Climate Change Perception Essay

Climate includes temperature, rainfall, wind and other weather conditions over a larger region and on a longer time frame unlike weather. On the other hand, change is the act or a process through which something becomes different. In lame man’s language, climate change is the alteration of weather conditions in a huge area over a long period of time. Hence, this concept is usually referred to as the concept of global climate change. According to the UNDP (2009), climate change is a scientifically proven phenomenon that includes any change in the climate, whether due to its natural variability or as a result of human activity. UNFCCC (1992), defines climate change as change which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that

If so, how do they perceive and understand it. Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of a phenomenon including climate change (Seyoum, 2015). According to Babitski (2010:1), “the role of the human perception is one of the most important questions. If we understood how a human perceives and operates information, we would more precisely make the future forecasts and increase our efficiency”. Studying the way people perceive various environmental phenomena is very critical in the formulation of decisions about environmental phenomena. A lot of studies have been done in regard to climate change perception across the

By contrast, almost none believed they had decreased or that the temperature range had altered due to climate change, apart from some in Ethiopia. The results for precipitation showed a similar uniformity of opinion across the ten countries. In six out of ten countries, majority of the people believed rainfall levels had decreased and a change in the timing of the rains. All the above mentioned examples show the importance of understanding climate change at a local or indigenous versus the global or scientific understanding about perceptions of climate