World at Risk - Year 12 Edexcel Geography

The huge increase in coal-fired power stations in China has masked the impact of global warming in the last decade because of the cooling effect of their sulphur emissions, new research has revealed.

Freak Atlantic Tsunami Hits Southwest England July 8, 2011 While no damage was reported from the 16-inch-high ocean surge, people rushed to higher ground when the sea suddenly retreated just prior to the tsunami. "It was surreal. I couldn't believe what had happened.

Posted by feww on June 20, 2011 Extreme rains have inundated large parts of several provinces in China affecting millions of people according to China's official news agency. Torrential rains have also triggered landslide destroying homes, roads, bridges, dykes, and other infrastructure, killing many people.

The sun is a key driver of the Earth's climate, but it isn't behind the strong recent warming trend* See all questions and answers* Read about the project Over the very long term, variations in Earth's orbit that shape where and when sunlight reaches the planet are the main cause of ice ages, but this doesn't apply to our current situation.

Ice sheet layers can be read like the pages of a book - if you know the language. In this video, we see how scientists are deciphering the history of Earth's climate from ice cores taken from western Antarctica Snow that is compressed into ice forms distinct layers.

Research says millions are displaced annually as a result of climate disasters. We must take the precautionary approach

Imagine if the world acted only when 100% scientific proof was in place. We would still be insulating buildings with cancer-causing asbestos and fuelling cars with lead additives, damaging babies' brains. The circulation in fridges would also be done by chemicals that, by thinning the Earth's protective ozone layer, would probably have led to a sharp increase in cases of skin cancer worldwide.

This question and answer is part of the Guardian's ultimate climate change FAQ* See all questions and answers* Read about the project A changing climate isn't inherently bad, and commentators who are sceptical about the risks posed by global warming often point to the benefits that higher temperatures could bring - such as longer growing seasons in cool countries and more efficient shipping routes through an ice-free Arctic.

Read more: See an interactive graphic of tornado devastation It's been a severe start to the spring season in the United States. Tornadoes have ravaged the southeastern US, flooding threatens much of the Midwest, and wildfires are scorching Texas. But according to researchers, a confluence of seasonal oscillations in weather patterns, rather than climate change, is to blame.

You think you're discussing technologies, and you quickly discover that you're discussing belief systems. The battle among environmentalists over how or whether our future energy is supplied is a cipher for something much bigger: who we are, who we want to be, how we want society to evolve.

THE Peruvian highlands were hit hard by El Niño in 1982, and crops were destroyed. The same year, guerrilla attacks by the Shining Path movement erupted into a civil war that would last 20 years. Random coincidence? Possibly not.

Does a changing climate mean an increase in conflict and civil unrest around the world? Some of the world's military authorities believe it might - elements in the US armed forces hierarchy, for example, see climate change as a security issue for just that reason.

UK climate secretary to tell defence experts that conflict caused by climate change risks reversing the progress of civilisation Climate change will lead to an increased threat of wars, violence and military action against the UK, and risks reversing the progress of civilisation, the energy and climate secretary Chris Huhne will say on Thursday, in his strongest warning yet that the lack of progress on greenhouse gas emission cuts would damage the UK's national interests.

To give a better sense of the challenge facing these areas, here is data pulled together and mapped from two sources With a rising global population, increasing water use per capita and depleting reserves of groundwater, there's no doubt that blue gold, as water is sometimes called, is an increasingly precious resource.

"Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases." -Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007 Explore the signs of global warming on this map or Google Earth.

The climate debate rages on without progress, but a 'meeting of moderate minds' might be the answer

June 21 marked both the summer and winter solstice, the longest or shortest day of the year for sunlight depending on which hemisphere you reside. Here are some glimpses of the power, beauty, and transforming presence of the sun, taken since the beginning of June

Tory MEPs who are threatening to undermine David Cameron over tougher European climate change targets have been warned that their behaviour risks ruining Britain's reputation as a leading voice in the fight against global warming.

Gore evokes the Iraq war, credit crunch, civil rights and emancipation to argue the US electoral system is broken and only a mass movement can deliver reason on global warming

Scientist Willie Smits believes that the Arenga sugar palm may be the key to protecting tropical forest in Indonesia while providing opportunity for villagers through a unique process of biofuel production.

Eight new locations announced by Chris Huhne are the first guide to the future of nuclear power in UK since Japan's Fukushima disaster