Long-Term Forecast: Hot and Dry Reading Answers

We have provided Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry reading answers here. Three different question types are included in the reading passage: Flowchart Completion, Locating Information and Summary Completion.

Table of contents:

• Solution for Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry 
• Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry 

We have included the Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry reading answers in the table below for ease of use.

Answer Table 

1. Varying rates	5. Vegetation	9. D	13. C
2. Intensify	6. Soils	10. B	14. A
3. Initiate	7. G	11. E
4. Aridity	8. E	12. G

Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry IELTS Reading Practice Test - Exam Review

Check out our YouTube Channel to Practice Full-Length IELTS Reading Tests Daily

Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry Reading Answers is provided here to guide you in developing your time-management and problem-solving abilities.

Passage 

You should devote 20 minutes to reading Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry and answering the questions (1–14). Additionally, we have included Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry reading answers with locations for the reference.

Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry 

1. Melting land ice in the Arctic is set to cause a global rise in sea levels, leading to disastrous effects for both man and wildlife. Many species worldwide are threatened  with extinction, and low-lying islands and landmasses will disappear entirely. But the havoc wreaked by the effect of greenhouse gases won’t be confined to just too much water, but the absence of it, as well. In other words, desertification. A decrease in the total amount of rainfall in arid and semi-arid areas could increase the total area of drylands worldwide, and thus the total amount of land potentially at risk from desertification. 
2. Desertification is officially recognised as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities. This degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend, or initiate a change in local climate, both leading towards greater aridity. The more arid conditions associated with desertification accelerate the depletion of vegetation and soils. Land degradation occurs all over the world, but it is only referred to as desertification when it takes place in drylands. This is because these areas are especially prone to more permanent damage as different areas of degraded land spread and merge together to form desert-like conditions. 
3. Global warming brought about by increasing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere is expected to increase the variability of weather conditions and extreme events. Many dryland areas face increasingly low and erratic rainfalls, coupled with soil erosion by wind and the drying-up of water resources through increased regional temperatures. Deforestation can also reduce rainfall in certain areas, increasing the threat of desertification. It is not yet possible. Despite sophisticated technology, to identify with an acceptable degree of reliability those parts of the Earth where desertification will occur. Existing drylands, which cover over 40% of the total land area of the world, most significantly in Africa and Asia, will probably be most at risk from climate change. These areas already experience low rainfall, and any that falls is usually in the form of short, erratic, high-intensity storms. In addition, such areas also suffer from land degradation due to over-cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, and poor irrigation practices.
4. It is a misconception that droughts cause desertification. Droughts are common in arid and semi-arid lands. Well-managed lands can cover from drought when the rains return. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Nor does desertification occur in linear, easily definable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Often little or no data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be halted or reversed.
5. But desertification will not be limited to the drylands of Africa and Asia. According to the environmental organization Greenpeace, the Mediterranean will suffer substantially, too. If current trends in emissions of greenhouse gases continue, global temperatures are expected to rise faster over the next century than over any time during the last 10,000 years. Significant uncertainties surround predictions of regional climate changes, but it is likely that the Mediterranean region will also warm significantly, increasing the frequency and severity of doughnuts across the region. As the world warms, global sea levels will rise as oceans  expand and glaciers melt. Around much of the Mediterranean basin, sea levels could rise by close to 1m by 2100. As a result, some low-lying coastal areas would be lost through flooding or erosion, while rivers and coastal aquifers would become saltier. The worst affected areas will be the Nile Delta, Venice in Italy and Thessaloniki in Greece, two major cities where local subsidence means that sea levels could rise by at least one-and-a-half times as much as elsewhere.
6. The consequences of all this, say Greenpeace, are far-reaching, and the picture is a gloomy one. Livestock production would suffer due to a deterioration in the quality of rangeland. Yields of grains and other crops could decrease substantially across the Mediterranean region due to increased frequency of drought. Crop production would be further threatened by increases in competition for water and the prevalence of pests and diseases and land loss through desertification and sea-level rise. The combination of heat and pollution would lead to an upsurge in respiratory illness among urban populations, while extreme weather events could increase death and injury rates. Water shortages and damaged infrastructure would increase the risk of cholera and dysentery, while higher temperatures would increase the incidence of infectious diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever. Serious social disruption could occur as millions are forced from their homelands as a result of desertification, poor harvests and sea-level rise, while international disputes over shared water resources could turn into conflict.
7. Future climate change could critically undermine efforts for sustainable development in the Mediterranean region through its impact on the environment and social and economic well being. While in many respects climate change exacerbates existing problems instead of creating new ones, the sheer magnitude of the potential problem means it cannot be ignored. There is some scope of adaptation, but the fact that many measures would be beneficial irrespective of climate change suggest that radical changes in our policies and practices will be needed. It is also vital that developed countries meet their obligations to assist adaptation in developing countries through access to know-how and financial assistance. Ultimately, however, the long-term sustainability of the Mediterranean region requires keeping climate change within tolerable bounds. Current understanding of safe limits points to the need for prompt international agreement – and action – to make the drastic cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases required to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of these gases.

Questions 

Questions 1-6

Complete the Flowchart below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Questions 7-10

Reading passage has Seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

     7. Human intervention is a potential solution to a potential disaster.

     8. The rate of climate change is set to accelerate dramatically.

     9. There is seldom enough information available in some areas to track how fast the effects of climate change have happened in the past.

   10. Desertification is attributable to a number of factors.

Questions 11-14

Complete the Summary with the list of words A-I below.
Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

Climate change may have catastrophic effects on the human and animal world. As glaciers melt, sea levels will rise, causing extensive flooding and land 11. ___________. Another consequence of global warming is 12. __________, which affects areas known as 13. __________. These areas are subject to irregular weather patterns but also suffer from human intervention or neglect, such as inadequate or ineffective 14. ___________ systems.

A. Irrigation	B.Cooling	C. Drylands
B. Cause	E. Loss	F. Abuse
C. Desertification	H. Deserts	I. Emission

Answers for Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry With Explanations (h2)

Long-term Forecast: Hot and Dry reading answers with explanations are provided below. It will be beneficial for rectifying the mistakes in your answering process.

(Note: The language highlighted in bold refers to the passage's location and answer. The explanatory sentences from the reading passage are shown in italics.)

1. Answer: Varying rates

Explanation: It is illustrated in Paragraph B about the productive land process. It says that this degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. This indicates that degradation proceeds at different rates in the productive land process.

2. Answer: Intensify

Explanation: In Paragraph B, Line 5, it says that desertification may intensify a general climatic trend, or initiate a change in local climate, both leading towards greater aridity. This sentence signifies that greater aridity may result from either a local climate shift or an intensification of a global trend in climate caused by desertification.

3. Answer: Initiate

Explanation: It is apparent from Paragraph B, Line 5 that desertification may intensify a general climatic trend, or initiate a change in local climate, both leading towards greater aridity. It can be understood from the sentence that greater aridity may result from either a local climate shift or an intensification of a global trend in climate caused by desertification.

4. Answer: Aridity

Explanation: Paragraph B provides information regarding the result of greater aridity: that desertification may intensify a general climatic trend, or initiate a change in local climate, both leading towards greater aridity. This sentence suggests that greater aridity may result from either a local climate shift or an intensification of a global trend in climate caused by desertification.

5. Answer: Vegetation

Explanation: It can be seen from Paragraph B’s seventh line that the more arid conditions associated with desertification accelerate the depletion of vegetation and soils. It infers that the loss of vegetation and soils is accelerated by the more arid circumstances brought on by desertification.

6. Answer: Soils

Explanation: Paragraph B puts forward information that the more arid conditions associated with desertification accelerate the depletion of vegetation and soils. It infers that the loss of vegetation and soils is accelerated by the more arid circumstances brought on by desertification.

7. Answer: G

Explanation: Paragraph G, Line 3, discusses that while in many respects climate change exacerbates existing problems instead of creating new ones, the sheer magnitude of the potential problem means it cannot be ignored. There is some scope for adaptation, but the fact that many measures would be beneficial irrespective of climate change suggests that radical changes in our policies and practices will be needed. It is also vital that developed countries meet their obligations to assist adaptation in developing countries through access to know-how and financial assistance. It means that if humans exacerbate existing problems instead of creating new ones, the scope of adaptation, which includes changes in policies and practices, Thus, the information that human intervention is a potential solution to a potential disaster belongs to paragraph G.

8. Answer: E

Explanation: It is mentioned in Paragraph E, Line 3, that if current trends in emissions of greenhouse gases continue, global temperatures are expected to rise faster over the next century than at any time during the last 10,000 years. From this sentence, it is apparent that if present trends, like greenhouse gas emissions, which lead to global warming, continue, the rate of climate change is set to accelerate dramatically. Hence, paragraph E is the correct answer.

9. Answer: D

Explanation: In the Last Lines of Paragraph D, it is clearly stated that, unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Often, little or no data is available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be halted or reversed. These sentences convey the information that there is seldom enough information available in some areas to track how fast the effects of climate change have happened in the past. Therefore, D is the correct answer.

10. Answer: B

Explanation: In Paragraph B, the introductory Lines reveal the information that desertification is officially recognised as land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. It means that desertification is attributable to a number of factors. Thereby, B is the appropriate answer.

11. Answer: E

Explanation: In Paragraph E, Last fourth Line it is clearly stated that, as the world warms, global sea levels will rise as oceans expand and glaciers melt. Around much of the Mediterranean basin, sea levels could rise by close to 1m by 2100. As a result, some low-lying coastal areas would be lost through flooding or erosion, while rivers and coastal aquifers would become saltier. This implies that climate change may have catastrophic effects on the human and animal worlds. As glaciers melt, sea levels will rise, causing extensive flooding and land loss.

12. Answer: G

Explanation: In Paragraph B, Last Third Line, it is pointed out that land degradation occurs all over the world, but it is only referred to as desertification when it takes place in drylands. This sentence suggests that the consequences of climate change are flooding, land loss, and desertification.
               
13. Answer: C

Explanation: The Last Fourth Line from Paragraph B narrates that land degradation occurs all over the world, but it is only referred to as desertification when it takes place in drylands. It says that consequences of climate change are flooding, land loss, and desertification. However, desertification, which is another side effect of global warming, affects areas called drylands.

14. Answer: A

Explanation: It is mentioned in Paragraph C, Last Line, that areas such as drylands also suffer from land degradation due to over-cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, and poor irrigation practices. This signifies that dryland areas are subject to irregular weather patterns but also suffer from human intervention or neglect, such as inadequate or ineffective irrigation systems.

Other Reading Tests 

• Homer's literary legacy reading answers
• War debris could cause cancer reading answers
• The australian visa application process explained reading answers