Climate Change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in

the statistical distribution of weather patterns over
periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may
be a change in average weather conditions, or in the
distribution of weather around the average conditions
(i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate
change is caused by factors such as biotic processes,
variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate
tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human
activities have also been identified as significant causes of
recent climate change, often referred to as "global
warming".
Impact of Climate Change
Climate change has brought about severe and possibly permanent
alterations to our planets geological, biological and ecological systems.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contended in 2003
that there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed
over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. These changes
have led to the emergence of large-scale environmental hazards to human
health, such as extreme weather,

ozone depletion, loss
of biodiversity, stresses to food-producing systems and the global spread
of infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
that 160,000 deaths, since 1950, are directly attributable to climate change.
Many believe this to be a conservative estimate.
Impact of Climate Change
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Climate in Indonesia
Straddling the equator, Indonesia has a tropical climate characterized by
heavy rainfall, high humidity, high temperature, and low winds. The wet
season is from November to March, the dry season from April to October.
Rainfall in lowland areas averages 180320 cm (70125 in) annually,
increasing with elevation to an average of 610 cm (240 in) in some
mountain areas. In the lowlands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the rainfall
range is 305370 cm (120145 in); the amount diminishes southward,
closer to the northwest Australian desert. Average humidity is 82%.
Altitude rather than season affects the temperature in Indonesia. At sea
level, the mean annual temperature is about 25 27 C (7781 F ). There is
slight daily variation in temperature, with the greatest variation at inland
points and at higher levels. The mean annual temperature at Jakarta is
26 C (79 F ); average annual rainfall is about 200 cm (79 in)