Almost half of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions, the main greenhouse gas which causes climate change, actually come from the things we do every day.

Climate changes are natural phenomena that have been happening since the Earth was created approximately 4.6 billion years ago but recently there has been unprecedented warming. The effects of climate change can be seen in our every day lives.

During the last 40 years, the UK's winters have grown warmer, with heavier bursts of rain. The summers are growing drier and hotter - one of the starkest changes over the last 200 years is our summers have become drier causing widespread water shortages. The last 10 years have seen nine of the ten warmest years since records began.

By the end of the century, the average yearly temperature of the UK could be between 1°C and 4.5°C hotter than today, depending on how high greenhouse gas levels rise. The land will heat up faster than the sea, and the South East more than the North West. Summer and Autumn will generally heat up more than winter and spring, and as the nights turn hotter and stickier - the sort of temperatures we currently get at 7pm could be experienced at 11pm by 2100.

By the end of this century, we could be facing intense heatwaves reaching up to mid 40°C in some places, more like the heat in 2003 that killed thousands of people across the rest of Europe. Temperatures as high as this have probably not been experienced since the last great warm period over 100,000 years ago, at the same time that hippos roamed England.

As the summers become hotter and drier, drought could become a major threat. Anyone who lived through the long, hot summer of 1976 will remember the drought that reached crisis proportions: water rationing, building subsidence, withered crops, diseased trees, wildfires and deaths from the heat. Such could be the face of summers to come if we don't learn to change our behaviours and take steps to prevent further climate change.

The animal and plant worlds could also be thrown into turmoil. Many species that we traditionally associate with Britain may disappear, while there could be an increase in insects, with bloodsucking ticks, scorpions and poisonous spiders becoming a feature of everyday life. Needless to say, the white Christmas could become a thing of the past, while the UK's green and pleasant land will become more brown and unpleasant as the climate becomes less suited to growing lawns and gardens.

By the end of this century, we could be facing intense heatwaves reaching up to mid 40°C in some places, more like the heat in 2003 that killed thousands of people across the rest of Europe. Temperatures as high as this have probably not been experienced since the last great warm period over 100,000 years ago, at the same time that hippos roamed England.

As the summers become hotter and drier, drought could become a major threat. Anyone who lived through the long, hot summer of 1976 will remember the drought that reached crisis proportions: water rationing, building subsidence, withered crops, diseased trees, wildfires and deaths from the heat. Such could be the face of summers to come if we don't learn to change our behaviours and take steps to prevent further climate change.

The animal and plant worlds could also be thrown into turmoil. Many species that we traditionally associate with Britain may disappear, while there could be an increase in insects, with bloodsucking ticks, scorpions and poisonous spiders becoming a feature of everyday life. Needless to say, the white Christmas could become a thing of the past, while the UK's green and pleasant land will become more brown and unpleasant as the climate becomes less suited to growing lawns and gardens.

The effects on health could also be profound. Aside from obvious issues like hay fever, there could be an increase in cataracts, skin cancer and even tropical diseases such as Dengue fever and West Nile virus.

Even now, mosquitoes carrying such diseases are invading the US because of rising temperatures. Overall, it's clear that the cost to society, the environment, our health and the economy is going to far outweigh any perceived benefits of a warmer UK.

But luckily, there's something we can all do about it – reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that we emit, and offset the balance.

The effects on health could also be profound. Aside from obvious issues like hay fever, there could be an increase in cataracts, skin cancer and even tropical diseases such as Dengue fever and West Nile virus.

Even now, mosquitoes carrying such diseases are invading the US because of rising temperatures. Overall, it's clear that the cost to society, the environment, our health and the economy is going to far outweigh any perceived benefits of a warmer UK.

But luckily, there's something we can all do about it – reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that we emit, and offset the balance.