Hello. In the previous unit, you looked at the greenhouse effect. In this unit, we're going to be looking at the impacts of climate change. One of those impacts is that the Earth is going to be hotter, and we're going to introduce ways that this will affect people, animals, and the natural world. We'll look at drought and how this will affect both the water we need to drink and the water we use for crops and animals. We'll also look at other effects of a hotter planet. Let's begin by looking at drought. Drought means there is a long period of time with little or no rain, and there is a water shortage as a result. The year 2016 was the hottest year on record, impacting global weather patterns. Consequently, many parts of the world suffered from drought -- India, Latin America, California, and parts of Southeast Asia have all suffered from heat waves and drought recently. The worst effects, however, have been seen in parts of Africa. Not every part of Africa has been experiencing drought; some parts of Western Africa have seen heavy rainfall which is also causing problems. However, in Eastern and Southern Africa, especially hot weather and very little rainfall have created serious drought conditions. Without rain, wells, the places where water is stored underground, have dried up and there is not enough water to drink. This is a direct result of too much heat. To make things worse, there is not enough water for the animals that humans rely on. And crops, the plants that humans grow to eat, which need water to grow, are failing too. Millions of people are at risk from the thirst and hunger that are caused by drought. There are other negative effects of excessive heat. Every year, heat waves, a short period of higher than usual temperatures, cause a number of deaths. For example, in 2003, nearly 15,000 people died during a heat wave in France; most were elderly people living alone or who did not have air conditioning. Greater use of energy is another negative consequence of excessive heat. This arises from air conditioning units and other cooling systems being turned on for a longer time and consuming more energy. If we create this energy by using fossil fuels, it can add to the global warming process. Other negative impacts of excessive heat can include physical damage to infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and railways. This damage is caused by metals and other materials melting because they are exposed to the hot sun, and can be especially dangerous to people traveling by cars and on trains and buses. A hotter atmosphere can also cause an increase in air pollution. When pollutants are released into the atmosphere, warm air can act like a cover, trapping the pollutants lower to the ground and not letting them escape to the upper atmosphere. In this case, the diseases caused by air pollution can be made even worse. In addition to this, hot weather can also put more pressure on relationships and often result in greater conflict. Crime rates often rise as temperatures go up. And productivity, the amount of work that people do, goes down. So as we have seen, excessive heat can cause many problems for people. Drought affects the amount of water available to drink but also affects animals and crops. Other effects include deaths from heat waves, greater use of energy, infrastructure damage, spreading air pollution, and social problems, such as an increase in crime and a decrease in productivity. Next, you're going to learn about the effects of hurricanes and storms.