Final answer:
External factors impacting the environment include seasonal weather events like heatwaves and flooding, long-term climate change effects like rising global temperatures, and other influences like wind which can alter landscapes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The external factors that can impact the environment include a variety of natural phenomena and climate-related changes. Three key factors are:
- Seasonal weather patterns such as summer heatwaves, spring flooding, autumn leaf fall, and winter rainstorms. These seasonal changes can alter habitats, influence water availability, and affect wildlife behavior.
- Long-term climate change effects like rising global average temperatures, increasing intensity of precipitation events, and melting of glaciers, which can lead to rising sea levels and potential destruction of ecosystems.
- Other environmental influences such as wind, which not only affects evapotranspiration and heat loss but can also move soil and water, altering the physical landscape and impacting ecosystems.
These external factors can create short-term changes in the life cycles of plants and animals, as well as long-term threats to biodiversity and the sustainability of environments worldwide.