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WGE01 Global Challenges

Edexcel IAL Geography, Unit 1 (AS unit, usually Year 12). 33 lessons so far, in the suggested order.

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Lessons in WGE01

  1. Geophysical hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides
    Divergent: gentle eruptions; convergent (subduction): biggest earthquakes, explosive volcanoes, tsunami; conservative: earthquakes only. Landslides and avalanch
  2. Hydro-meteorological hazards: cyclones, floods, drought and ENSO
    Cyclones: wind, storm surge, rain. Drought: medium-term rainfall deficit. El Nino: weak trade winds, warm water east, floods in Peru, drought in Australia and I
  3. Hazards, disasters and how magnitude is measured
    Hazard + vulnerable people = disaster. Mw: x10 amplitude, about x32 energy per step. VEI: about x10 volume per step. Spearman: rs = 1 - 6(sum d squared)/(n(n sq
  4. Hazard risk: hazard, vulnerability and capacity
    Risk = (Hazard x Vulnerability) / Capacity. Vulnerability raises risk; capacity lowers it.
  5. Global hazard distribution: physical patterns and human factors
    Physical processes explain where hazards occur; development, density, access and governance explain where disasters are worst. Choropleths need rates; cartogram
  6. Multiple-hazard zones: the Philippines and California
    Hotspots face several hazards. Philippines: volcanoes, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides; low capacity, top WorldRiskIndex. California: transform fault, wildfir
  7. Mega-disasters: the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Japan tsunami
    Mega-disasters: rare, huge, multi-country, need international response. 2004: Mw 9.1, over 200,000 casualties, no warning system. 2011: Mw 9.1, about 15,900 dea
  8. Global trends in hazards and disasters
    1970 to 2019: disasters x5, deaths down almost x3, losses x7 (WMO). More exposure and reporting raise counts and losses; warnings and preparation cut deaths. Ch
  9. Predicting hazards and reducing disaster impacts
    Volcanoes, tsunami and cyclones can be forecast; individual earthquakes cannot. Warnings, design, preparedness, zoning and aid cut losses, but access to them de
  10. Evidence for past climate change
    Ice cores (temperature and CO2, 800,000 years), ocean sediments and tree rings show glacial-interglacial cycles; pollen, documents and art show the Medieval War
  11. Natural causes of climate change
    Eccentricity 100,000 years; tilt 22.1 to 24.5 degrees over 41,000 years; precession about 23,000 years. Feedbacks amplify. Sunspots: 11-year cycle. Volcanic aer
  12. Recent warming in context: magnitude, pace and reliability of data
    2011 to 2020 was 1.09 C warmer than 1850 to 1900 (IPCC). CO2 highest for at least 2 million years. Proxies and early records have gaps; recent records and satel
  13. Rising emissions and the enhanced greenhouse effect
    CO2 316.91 ppm (1960) to 421.08 ppm (2023). Sources: fossil fuels, farming, deforestation. China largest total (35% in 2023); India large total but low per capi
  14. Uncertain futures: IPCC projections, feedbacks and tipping points
    2081 to 2100: 1.4 C (very low), 2.7 C (intermediate), 4.4 C (very high). Sea level up 0.20 m 1901 to 2018. Ranges reflect human choices and feedback uncertainty
  15. Global warming risks: low-lying coasts, mega-deltas and the Sahel
    Maldives: about 80% of islands under 1 m. Mega-deltas: Ganges-Brahmaputra and Mekong, subsiding. Sahel and wider Africa: 95% of cropland rain-fed, productivity
  16. Mitigation: national action and global agreements
    Montreal 1987: nearly 99% of ozone-depleting substances eliminated. Kyoto 1997: binding 5% cut for developed countries only. Paris 2015: well below 2 C, aim 1.5
  17. Adaptation and attitudes to global warming
    Mitigation cuts emissions; adaptation copes with change. Netherlands: Delta Fund about 1.25 billion euros a year. Bangladesh: shelters partly funded by World Ba
  18. What is globalisation and how is it measured?
    Globalisation: widening and deepening flows of goods, capital, information and people. KOF: economic, social, political. Scaling: (value - min)/(max - min) x 10
  19. Transport, communications and trade: a shrinking world
    Railways, telegraph, steamships, then jets and containers, then internet and fibre optics compressed time and space (not equally everywhere). Free trade, develo
  20. TNCs: production networks, glocalisation and outsourcing
    TNCs build global production networks, glocalise products and seek new markets. Offshoring = own operations abroad; outsourcing = contracting another firm. Bene
  21. Governments, trade blocs and IGOs: who promotes globalisation?
    Governments: trade blocs, liberalisation, privatisation, SEZs (China from 1980). IMF and World Bank: lending with market reforms. WTO (1995): trade rules. Contr
  22. Winners and losers: consumers, the Rustbelt and switched-off places
    Consumers gain cheap goods; critics cite exploitation, job loss and environmental costs. Rustbelt: deindustrialisation, dereliction, depopulation (Detroit over
  23. Asia at the centre of globalisation: costs and benefits
    China: close to 800 million out of extreme poverty in 40 years, about three quarters of the global fall. Costs: 35% of global CO2 (2023), local air, water and l
  24. Global population trends and population pyramids
    8.2 billion (2024), peak about 10.3 billion mid-2080s, 10.2 billion in 2100. TFR 2.3 (2024) from 3.3 (1990). Natural increase % = (CBR - CDR)/10. Wide-based pyr
  25. Ageing and youthful populations
    Japan: 29.3% aged 65+ (2024); challenges of care, pensions and labour. Youthful: demographic dividend if jobs and education keep pace. Dependency ratio = (0 to
  26. Population and resources: Malthus, Boserup and the Club of Rome
    Malthus: population outstrips food, then checks (pessimistic). Boserup: pressure drives innovation (optimistic). Club of Rome 1972: limits to growth unless poli
  27. Global migration: trends, flows and links to globalisation
    About 281 million international migrants (3.6%), 117 million displaced. Remittances US$831 billion (2022). Globalisation attracts high-skill elites and low-skil
  28. Costs, benefits and attitudes to migration
    Hosts: workers and skills, younger population, but pressure on services. Sources: remittances and returning skills, but brain drain and ageing. Attitudes reflec
  29. Managing migration: Australia, Germany and refugees
    Australia: Operation Sovereign Borders (2013), turnbacks and offshore processing, plus a planned humanitarian intake. Germany: about 965,000 asylum seekers regi
  30. World urbanisation: trends, causes and rural impacts
    55% urban (2018), 68% by 2050; 751 million (1950) to 4.2 billion (2018). India, China and Nigeria give 35% of growth to 2050. Causes: migration, natural increas
  31. Urban housing challenges: slums in Mumbai
    Slums: insecure tenure, overcrowding, poor services. India: about 64 million slum dwellers, one in six urban people; Mumbai about 41% of households. Solutions n
  32. Megacities: growth, air pollution and services
    Megacity: over 10 million; 33 in 2018, 43 by 2030. Air pollution from traffic, coal and industry harms health; Beijing cut PM2.5 35% (2013 to 2017). Services la
  33. WGE01 exam technique: Section A and Section B
    Section A: compulsory, point-marked and 6-mark levels. Section B: one topic, 10 + 20 marks. 20 marks = AO1 5 + AO2 15; AO1-only capped at 4. Compare means compa

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