Worldwide droughts, like that in a village northeast of Nairobi, expose rural communities to food shortages.
Image Credit: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images
While some parts of the world may find themselves deluged by increasing storms and rising waters, other areas may find themselves suffering from drought. As the climate warms, experts estimate drought conditions may increase by at least 66 percent [source: Scientific American]. An increase in drought conditions leads quickly to a shrinking water supply and a decrease in quality agricultural conditions. This puts global food production and supply in danger and leaves populations at risk for starvation.
Today, India, Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa already experience droughts, and experts predict precipitation could continue to dwindle in the coming decades. Estimates paint a dire picture. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that by 2020, 75 to 250 million Africans may experience water shortages, and the continent's agricultural output will decrease by 50 percent [source: BBC].
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Shrinking Glaciers
You don't need special equipment to see that glaciers around the world are shrinking. Tundra once covered with thick permafrost is melting with rising surface temperatures and is now coated with plant life.
In the span of a century, glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park have deteriorated from 150 to just 35 [source: New York Times]. And the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Ganges River, which supplies drinking and irrigation water to 500 million people, are reportedly shrinking by 40 yards (37 meters) each year [source: The Washington Post].
Montana's Glacier National Park will lose some of its majestic beauty as surface temperatures continue to rise.
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Scientist try to solve one of the biggest mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle: How and why boats have disappeared.
Do you think a boat can withstand the power of a rogue wave in the middle of the ocean?
Check out this experiment.
