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The Challenge of Natural HazardsMemory Aid

Exam Framework: CHEERS

Part of Climate Change and Hazard Response — GCSE Geography

This memory aid covers Exam Framework: CHEERS within Climate Change and Hazard Response for GCSE Geography. Revise Climate Change and Hazard Response in The Challenge of Natural Hazards for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 11 of 14 in this topic. Use it for quick recall, then test yourself straight afterwards so the memory aid becomes usable in an answer.

Topic position

Section 11 of 14

Practice

15 questions

Recall

20 flashcards

🧠 Exam Framework: CHEERS

Use this six-point framework to structure any climate change question:

C — Causes (natural): Milankovitch cycles, solar variation, volcanic eruptions. Know why these cannot explain modern warming.
H — Human causes: Fossil fuels (CO₂, 38 billion tonnes/year), deforestation (15% of emissions), agriculture (methane from livestock, nitrous oxide from fertilisers).
E — Evidence: Ice cores (CO₂ at 421 ppm, 3 million-year high), temperature records (2023 = 1.45°C above baseline), sea level rise (21–24 cm since 1880), glacier retreat (Rhône: -1.4 km in 20 years).
E — Effects (physical): Sea level rise, more intense storms, drought (Mediterranean, Sahel), flooding, coral bleaching, ecosystem disruption.
R — Responses — mitigation: Paris Agreement, Germany's Energiewende (59% renewable), Norway EVs (80% electric sales), Sleipner CCS (1M tonnes/year), Ethiopia reforestation.
S — Strategies — adaptation: Maldives sea walls ($500M + Hulhumalé island), Bangladesh floating gardens + BINA Dhan 11 rice, Netherlands Room for the River (€2.3bn) + amphibious homes.

For the Paris Agreement: 1.5-2-5

  • 1.5°C — target limit of warming above pre-industrial levels
  • 2°C — maximum acceptable warming limit
  • 5 years — cycle for reviewing NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)
  • 196 — number of countries that signed

Greenhouse gas warming potentials (vs CO₂):

  • CO₂ = 1 (baseline)
  • Methane = 28× (livestock, rice, landfill)
  • Nitrous oxide = 265× (fertilisers)
  • CFCs = thousands× (now largely banned)

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Climate Change and Hazard Response. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Common MisconceptionsExam Connection — OCR B GeographyThe Summer That Changed the ConversationEvidence That Climate Is Changing

Practice Questions for Climate Change and Hazard Response

What do greenhouse gases do in the atmosphere?

  • A. They reflect sunlight back into space before it reaches Earth
  • B. They trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the Earth
  • C. They cause rainfall by attracting water vapour
  • D. They absorb ultraviolet radiation from the Sun
1 markfoundation

Explain how burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. [2 marks]

2 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

What is mitigation?
Action taken to reduce the causes of climate change.
What is adaptation?
Action taken to adjust to the effects of climate change.

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Common Misconceptions

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Exam Connection — OCR B Geography