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What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is generally defined as a significant variation of average weather conditions—
say, conditions becoming warmer, wetter, or drier—over several decades or more. It’s the
longer-term trend that differentiates climate change from natural weather variability.
Record floods. Raging storms. Deadly heat. Climate change manifests itself in myriad ways and
is experienced by every living being, although not equally. Throughout the world, the
economically disadvantaged and people of color—those who have contributed the very least to
the root causes of climate change—are the most likely to suffer from its worst impacts. Here are
the basics on what causes climate change, how it’s affecting the planet and its people, and what
we can do about it.
How Is Climate Change Measured Over Time?
Climate refers to the general weather conditions of a place as measured over many years. In the
United States, for example, Maine’s climate is cold and snowy in winter while South Florida’s is
tropical year-round.
Earth-orbiting satellites, remote meteorological stations, and ocean buoys are used to monitor
present-day weather and climate, but it’s paleoclimatology data from natural sources like ice
cores, tree rings, corals, and ocean and lake sediments that have enabled scientists to extend
the earth’s climatic records back millions of years. These records provide a comprehensive look
at the long-term changes in the earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, and cryosphere
(frozen water systems). Scientists then feed this data into sophisticated climate models that are
able to predict future climate trends with impressive accuracy.
It’s worth noting that while climate change and global warming are often used interchangeably,
global warming—the recent rise in the global average temperature near the earth’s surface—is
just one aspect of climate change.
Source 2 NASA
Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define
Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed
effects that are synonymous with the term.
Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities,
particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s
atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. Natural processes, which have been
overwhelmed by human activities, can also contribute to climate change, including internal
variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation)
and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output, variations in
Earth’s orbit).
Scientists use observations from the ground, air, and space, along with computer models, to
monitor and study past, present, and future climate change. Climate data records provide
evidence of climate change key indicators, such as global land and ocean temperature increases;
rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity
changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and
precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes.
“Climate change” and “global warming” are often used interchangeably but have distinct
meanings. Similarly, the terms “weather” and “climate” are sometimes confused, though they
refer to events with broadly different spatial- and timescales.
How Do We Know Climate Change Is Re
The rate of change since the mid-20th century is unprecedented over millennia.
Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 800,000 years, there have been
eight cycles of ice ages and warmer periods, with the end of the last ice age about 11,700 years
ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of
these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the
amount of solar energy our planet receives.
The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since
the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. 1 It is undeniable
that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s
energy in the Earth system. This extra energy has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and
widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have
occurred.
Do scientists agree on climate change?
Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans
are causing global warming and climate change.
Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture,
collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the
world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing
climate.
Scientists demonstrated the heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases in the mid-
19th century.2 Many of the science instruments NASA uses to study our climate focus on how
these gases affect the movement of infrared radiation through the atmosphere. From the
measured impacts of increases in these gases, there is no question that increased greenhouse
gas levels warm Earth in response.
"Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal."
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that Earth’s
climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree
rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or
paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly 10 times faster than
the average rate of warming after an ice age. Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing
about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age. 3
The Evidence for Rapid Climate Change Is Compelling:
Global Temperature Is Rising
The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit
(1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by
increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human
activities.4 Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the seven
most recent years being the warmest. The years 2016 and 2020 are tied for the
warmest year on record.5
The Ocean Is Getting Warmer
The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters
(about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33
degrees Celsius) since 1969.6 Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.
The Ice Sheets Are Shrinking
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an
average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while
Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.7
Glaciers Are Retreating
Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the
Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa. 8
Snow Cover Is Decreasing
Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the
Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and the snow is
melting earlier. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech9
Sea Level Is Rising
Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate
in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and
accelerating slightly every year.10
Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining
Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last
several decades.11
Extreme Events Are Increasing in Frequency
The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been
increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been
decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of
intense rainfall events.12
Ocean Acidification Is Increasing
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean
waters has increased by about 30%.13,14 This increase is due to humans emitting
more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into
the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and 30% of total anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades (7.2 to 10.8 billion metric tons per
year).15,16
Image credit: NOAA
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What Is Climate Change?
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can
be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s,
human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of
fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around
the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and
methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for
example. Clearing land and cutting down forests can also release carbon dioxide. Agriculture, oil
and gas operations are major sources of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport,
buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main sectors causing greenhouse gases.
