble at
an alarming rate. The largest single block
of ice in the Arctic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf,
1 Strike 1—Droughts existed for 3,000 years before it started
breaking up in the
Today, more than 80 million people are affected by 3 21st century. The loss
droughts owing to high temperatures and little rain. Africa of ice is disastrous for
is the worst-affected continent, while Australia has been in polar bears and
the grip of a severe drought for the past decade. The result? Inuit hunters, both of
Land dries out and cracks, making it unusable for crops, and whom depend on
deserts spread, potentially driving millions of people the ice to hunt seals.
from their homes—China’s capital city, Beijing, is
already under attack from giant sandstorms.
And due to the heat and dryness, wildfires
could become rife, like those that blazed
across the U.S. and Australia in 2009.

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