Literature review of effects of climate change on the physical and social environment was conducted where impacts at global, regional, national and local scales were considered. The literature review was based on past studies where library and online sources covering the past two decades were analyzed. Noted relevant findings were then critically analyzed and used to develop the article where the parameters of climate change and effects were identified and discussed. The review established that the environment is negatively affected by climate change; a natural climatic phenomenon arising from variation of global temperatures caused by green-house effect and global warming. Notably, climate change threatens productivity and sustainability of biotic and abiotic environments. Climate change is primarily linked to increased anthropogenic activities that enable Green House Gas (GHG) emission into the atmosphere. Climate change leads to extreme climatic events such as heat stress, drought stress, water stress and hazardous atmospheric circulation and flood- ing causing significant impacts on the environment. Climate change leads to reduction in economic productivity of agronomic systems, increasing natural resources vulnerability levels and degradation of the ecosystem reducing its productivity and biotic sustainability. The paper identified the know- ledge gaps in the quantification of the impact of anthropogenic driven climate change on the environment and mitigation strategies upon which climate change experts can potentially prioritize future research for relevant policy development.
Cite this paper
Ondiko, J. H. , Karanja, A. M. and Ombogo, O. (2022). A Review of the Anthropogenic Effects of Climate Change on the Physical and Social Environment. Open Access Library Journal, 9, e7751. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107751.
Benateau S., Gaudard A., Stamm C. and Altermatt F. (2019) Climate Change and Freshwater Ecosystems: Impacts on Water Quality and Ecological Status. Hydro-CH 2018 Project, Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Bern, Switzerland. 110 p.
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-169641
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2008) Climate Change, Energy and Food. High-Level Conference on Food Security: The Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy Climate-Related Trans-Boundary Pests and Diseases. Technical Background Document from the Expert Consultation, 25-27 February 2008, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. 3-5 June 2008 HLC/08/BAK/4.
Jean-Yves, H. and Verdier, L. (2013) What Is the Impact of Globalisation on the Environment? In Economic Globalisation: Origins and consequences, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Lovins, L.H. and Cohen, B. (2011) Climate Capitalism: Capitalism in the Age of Climate Change. Hill and Wang, New York.
https://ncse.ngo/files/pub/evolution/excerpt--capitalism2--fb.pdf
World Health Organization (2019) WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment and Climate Change: The Transformation Needed to Improve Lives and Wellbeing Sustainably through Healthy Environments. World Health Organization, Geneva.
Mont, G. and Fraga, F. (2018) The Future of Work in Natural Changing Environment: Climate Change, Degradation and Sustainability. International Labour Organization [ILO]. International Labour Office, Geneva.
Reid, H. and Swiderska, K. (2008) Biodiversity, Climate Change and Poverty: Exploring the Links. An IIED Briefing. International Institute for Environment and Development, London. http://www.iied.org
Verweij, W., Van der Wiele, J., Van Moorselaar, I. and Van der Grinten, E. (2010) Impact of Climate Change on Water Quality in the Netherlands. RIVM Report 607800007/2010. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (2007) Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation in Developing Countries. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, New York, Rio de Janeiro. http://www.unfccc.int
Karanja, A. (2013) Analysis of Rainfall Variability on Irish Potato Production in Ol-Joro Orok Division, Nyandarua County, Kenya. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in The School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kenyatta University, Nairobi.
Ondiko, H.J., Ochieng’, R. and Karanja, M.A. (2018) Rainfall Variability Coping Strategies for Improved Food Security: A Case Study of Baringo South, Baringo County, Kenya. The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 6, 198- 206.
Hallegatte, S., Bangalore, M., Bonzanigo, L., Fay, M., Tamaro, K., Narloch, U., Rosenberg, J. and Schilb, A.V. (2014) Climate Change and Poverty. Climate Change Group, Office of the Chief Economist, Washington DC.
Barbier, E.B. and Hochard, J.P. (2018) The Impacts of Climate Change on the Poor in Disadvantaged Regions Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 12, 26-47.
https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rex023
Myers, S.S., Gaffikin, L., Golden, C.D., Ostfeld, R.S., Redforde, K., Ricketts, T.H., Turner, W.R. and Osofskyha, S.A. (2012) Human Health Impacts of Ecosystem Alteration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110, 18753-18760. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218656110
https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1218656110
United States Agency for Environmental Protection (EPA) (2017) Green House Gas Emissions: Overview of Green House Gases. United States Agency for Environmental Protection, Washington DC. https://www.epa.gov
Brouder, S.M. and Volenec, J.J. (2008) Impact of Climate Change on Crop Nutrient and Water Use Efficiencies. Physiologia Plantarum, 133, 705-724.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2008.01136.x
Fang, J., Yu, G., Liu, L., Hu, S. and Chapin, F.S. (2018) Climate Change, Human Impacts and Carbon Sequestration in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115, 4015-4020.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700304115
https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1700304115
Teh, S.T. and Koh, H.L. (2016) Climate Change and Soil Salinization: Impact on Agriculture, Water and Food Security. International Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and Plantation, 2, 1-9.
Al-Najar, H. and Ashour, E.K. (2013) The Impact of Climate Change and Soil Salinity in Irrigation Water Demand on the Gaza Strip. Agricultural planning and climate change. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 4, 118-130.
https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2013.142
https://iwaponline.com/jwcc/article-Pdf/4/2/118/374867/118.pdf
Balkovic, J., Skalsky, R., Folberth, C., Khabarov, N., Schmid, E., Madaras, M., Obersteiner, M, and van der Velde, M. (2018) Impacts and Uncertainties of 2°C of Climate Change and Soil Degradation on European Crop Calorie Supply. Earth’s Future, 6, 373-395. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017EF000629
McGuigan, C., Reynolds, R. and Wiedner, D. (2002) Poverty and Climate Change: Assessing Impacts in Developing Countries and the Initiatives of the International Community. London School of Economics, London.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2013) Summary for Policymakers in Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Stocker, T.F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S.K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex, V. and Midgley, P.M. (Eds.)) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2018) Global Warming of 1.5°C. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva. https://www.ipcc.ch
Dasgupta, S., Hossain, M., Huq, M. and Wheeler, D. (2015) Climate Change and Soil Salinity: The Case of Coastal Bangladesh. Ambio, 44, 815-826.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-015-0681-5
Mountain Research and Development (2019) African Mountains in a Changing Climate: Trends, Impacts, and Adaptation Solutions, 39, 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-00062.1
Haddeland, I., Heinke, J., Biemans, H., Eisner, S., Flörke, M., Hanasaki, N., Konzmann, M., Ludwig, F., Masaki, Y., Scheweb, J., Stackeg,T., Tesslerh, Z.D., Wadai, Y. and Wisseri, D. (2014) Global Water Resources Affected by Human Interventions and Climate Change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111, 3251-3256. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222475110
https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1222475110
Whitehead, P.G., Wilby, R.L., Battarbee, R.W., Kernan, M. and Wade, A.J. (2009) A Review of the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Surface Water Quality. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 54, 101-123. https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.54.1.101
Pugnaire, F.I., Morillo, J.A., Peñuelas, J., Reich, P.B., Bardgett, R.D., Gaxiola, A., Wardle, D. and Van der Putten, W.H. (2019) Climate Change Effects on Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Consequences for Biodiversity and Functioning of Terrestrial Ecosystems. Science Advances, 5, Article No. eaaz1834.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz1834
http://advances.sciencemag.org
Gozzo, L.F., Palma, D., Custodio, S. and Machado, P. (2019) Climatology and Trend of Severe Drought Events in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the 20th Century. Atmosphere, 10, Article No. 190. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10040190
Mag, K., Ouma, J.P.A. and Ojwang, P.P.O. (2017) Effect of Sowing date on Grain Quality of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L Moench) in the Nile Corridor Agroecological Zone of South Sudan. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 17, 12657-12677. https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.80.16520
Souza, A.P., Cocuron, J.C., Garcia, A.C., Alonso, A.P. and Marcos S.B. (2015) Changes in Whole-Plant Metabolism During the Grain-Filling Stage in Sorghum Grown under Elevated CO2 and Drought. Plant Physiology, 169, 1755-1765.
https://www.plantphysiol.org
Gemeda, D.O. and Sima, A.D. (2015) The Impacts of Climate Change on African Continent and the Way Forward. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 7, 256-262. https://doi.org/10.5897/JENE2015.0533
http://www.academicjournals.org/JENE
Naser, M.M. (2012) Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, and Migration: A Complex Nexus. William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, 36.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmelpr/vol36/iss3/4
Funk, C., Hoell, A., Shukla, S., Bladé, I., Liebmann, B., Roberts, J.B., Robertson, F.R. and Husak, G. (2014) Predicting East African Spring Droughts Using Pacific and Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature Indices. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18, 4965-4978. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4965-2014
Sealy, H. (2018) Caribbean Perspectives of the Impact of Climate Change on Environmental Determinants of Health. Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF) the III Global Conference on Health and Climate Change, Grenada, 16-17 October 2018, 1-26.
Chepkoech, W., Mungai, N.W., Stöber, S., Bett, H.K. and Lotze-Campen, H. (2018) Farmers’ Perspectives on Impact of climate change on African Indigenous Vegetable Production in Kenya. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 10, 551-579. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2017-0160
Degefu, M.A., Assen, M. and McGahey, D. (2018) Climate Variability and Impact in ASSAR’s East African Region. CARIAA-ASSAR Working Paper. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada and UK Aid, London, United Kingdom.
http://www.assar.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/138/Publications/ASSAR%20working%20paper%20on%20climate%20variability%20in%20East%20Africa%20-%20March%202018.pdf