Space-based sensors have the capacity to measure essential climate change variables. Overall comprehensive monitoring using space technologies is made possible through collaboration among nations around the globe.

• Satellites and World Heritage Sites, Partners to Understand Climate Change (.pdf)
• From Space to Place: UNESCO’s Natural Science Sector supporting World Heritage (.pdf)

Climate change and forests are intrinsically linked. Plants and especially forests absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, convert it through photosynthesis into carbon that they store and emit oxygen, making our planet habitable.

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Projections for Latin America and the Caribbean predict significant climate change impacts: rising sea levels, increasing frequency of hurricanes and storms, more pronounced droughts and floods associated with El Niño events and declining water supplies stored in glaciers. Tropical cyclones will increase in terms of frequency and intensity, affecting coastal areas and the small islands states of the Caribbean in particular.

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Although total energy consumption has increased in North America since 1987, notable progress has been made in energy efficiency. The energy sector is still a major CO₂ emitter. The United States and Canada account respectively for 23% and 2.2% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.

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The average temperature in Europe has increased by about 1.4°C compared to pre-industrial levels and it is projected to increase by 2.1 to 4.4°C by 2080. Sea levels are rising and glacier melting is accelerating. Sea level is projected to rise 18 to 59 cm by 2100.

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Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change with the least adaptive capacity. In Africa, areas potentially subject to desertification cover 43% of the continent’s land area —land on which 270 million people live (40% of the continent’s population).

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The combustion of fossil fuels and biomass is the most significant source of air pollutants; it is also the major human-produced source of CO₂ —one of the main greenhouse gases. Asia is one of the major contributors of such gases.

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Since 1950, temperatures have risen by 0.4 to 0.7 °C, with more heat waves and a 70 mm rise in sea level. Floods, landslides, droughts and storm surges should become more frequent and intense, while snow and frost should become less frequent in this region.

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From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from the Place de la Concorde to the Grand and Petit Palais, the evolution of Paris and its history can be seen from the River Seine. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Sainte Chapelle are architectural masterpieces.

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The Galapagos Islands are a unique 'living museum and showcase of evolution' . Their ecosystems are high in diversity and endemism and home to unusual animal lifeforms, including the land iguana and the giant tortoise.

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At 5,895 m, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. Its glaciers have persisted for at least 10,000 years. However, the effects of global climate change, combined with human activities, have resulted in the loss of 80% of the area covered by glaciers on Kilimanjaro during the 20th century.

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The satellite image shows the sea, coral and mangrove beaches of Komodo. This park features some of the world’s most diverse coral reefs and is famous for the last remaining habitat of the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), which exists nowhere else in the world.

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The Scythians built burial tombs –know as kurgans– in the Altai region (Siberia). These are uniquely situated in a permafrost zone. Permafrost is defined as soil that is below 0°C for two years or more. However, the Altai permafrost is now endangered by climate change.

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The Virunga Volcanoes are situated in the Alberine Rift where Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) meet. The area hosts more endemic vertebrate species than any other region of mainland Africa.

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Corals have a symbiotic relationship with algae called zooxanthellae, which provide their colouration. Under stress, corals may release the zooxanthellae, thus losing their colour. Global climate change may play a role in the increase of coral bleaching events.

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The Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn area is the most glaciated part of the Alps. It contains the Aletsch glacier, Europe’s largest glacier with an area of 128 km², a length of 23 km and a depth of 900 m. Since the mid-19th century it has retreated by 3.4 km. About 1.4 km of this retreat has occurred over the past 56 years.

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Since the beginning of humankind, people have established their settlements near seas or rivers. Climate change and the eventual consequences of rising sea levels will affect many historic sites.

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Chan Chan is one of the most important Pre-Hispanic earthen architecture cities on the American continent. Intense rainfall is damaging the base of the earthen structures.

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The construction of dams on three of the rivers supplying Lake Ichkeul and its marshes led to long periods of drought between 1993 and 2002, reducing much of the freshwater inflow and resulting in a relative increase of the saltwater inflow. In addition, observation of the Ichkeul Region shows a decrease in rain since the 1930s. Satellite images show that the water surface has reduced as a consequence.

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With over 10,000 km² of land and water, the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans are the largest in the world. If the sea level was to rise by 45 cm worldwide as a consequence of climate change, 75% of the Sundarbans mangroves could be destroyed and many species would be affected.

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Located in Greenland, this glacier plays a central role in the study of glaciology and climate variability: it is an outstanding remnant of the last ice age of the Quaternary Period.

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Calakmul is the largest area of protected tropical forest in North and Central America. The causes of the Maya collapse are still under research, but were likely a combination of political troubles and severe climate effects including drought.

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Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although its monuments are continuously restored, current desertification enhances desert encroachment and sand storms: the site is under threat.

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The Sagarmatha National Park is an exceptional area with dramatic mountains, glaciers and deep valleys where Mount Everest (or Sagarmatha in Nepali), the highest peak in the world (8,848 m), is located. The air temperatures in this area have risen by 1°C since 1970, leading to a 30% decrease in snow and ice cover over the last 40 years.

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The frequency of flooding and damage to the city has increased significantly in recent decades: 8 of the 10 highest tides of the past century have occurred since 1960. According to moderate climate change scenarios, the projected net altitude loss of Venice will reach 54 cm by 2100.

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