Negative Effects Of Climate Change

Climate change is one of the most severe environmental challenges facing the world at present. It refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity (Kinyangi et al., 2009). Global warming shows increasing trend and is expected to bring about long term changes in weather conditions (FAO, 2008). Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850. The period from

The country’s low level of economic development combined with its heavy dependence on agriculture and high population growth rate make the country particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change. Negative impacts of climate change on crop and livestock production could result in a nationwide food shortage and greatly hinder the economy.

Adaptation is widely recognized as a fundamental component of any policy response to climate change and variability. Studies show that without adaptation, climate change is generally harmful to the entire livelihood system, but with adaptation, vulnerability can largely be reduced (Smith, 1996).

‘The extent to which an agricultural system is affected by climate change and variability depends on its adaptive capacity, which is the ability of a system to adjust to climate change and variability to moderate potential damage, take advantage of opportunities or cope with the consequences’ (IPCC,