Shocking Images Of Global Climate Change

2. Lakes Completely Dried Up - Malawi

Image Source/People

Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi...but you wouldn't know that looking at this awful photo from 2018! Over the past century - locals - like the man in the photograph, have seen the lake dry up ENTIRELY due to extreme weather events, quenching the lake of its once deep waters.

3. Wildfires RAVAGING Cities - California

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This image taken of the skyline in California during the 2018 wildfires, shows a DEADLY fireball erupting through the sky. It was estimated that the horrendous fires, which lasted over a month, killed at least 80 people and left nearly 1,000 people missing.

4. Underwater Homes Formed - California

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Another effect of extreme weather conditions in California is the impact that the lack of rainfall and persistent heat has on the water reserves in the American West. In this photo from October 2021,  you can see houseboats on the reservoir sitting significantly below where the old coastline once was!

5. Forests GASPING For Rain - Germany

Image Source/CBS News

A once lush green forest, the Harz mountain region in Germany now looks dried out and desolate. For the past few summers in the country, rainfall has decreased at an ALARMING rate. This has put a strain on the forests all over the country, making them more susceptible to pests and disease.

6. Cities DROWNING in Waste - Mumbai

This AWFUL image of a 'Garbage Mountain' in Mumbai, taken back in 2010, is just a small peak into the amount of rubbish that actually gets dumped in landfill sites across India EVERY day. Mumbai's largest waste site houses over 16 million tonnes of rubbish and this is only increasing each year.

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7. Clear Blue Seas A Thing Of The Past - Ukraine

This is in fact not a scene out of The Green Slime... but an ACTUAL image of a fisherman paddling through the polluted waters of the Kyiv Water Reservoir in Ukraine. The water turned this concerning shade of green after extreme hot weather throughout 2020 led to an increase of cyanobacteria...let's just say I would NOT want to swim in that!

Image Source/CBS News

8. Homes DESTROYED By Flooding - Peru

Back in 2017, Peru suffered some of its worst floodings in decades, after the country endured 10 X more rainfall than normal. This caused rivers to overflow - destroying roads, farms, and people's homes. This shell-shocked resident of Plura, Peru, wades through the completely flooded street where he once lived.

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9. The Destruction Caused By The 'Bomb Cyclone' - Florida

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...And if floods, fires & famine weren't enough for the world to take, back in 2018 the US East Coast experienced what experts called a 'Bomb Cyclone' (doesn't sound great does it). Just as TERRIFYING as its name, a 'Bomb Cyclone' is basically a really intense storm that can cause rapid snowfall, persistent rain, and ferocious winds. Tallahassee, Florida even had snow...for the FIRST time in almost 30 years!

10. Animals DYING Of Thirst - Ethiopia

This TRAGIC image shows livestock in Yabelo, Ethiopia literally dying of thirst due to an unprecedented period of prolonged drought. The lack of rainfall not only affected the desperate animals struggling to hydrate but also meant that many Ethiopian farmers were left with a very poor harvest.

Image Source/People

11. Smog Cloaking The Skyline - Kazakhstan

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The skyline of Almaty, Kazakhstan is almost permanently covered by a thick layer of smog, as depicted in this not-so-scenic photo taken in November 2017. Almaty is actually the MOST polluted city in all of Kazakhstan. This is mainly due to the large number of cars on the road, emissions from coal-fired power plants, and debris caused by the construction industry.

12. Ice Melting At An ALARMING Rate - Norway

Image Source/CBS News

This stark photo shows the village of Steigen, Norway, where the RAPID increase in the Earth's temperature, due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, has caused the ice to melt. Since the 80's over 326 square kilometers of Norwegian glaciers have disappeared...that's the equivalent of 60,000 football fields!

13. Making Pollution Childs Play - India

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This seemingly innocent photograph of children playing in Kolkata hides a much more sinister issue. Whilst most children are playing in parks and green fields, these kids are forced to play next to a garbage dump, as one by one, the green spaces in the city are overtaken by rubbish.

14. Forests Becoming BARE - Brazil

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It's widely believed that trees - nature's original carbon dioxide offsetters - are going to be the key to tackling the global climate emergency. However, just as we should be planting more and more trees, the opposite is happening and forests are becoming decimated due to deforestation for animal grazing, and to obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction. The WWF has predicted that by 2030 more than a quarter of the Amazon will be without trees...an AWFUL thought.

15. Nature's Strongest Materials Becoming Weaker - Germany

Image Source/CBS News

It's not just deforestation that is a threat to our forests. Increased temperatures and lack of rainfall have caused thousands of woodland ecosystems across the globe to become dried out, making the forest land more susceptible to nasty pests like the bark beetle. In this photo, evidence of bark beetle feeding channels can be seen on this dead spruce tree, in the Harz mountain region.

16. UNPRECEDENTED Heat Making It Impossible To Survive - France

Image Source/CBS News

This HORRIFYING image from July 2019, shows a huge pile of dead fish near a lagoon in southeastern France. Now I know what you're thinking...isn't this just a bunch of fish that were caught by a fisherman? In fact, these fish actually died due to a prolonged heat wave that lowered the lagoon's oxygen levels, making it impossible for the fish to survive.

17. Bathing In Pollution - India

Image Source/People

This extremely unsettling image of a man in Kolkata, India bathing in a highly polluted local pond was ironically taken on World Earth Day in 2010. Tonnes and tonnes of garbage ends in up ponds this like one, every single day, causing toxic effects for both the humans and animals who use them.

18. People Doing ANYTHING To Cool Off - Tokyo

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At first glance, this image of crowds of Japanese swimmers enjoying the sunshine with their brightly colored inflatable rings looks pretty joyful. Unfortunately, the reality is MUCH starker. 2018 was declared the fourth-hottest year on record globally, with temperatures in Tokyo reaching a whopping 97 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving residents desperate to get into the water to cool off!

19. Pollution Reaching New Heights - Macedonia

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This almost surreal photo taken from Vodno Mountain in Macedonia's capital city - Skopje - back in 2017  shows the tops of two of the tallest buildings in the city poking out from a thick blanket of smog. The city has actually been named Europe's most polluted capital, a title that you'd rather not have!

20. Floods, Floods & More Floods - England

Image Source/CBS News

If there's one thing we like to talk about in the UK...it's the weather. It's almost a running joke that in most Northern parts of the country it's always raining. However, nothing quite prepared residents of Tewkesbury Abbey for CATASTROPHIC flooding which occurred due to an overflow of the nearby River Severn.

21. Habitats Up In Flames - California

Image Source/CBS News

There were many haunting photos that were taken during the HORRENDOUS wildfires which have plagued California over the last few years. However, this photograph from 2021, depicting a cow and its calf, on a backdrop of blazing forestland, is particularly bleak.

22. Droughts WIPING Out Farmland - Australia

Image Source/People

This ariel shot - taken back in 2018 - shows a herd of cattle crossing a completely bare paddock in New South Wales, Australia. A chain of severe droughts has absolutely destroyed parts of the country's farmland,  giving farmers a nigh-on impossible chance to grow their crops and putting them under severe financial strain.

23. A Pier To Nowhere - Colombia

Image Source/CBS News

This tourist pier in Suesca, Colombia, is proving about as useful as a chocolate teapot as this stretch of Lake Suesca has COMPLETELY dried out. Back in March 2021, Colombia experienced a huge drought which caused water all over the country to dry up.

24. Mysterious Mass Murder - Honduras

Image Source/CBS News

In another instance of mass species decline, a beach on Honduras' Gulf of Fonseca is photographed after being littered with shells of dead mollusks. Whilst they're not sure what EXACTLY caused this blood bath, locals suspect pollution in the waters and climate change is to blame.

25. Beaches Becoming Eroded - Alaska

Image Source/CBS News

In this SHOCKING image, a home destroyed by beach erosion in the Alaskan village of Shishmaref, is seen fully tipped over with its contents emptied out on the ground. Many northern villages, such as Shishmaref are built on permafrost, which when frozen is harder than concrete. But when it thaws due to global warming it can DESTROY houses & roads.

26. No Ice Cap Left - Arctic

Image Source/CBS News

In this truly stark ariel image of the Arctic, you can see firsthand the effect that rising global temperatures have had on the melting ice caps. Scientists warn that if the ice sheets and glaciers continue to melt, this will cause sea levels to rise at an alarming rate, ultimately leading to flooding and habitat destruction.

27. Water Supplies Running Dry - Kenya

Image Source/CBS News

This absolutely HEARTBREAKING image of a young child standing on barren land sums up the desperate situation in Kenya. Unpredictable rainfall patterns in the country have led to disastrous flooding in some areas of Kenya, but then prolonged drought in others.

29. UNPREDICTABLE Natural Disasters - Haiti

Image Source/CBS News

When Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti in 2016, it created the most alarming humanitarian emergency the country had seen, since the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. This truly heartbreaking photo shows a young girl walking through a pile of debris that had once been her home.

30. Cooling Off From Rising Temperatures - Spain

Image Source/CBS News

It's becoming more and more common for countries to experience extremes when it comes to weather conditions - whether it be the hottest summer on record, or the most rainfall ever recorded. Globally, June 2019 was the most red-hot June in recorded history, with Madrid experiencing consistent temperatures over 106 degrees Fahrenheit! This more jovial image captures Spaniards trying to stay during the scorching summer.