Climate Change in Peru Essay

Peru is located in western South America and it shares borders with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador and the South Pacific Ocean. Peru is about 1.28 million square kilometers. There are three major regions in Peru: a narrow coastal belt, the wide Andean mountains and the Amazon Basin. The coast is mostly a desert, but contains Peru's major cities. The Andes has two main ranges - Cordillera Occidental and Oriental. Oriental includes Peru's highest mountain called Huascaran, it a peaks out at 22,200ft. On the east side is the Amazon Basin, a region of tropical lowland, the water there is carried out by the Maranon and Ucayali rivers.

One can encounter every environmental extreme imaginable, from the intensely vertical terrain of the Andes, soaring up to altitudes of 5,000 meters (16,404 ft.) above sea level, to dry, low-lying lands along the western coast of South America. The climate zones are equally diverse, with some areas that are constantly hot and humid to others with subfreezing temperatures year round. Also within its boundaries are some of the driest places on earth- Chile’s Atacama Desert- to some of the most lush- the Amazonian rain forest to the east of the Andes- with rainy season lasting 11 months of the year. (Suarez and George 3)

Peru is an ever-changing climate system due to the mixture of terrain and climate that consist of everything from tropical forest in the east and deserts in the west. Additionally, in the Andes Mountains the temperature is always much colder than the rest of the Country and is located in the center of the Country. Peru maintains a stable southern hemisphere climate, one that is near reversed of the northern hemisphere with the summer months being December through February and the winter following in July through September. However, off the coast of South America an event changes the weather that happens every 2-7 years. The local citizens have named this event El Nino, which means "The Little Boy" due to its occurrence in December. During El Nino, the waters off Peru's coast begin to warm and cause large numbers of fish to die, effecting the wildlife and local population greatly. The fishers that live on the coast of Peru suffer tremendously due to the fish that die off are their main source of food and food production during this event. Additionally,

Although more agriculture opportunities are provided, the frequency of droughts, storms, and floods also increased in some regions (“Impact of climate change on Canadian agriculture”, July 3rd 2015, www.agr.gc.ca/ , accessed November 7th 2016). Which destroy infrastructure, sewer systems, and crops, increasing the risk of a downfall of the economy, and a shortened food supply. Global warming also causes health and hygienic issues, such as the increasing risk of contamination of water sources in the Northwest Territories, or the decreasing air quality in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (“Impact by regions”, September 15th 2010, www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca, accessed November 7th 2016). These problems result in diseases, affecting the health of Canadians. And worse, global warming has a direct impact on Canada’s ecosystem (Debra Davidson, “Climate change”, February 23rd 2011, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/, accessed November 7th 2016). Most plants and animals are sensitive to changes in temperature and water cycles, which can cause them to move, changing habitats and nature in an area. There is also a high risk of extinction for those who cannot

Global warming persists as one of the world’s biggest issues today that is causing several problems that include the world’s severe climate and rising sea levels while possibly being the main cause as to why all of mankind could go extinct. This global crisis is known as the steady increase in the world’s average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans that are proven to be permanently changing the world’s climate (Live Science, 2014). This phenomenon is strongly evident as Earth’s temperature has also increased by 2 degrees Celsius since the last century. As a result of this, Canadian glaciers are melting at a higher rate of 2 to 3 feet than of what it was a decade before (Lerner, 2014). All astoundingly happening while the Artic Canadian permafrost has begun to melt (Davidson,2015). The state of this issue in Canada does not seem to be improving as validated through both the scientific evidence as well as the blatant and irrefutable observable evidence.

The impacts from climate change across a number of sectors, including water security, agriculture, coastal communities, and infrastructure.

The potential harm that climate change could have in Canada is concerning because Canada has one of the most diverse landscapes which is host to a countless number of species and ecosystems that are examples of “at-risk habitats” (David Suzuki Foundation, 2017). Natural resources Canada believes that climate change will affect many of the forests in Canada in a range of complex ways. These affects include changes in plant mortality, disturbance in plant growth and distribution. These impacts are cumulative and can increase insect vulnerability or cause more wildfires. These problems can weaken the plant population and increase their chances of being disease-prone or attacked by insects. Some habitats may disappear, because of changing weather patterns. Many forestry-dependant communities and aboriginal communities will be affected and loss in their wood supply like timber would hinder their economic strength and harvesting potential (Natural resources Canada, 2017). In the Atlantic, the affects of climate change would result in an increase of weather inconsistency. The region may face more storm events, storm intensity, rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Since much of the Canadian population lives in costal regions this can have grave implications. It can affect the socio economic-well being of Atlantic communities in vital infrastructure, and industries like fishery and tourism (Climate Action Network,

There are many countries in the world. Peru is the country I like the most. It is full of history way before Christ.

Shifts in temperature and precipitation will be a shock to fragile ecosystems which depend on specific climatic conditions. Many species will be unable to adapt as fast as their environment changes and face sharply reduced numbers or extinction. Scientists estimate that a warming of just 2 degree will put as many as 30% of the world's species at risk of extinction. Plants and animals aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure of changing ecosystems. Many regions will face severe water shortages in a warmer world, creating the potential for conflict. It is believed that the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region is at least in part a response to water shortages resulting from global warming.

Droughts are a natural occurrence that has been around for millions of years. Droughts are unpredictable; no one can tell when they are going to take place, the severity, or how long they will last. Impacts on of a drought can send shockwaves thought the region. The economy, agriculture, the environment, and the residents of the region are all affected. (Vicente-Serrano, Beguería, & López-Moreno, 2009, p.1696)

The country I am doing is Peru. Peru happens to be my home country. I was Born there and lived there for about four years. On the map of the world, Peru is located in the west of South America, and has borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. In 1532, a man by the name of Francisco Pizarro, found and conquered Peru, but he was not the first man to be on Peru. According to, www.biography.com, “Incas have been living on peru since the beginning of time.” The flag of Peru, is one of the most important symbols of Peru. It has a red, white, red, pattern with an shield in the middle of it. In this writing, I am going to write about the three symbols that are inside of the shield, and explain how they are not just pictures.

Have you thought of traveling to Peru? If you ever travel to Peru you will find a lot of interesting things there. There are a lot of different foods and languages. Peru is a very interesting places.

Climate change is one of the most important challenges of humankind in this century. The ability to adapt, mitigate and reduce carbon emissions will be decisive to preserve the world for future generations. The last IPCC report has provided more evidence regarding the rise in temperature and sea level. Apparently, additional 2°C above the pre-industrial average temperature levels is unavoidable, and it will continue at that level due the accumulation of gases in the atmosphere (Solomon 2009). Climate change will affect people all around the world in different ways, though the capacity to cope with it is different among regions and countries. The Latin America region is notably susceptible to climate change, due its geographical position, population location and its economy relying in natural resources (Vergara et. al. 2013a). The withdrawal of the coral biome, glaciers melting, jungles & forest savannization and strongest climate events are only some of the threats that will affect their inhabitants.

The melting ice caps are having a dramatic affect on the polar regions of the earth. For example, the average temperature in the Arctic is rising twice as fast than the rest of the world (nrdc.org). The once prominent ice is now melting at a dramatic speed, which is affecting native people, wildlife, and plants. When the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf splintered, the freshwater lake that it surrounded drained into the ocean, along with the ecosystem that inhabited it. Polar bears, whales, walrus and seals are changing their feeding and migration patterns, making it harder for native people to hunt them (nrdc.org). Because of the flooding, entire villages will be uprooted order to avoid being swamped. Also, the Arctic coastlines are beginning to move as well. The melting ice caps are threatening the native peoples’ cultural identity and their very survival. Ice-dependant animals, such as walruses and ring seals will be greatly affected by the melting ice caps (treehugger.com). They have fewer places to rest on, as well as fewer places to hunt. If the ice caps keep melting, their lives will become in great danger. The melting ice caps are not only affecting the Polar Regions, but they are also affecting the rest of the world as well in the form of rising ocean levels.

One of the effects of global warming is the polar ice caps’ melting. Scientists have been researching and examining the polar ice caps for a long time and they have come to the conclusion that the thin ice sheets are slowly wasting away. They have also found out that Greenland’s glaciers are getting smaller and smaller. Places around the globe that use to be covered in ice and snow are now showing more green terrain as the years go on and as the winter months grow warmer. The polar ice caps are melting more and more due to higher global temperatures. This is really bad because the ice caps “reflect and help regulate the Earth’s temperatures.”