An increase in the average global temperature is a major cause of climate change. As more greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere, more long wavelength radiation is absorbed and the Earth's average temperature rises.
There are several potential effects of global climate change. Four you should be able to describe are:
- melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, and rising sea levels, which can cause flooding and coastal erosion
- more frequent and more severe storms and other extreme weather
- changes in the amount, timing and distribution of rainfall, which can cause droughts in some places and floods in others
- changes in the food that can be grown, and changes in the habitats and distribution of wildlife, with some species moving or dying out
You should also be able to discuss the scale and risk of climate change. It could affect the whole planet and many millions of people, but it is hard to predict exactly how large each effect will be. The environmental implications include loss of habitats and loss of species.