change are predicted to be more severe in mountains of northern latitude. And emissions continue to rise. As a result, the Earth is now about 1.1 °C warmer than it was in the late 1800s. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record. Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. Effects of water As water supply is critical for plant growth, it plays a key role in determining the distribution of plants. Changes in precipitation are predicted to be less consistent than for temperature and more variable between regions, with predictions for some areas to become much wetter, and some much drier. A change in water availability would show a direct correlation to the growth rates and persistence of plant species in that region. With less consistent, more intense rainfall events the water availability will have a direct impact on the soil moisture in an area. A decrease in soil moisture will have negative impacts on plant's growth, changing the dynamics of the ecosystem as a whole. Plants rely not only on the total rainfall during the growing season, but also the intensity and magnitude of each rainfall event. In addition, drought-like conditions seen more frequently with climate change leave many plant and tree communities vulnerable to fires with a lower chance of survival, significantly decreasing diversity. General effects Environmental variables act not in isolation, but in combination with other pressures such as habitat degradation, habitat loss, and the introduction of exotic species that can potentially be invasive. It is suggested that these other drivers of biodiversity change will act in synergy with climate change to increase the pressure on species to survive. As these changes add up, Earth's overall ecosystems are predicted to look much different than they do today. More biologically diverse ecosystems (biodiversity hotspots) such as Mediterranean-type ecosystems are most at risk and sensitive to changes induced by global warming. Direct impacts Changes in distributions If climatic factors such as temperature and precipitation change in a region beyond the tolerance of a species phenotypic plasticity, then distribution