HSC Geography · Human–Environment Interactions
13.3 Environmental & Human Impacts of Climate Change
Chapter 13 · Climate Change · NESA Stage 6 (2022) · Revision deck
By the end you can…
Learning goals
- Split impacts into environmental and human.
- Explain ocean acidification.
- Link climate change to worse disasters.
- Describe human impacts (health, food, economy).
- Detail the GBR and ski-industry case studies.
Section 1
Environment & people
Two linked groups of impact
Environmental
Acidification, coral bleaching, worse storms/floods/fire, rising seas.
Human
Health, falling crop yields, damaged industries, displacement.
They interconnect — a bleached reef hits tourism; failed crops hit health.
Section 2
Ocean acidification
The “other CO₂ problem”
Separate from warming — the sea is ~30% more acidic than pre-industrial. Hits food webs from the bottom up.
Section 3
More intense disasters
Case study: Black Summer (2019–20)
Among Australia's most severe bushfires on record
Record drought + extreme heat → huge habitat & biodiversity loss and serious smoke-health impacts. Climate change worsened a natural hazard (full detail in Chapter 14).
EnvironmentChangeInterconnection
Section 4
Impacts on people
Health, food & livelihoods
Health
Heat illness; disease spread; smoke.
Food
Lower yields; food insecurity.
Economy
Damaged industries; displacement.
The equity problem: the poorest are often hit hardest, yet emit least.
Section 5 · Case study
The Great Barrier Reef
Coral bleaching
Rising SST → coral expels its algae → bleaching → biodiversity loss. Monitored by AIMS; repeated mass events.
Section 6 · Case study
The ski industry
Warming winters
- Less, less-reliable snow → shorter seasons, fewer visitors, lost revenue.
- Adaptations: artificial snowmaking, higher altitudes, year-round tourism.
- An economic impact (USA & Europe) — contrast with the GBR (environmental).
Two contrasting systems — use both to show range.
Pull it together
- Impacts = environmental + human, interconnected.
- Ocean acidification: chemical, separate from warming.
- Worse disasters (Black Summer bushfires).
- Human cost: health, food, economy; an equity issue.
- Cases: coral bleaching (GBR) & the ski industry.
Next: 13.4 — Challenges, opportunities & responses (Costa Rica).