Global and regional changes of climate: Causes,consequences and adaptation of the economic activities

This paper is concerned with some debatable issues related to assessments of the role played by greenhouse gases and aerosols in the formation of seasonal patterns of temperature change in the northern and southern hemispheres as well as of air temperature across the territory of Belarus. It is shown that the periods of low aerosol pollution of the atmosphere coincide with high summer temperatures in the region. A warming period of the 1930s–early 1940s in the northern hemisphere (in the Arctic) was also observed during a warm season. In recent years when aerosol pollution has decreased, the growth rate of summer temperatures has increased; the temperature rise during a cold period became comparable to that observed during a warm period. In terms of the theory of greenhouse warming of the climate system, however, the temperature rise must be more pronounced in a cold season. Over the last 15–16 years, global temperature, remaining the highest for the period of instrumental observations, has not been increasing, whereas carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere has increased by more than 30%. A detailed study is made of the consequences of the forecasted climate warming in climate-dependent sectors of the economy. It is concluded that there is a need to work out multivariant adaptation measures in view of the uncertainty of existing knowledge regarding the causes for climate change, and because of the large spread in scenario-based assessments of future climate changes.