THE GLOBAL SOUTH

“The phrase “Global South” refers broadly to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, India, and Oceania. It is one of a family of terms, including “Third World” and “Periphery,” that denote regions outside Europe and North America, mostly (though not all) low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized. The use of the phrase Global South marks a shift from a central focus on development or cultural difference toward an emphasis on geopolitical relations of power.”

Nour Dados and Raewyn Connell

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON GLOBAL SOUTH COUNTRIES

Climate change presents the largest environmental and economic case of inequity that is the Global South. In the late 20th century, “Global South” was a term popularized to describe the socio-economic division between the North and the South. Generally, southern states are poorer and heavily dependent on exportation of goods, whereas the North consists of countries that are wealthier, developed and export technically advanced products. Socio-economic disparity between the North and the South is very evident in that Southern countries hold three quarters of the world’s population but only have access to one-fifth of the world’s wealth. On the other hand, the North only holds one quarter of the world’s population, but controls four-fifths of the world’s wealth.

The Global South has been negatively impacted by globalization and climate change. Northern Countries are the main contributors of climate change. Even though the North contributes to climate change, it experiences far less than the Southern countries do despite continuing to emit emissions. Earth is heating up from the South to the North which puts the Global South on the front line of climate change. These countries are closer to the equator and as the temperatures increase, they warm more quickly than the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, millions of people in the South are experiencing greater threats. They experience severe droughts, loss of biodiversity, water stress, decline in food production, flooding and etc. Global South countries: Latin America, The Island Nations, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and China have harshly experienced these impacts compared to the Global North countries. It is imperative that climate change policies need to be developed and enforced to increase public safety.

  • Food

    Global South natives rely heavily on farming to feed for their family and create income. As a result of climate change, the weather is unpredictable, making it difficult to sustain healthy crops overtime. For example, monsoon cycles are becoming less frequent due to warming temperatures creating dry, arid soil/land. By 2050, countries will have stopped sharing food.

  • Housing Infrastructure

    Housing infrastructure in the Global South is likely to be poor quality and incapable of withstanding extreme weather. Homes that are destroyed during these extreme weather events may not be repaired because most Global South residents lack the funds to do so. Lack of early warning measures cause lack of preparedness, death, and greater destruction.

  • Health

    Poor sanitation occurs after big disasters such as floods and tornadoes. This causes diseases to spread quickly.

  • Vector Borne Diseases

  • Access to Water

    The world’s land, and its fresh water, is shrinking as the oceans expand.

    In rural areas, shrinking sources of fresh water, droughts, and changes to the water cycle, make it difficult to get hold of clean water.

  • Air Pollution

    In densely populated cities, air pollution is a real problem. Cities with lots of cars driving around, and coal fired power stations exporting fumes can lead to heart and lung problems such as asthma and heart disease.

  • Home

    More than half the world’s population live near the coast. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of flooding, sea level rise, and storm surges. When those happen, it causes devastation and loss of life for the people living in these areas.

  • Extreme Heat

    Humans are very vulnerable to heat. We can exist in a very small range of temperature. We will experience a decrease in Health and Quality of Life. Urban Heat Island Effect is the Most Dangerous Impact. Cities absorb heat due to the density of materials that make the city. Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) can create temperatures that are 6 C - 10 C hotter than their surrounds. UHIE is the most dangerous of all climate impacts. Given that by 2050, 70% of the Global population will be living in cities, UHIE will likely cause most of the fatalities in cities.

  • Loss of Biodiversity

    Disruption of life cycles. The loss of vegetation can cause desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, and increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

GLOBAL SOUTH COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

  • Currently, India is facing extreme heat and sea level rise, which will be devasting to the health and livelihoods of the Indian people. India’s food supplies are stressed as the population continues to increase, oceans are being warmed by increase temperatures, which effects the essential marine life. Global ice melts double, sea levels rise, and heatwaves increase. The Rahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus are the 3 main rivers on the Indian subcontinent which is particularly dependent on mountain water from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Disappearance of glacial meltwaters from the sources of these rivers because of climate change will have a dramatic effect on Pakistan, Bangladesh and India’s agriculture. As a result, 1/3 of all species will suffer potential extinction. By 2050, 35 million Indians living in coastal areas could face the risk of annual flooding, the latest data on sea-level rise suggest. By the turn of the century, this number could go up to 51 million if global carbon emissions continue unabated.

  • National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration found that Africa was split in half by global warming. The northern half is likely to see a recovery in the rainfall while the southern half gets progressively drier. In Southern Africa, 2019 brought the worst drought in a century. The biggest casualty is the drying up of one of the seven natural wonders of the world: Victoria Falls. The Zambezi River, which feeds Victoria Falls and borders Zambia and Zimbabwe, is losing 437 million cubic meters per second through evaporation. According to the Zambezi River Authority, the water level is at the lowest it’s been in 25 years. The Sahel is another region in Africa that is drastically impacted by climate change. It is a dry zone between the Sahara Desert and the Sudanian, Savanah. The extent of drying in the 3-degree world is going to be far off any scale that would permit human adaptation. For example, over inland, rising heat causes a great evaporation rate from the land and vegetation creating desertification.

    By 2050, the region’s population is expected to more than double, to 450 million, and temperatures there are expected to rise to about 3 °C Already, hunger and malnutrition are widespread in the Sahel. Droughts and other weather extremes make it even harder for farmers to produce the crops and livestock.

  • China is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate impacts. China’s government believes that climate change is increasing the pressure on the country’s already stressed water, food, and energy resources. Moreover, putting further strain on already stretched infrastructure and compounding the problem of rising food prices, water scarcity and power shortages. Southern China can expect more flooding, whereas the North is dry, and drought stricken. Monsoons will take longer to get to the dry interiors of China making the Aquifers dry. As a result, China will struggle with a chronic shortage of water and the ability to feed itself. This is having different effects on different provinces, depending on their economies. For example, fourteen provincial economies could be at risk from water stress because they are heavily reliant on manufacturing.

    Flooding is a major climate change impact that affects China especially in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Heavy rain floodwaters submerge houses, and cars. Thousands of acres of croplands are destroyed along with hundreds of houses and direct economic losses.

“… the rich countries of the world are, in fact, the world’s biggest gated community.” —Frank Jacobs

THE GLOBAL NORTH

Climate change presents the largest environmental and economic case of inequity that is the Global South. In the late 20th century, “Global South” was a term popularized to describe the socio-economic division between the North and the South. Generally, southern states are poorer and heavily dependent on exportation of goods whereas the North consists of countries that are wealthier, developed and export technically advanced products. Socio-economic disparity between the North and the South is very evident in that Southern counties holds three quarters of the world’s population but only has access to one-fifth of the world’s wealth. On the other hand, the North only holds one quarter of the world’s population, but controls four-fifths of the world’s wealth.

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There are more displaced people and refugees now than at any other time in recorded history — 60 million in all — and they are on the march in numbers not seen since World War II. They are coming not just from Syria, but from an array of countries and regions, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, even Haiti, as well as any of a dozen or so nations in sub-Saharan and North Africa. They are unofficial ambassadors of failed states, unending wars, intractable conflicts.

America Today: Too Much Water, or Not Enough

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