Present Status of Climate Change, its Impact on Sri Lankan Agriculture and the Way Forward

Abstract

Climate Change is the statistically significant variation of either mean or its variability, persisting for an extended period of time, typically decades or longer due to changes of atmospheric composition attributable to human activities (IPCC, 2001) Factors that may change the natural rhythm of climate are, oceanic processes such as ocean currents (/.e, Gulf current), biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by earth (i.e, sunspot activity), plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, variations in the earth's orbit, mountain-building, con tin ental d rift and hum an-induced alterations of the natural world. Of these, the human induced alteration of the natural world effects are currently causing global warming, and "climate change" is often used to describe human-specific impacts such as changes in greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere. Climate change, particularly global worming occurs when rate at which energy is received from the sun to the earth exceed the rate at which it is lost to the space which determines the equilibrium temperature and climate of earth. This energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms affecting the climates of different regions.