10 photos of a changing world

01 / Satellite images from the Arctic ice pack in September 2005 and again in September 2007

Credits: Nasa

The Arctic ice pack is most extensive in the month of September. Yet NASA, which has been mapping it annually since 1979, has measured a 13% drop in its surface area per year.

02 / The Maldives under threat from rising water levels

Credits: Géo

The rising water levels are threatening more and more islands and coastal cities.

Scientists have calculated that sea levels rose by 18cm between 1870 and 2000, and

at a faster rate in recent years (+6cm in 20 years).

03 / Iceberg drifting off the village of Kulusuk in Greenland

Credits: Bob Strong / Reuters

Global warming has hit Greenland hard, with the ice melting increasingly quickly.

In barely ten years, temperature variations of several dozen degrees in the same period have been recorded.

04 / Pollution from factories contributes to global warming

Credits: ThinkStock

In 2012, the primary production of renewable energies rose to 22.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe).

The main sectors are wood fuel (44.8%), hydropower (22.4%), biofuels (10.7%) and heat pumps (6.2%).

05 / Drought, one of the consequences of climate change

Credits: Getty Image

Climate change increases the risk of more violent and more frequent extreme

climate events such as droughts, torrential rain and storms.

06 / I don’t believe in global warming

Credits: Banksy

A meta-study published in 2013 in “Environmental Research Letters” compiled

almost 12,000 research abstracts published by over 29,000 researchers between 1991 and 2011.

Among them, 3,896 articles stated a position on the causes of global warming over the past 50 years:

97.1% of them endorsed the consensus that it is human-caused.

07 / The Robeson Islands in the San Blas archipelago (Panama) are under threat from rising water levels

Credits: Yann-Arthus Bertrand

Experts from the IPCC have predicted that average sea and ocean levels could rise

from 26cm to 82cm by 2100. This would pose a threat to all islands, deltas and coastal areas.

08 / Melting ice is destroying many species’ habitats

Credits : Reuters

Destroying habitats and ecosystems leads to many species becoming extinct. Currently,

20-30% of animal and plant species are under threat of extinction.

09 / Flooding in Pakistan

Credits: Getty Image

The recent deadly floods which hit Pakistan are largely due to

the melting Himalayan glaciers, which in turn is caused by global warming.

10 / Large-scale deforestation

Credits: Global Population Speak out

Four centuries ago, 66% of the earth was covered in forests – today, this figure has been halved.

And this deforestation is intensifying, with 23 million hectares of forest destroyed between 2000 and 2012.