5.6A Impact of climate change on inputs and outputs

• Climate change can affect:

  • precipitation levels
  • soil moisture
  • evapotranspiration
• Climate change affects precipitation by:

  • Warmer air holds more water, therefore, there would be an increase in rainfall frequency and intensity
  • Decreases in precipitation would most likely lie between 10° and 30° north and south of the Equator
  • Increased frequency and length of heatwaves, increasing occurrences of drought and water scarcity
  • Snowfall is replaced with rain in northern regions, reducing glacier mass
• Climate change affects soil moisture by:

  • Where areas see an increase in precipitation then it would follow that soil moisture will increase also and vice versa
  • Overall impact of climate change is uncertain as many factors contribute soil moisture levels and climate is just one factor 
• Climate change affects evapotranspiration by:

  • Increased evaporation over large land masses such as North America and Asia
  • Transpiration levels would alter inline with vegetation changes (increase or decrease), this would further link to changes in soil moisture and precipitation