ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY IN COASTAL REGION
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ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY IN COASTAL REGION
Chapter one
1.0: Introduction.
Climate change and variability are two of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. Climate change has long since ceased to be a scientific curiosity, and it is no longer merely an environmental and regulatory worry, but rather a huge, overarching environmental issue of our day, and the single most difficult challenge facing environmental regulators (Odjugo, 2011).
It is also a developing crisis in economics, health and safety, food production, security, and other areas. It is important to remember that climate change is caused by human actions, specifically the use of fossil fuels and changes in global land use patterns.
In addition, different consequences have been reported as a result of human-induced increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (Wardekker, 2011).
However, the major repercussions of climate change and unpredictability are felt primarily at the regional level, with a constant impact on the environment in terms of global temperatures, water supplies, ecosystems, agriculture, and health, among other factors. Global average surface temperatures increased by 0.74±0.18°C between 1906 and 2005, according to the IPCC (2007).
This is based on observations of air and ocean temperatures, changes in snow/ice cover, and sea level. The research suggests that the Earth is warming and that future global climate and environmental conditions may differ dramatically from today. As a result, there is a need for a suitable adaptation approach that has the ability to prevent negative climate change outcomes.
Global climate change is also predicted to have an impact on coastal communities worldwide, many of which are already vulnerable to continuous climate variability (IPCC, 2001; Ogbuene, 2011).
The Lagos coastline region, due to its location and geography, is particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change. Among these effects, faster sea-level rise has attracted great attention and may imply elevated tidal inundation, increased flood frequency, accelerated erosion, increasing water tables, increased salt water intrusion and a suite of biological changes (Odjugo, 2001a).
Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identifies the Nigerian coast as one of West Africa’s low-lying coastlines that is anticipated to suffer significant floods as a result of rising sea levels and climate change. The low nature and geology of the whole Nigerian coastline make it exceedingly vulnerable to flooding, particularly at high tides and during the rainy season (Nicholls and Mimura, 1998).
The Lagos coastline region has seen major land cover changes as a result of recent reclamation works aimed at securing more land for urban expansion.
Land reclamation achieved through the filling of swamps and floodplains, as well as the removal of mangroves and wetlands, has diminished urban land’s flood storage capacity (Anika 2010).
Rapid and generally unplanned urban growth has resulted in land use changes and concomitant changes in hydrological fluxes in the urban watershed, increasing flood hazard and risk in many parts of the city (Anyadika, 2009).
This puts the rapidly urbanising region and its rising population vulnerable to sea level rise and climate change (Ayoade & Akintola, 1980). As a result of climate change’s negative impact on physical and biological systems, dealing with it remains a formidable problem.
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