Weather like sunshine and rain happen around us all the time, but climate refers to long-term patterns within a particular area. As an example, places like Antarctica are known for having a cold climate, while southern regions like the Caribbean are warm. Climate change occurs when an area experiences long-term change. Today, the entire world is going through a big climate change: the planet is getting warmer. In this article, we’ll explain the basics of climate change, what facts everyone should know, key examples and ways for individuals and countries to take action.
Climate change refers to long-term changes in local, regional and global weather patterns. Human activities, like burning fossil fuels, have caused the planet to get warmer.
What is climate change?
According to 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.” Currently, the biggest concern with climate change is “global warming.” The term has come to mean the same thing as climate change, but global warming is the long-term heating of the planet’s surface. Experts have identified human activities, like the release of greenhouse gases through burning fossil fuels, as the primary cause of this heating.
How does global warming work? When gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane gather in the atmosphere, they absorb the sunlight bouncing off the earth. The gases trap the heat, creating what’s known as “the greenhouse effect.” Like a greenhouse flooded with sunshine, the world’s average temperature gets warmer and warmer.
What facts should everyone know about climate change?
Climate change can be confusing, but as the planet continues to warm, everyone should understand at least a few facts about it. Here are five:
#1. Climate change was “discovered” in the 19th century
According to NASA, in 1856, American scientist Eunice Foote discovered that gases like carbon dioxide heat up when exposed to sunlight. She reasoned that an increase in carbon dioxide would affect Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Other scientists, like John Tyndall, continued to develop climate science. Additional research has only confirmed what we know about the atmosphere, greenhouse gases and global warming.
#2. Humans are causing climate change – and it’s getting worse
In 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme and World Meteorological Organization established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Since then, the group has released six reports on climate change, its impacts, future risks and options for adapting to and reducing climate change’s harms. These reports confirm what other experts have been finding for years: human activities have “unequivocally caused global warming.” Greenhouse gas emissions are the primary culprit. They’ve caused the global surface temperature to rise, causing what the IPCC calls “widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people.” If significant changes aren’t made, these adverse impacts will increase in every region.
#3. Not everyone is equally responsible for climate change
While everyone has a carbon footprint, it’s inaccurate to blame every region equally for climate change. According to data from CNN, China generated around 30% of global emissions in 2022. The United States, India and the European Union came in second, third and fourth place. When we look at per capita, however, the average person in America is responsible for almost twice as much climate pollution as the average person in China. According to the IPCC and other experts, the communities who have contributed the least to climate change end up impacted the most.
#4. Climate change impacts food production, human health, the economy and much more
While tiny increases in global temperature may not seem like a big deal, they have an outsized impact. By causing more extreme weather events, like droughts and floods, climate change threatens food production. According to NPR, temperature and rainfall changes affect crops, while the presence of carbon dioxide in the air can dilute essential nutrients like zinc and iron. The World Health Organization also reports that between 2030 and 2050, climate change could cause around 250,000 additional deaths per year. The health costs could be around $2-4 billion every year by 2030.
#5. Climate change disinformation threatens progress
For as long as scientists have been warning the public about climate change, other actors have been denying its reality. Some of the most persistent and effective attacks have come from fossil fuel companies. According to one analysis, ExxonMobil has engaged in a “long history of attacking science and scientists in order to undermine and delay climate action.” Attacks once included public denial of climate science, but they’ve since shifted into less obvious forms of propaganda. The goal is the same: cast doubt on the science and solutions that don’t involve oil companies controlling the narrative. Unfortunately, climate disinformation has been effective. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that just ⅓ of Americans think climate scientists “understand very well” whether climate change is occurring. The reality is that 97% of scientists agree that humans are causing global warming.
What are examples of climate change?
Scientists can study climate change based on many signs and impacts. Here are three of the most important examples:
#1. Higher average temperatures
Global warming causes the planet’s average temperature to rise. According to research, the average has risen an average of 0.14° Fahrenheit (or 0.08° Celsius) per decade since 1880. Since 1981, the rate of warming has increased more than twice as fast per decade. In 2023, the world’s average land and ocean surface temperature was 2.12 degrees F above the 20th century. That makes 2023 the world’s warmest year on record. While Earth still has huge temperature variations, even tiny increases in the average have serious consequences.
#2. Rising sea levels
When Earth’s average temperature goes up, the sea rises. According to the World Wildlife Fund, glaciers and sea ice have been melting since the early 1900s. Even with significant reductions in greenhouse gases, more than ⅓ of the world’s glaciers will be gone before 2100. Already, 95% of the thickest ice in the Arctic has melted. Melting ice causes the sea to rise, which causes erosion on coasts, worse coastal storms, disrupted weather patterns and habitat loss for animals like polar bears and walruses. Entire islands, which many people call home, will disappear into the sea. In 2013, the UN estimated that sea levels could rise between 1.5-3 feet by 2100, but many experts now believe the sea could rise by as much as 6.5 feet by the end of the century.
#3. More extreme weather events
The IPCC reports that global warming has increased the frequency and intensity of events like heat extremes, wildfires, droughts, tropical cyclones, floods and more. The impacts on infrastructure, animal habitats and human health can be catastrophic. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, people can experience physical injuries, mental health injuries and death. Children, pregnant people, older adults, people experiencing poverty and people with preexisting health conditions are most at risk. The aftermath of extreme weather, which includes power outages, water-borne illnesses, air pollution and more, also causes significant harm.
How can people take action?
While the IPCC writes some future changes due to climate change can’t be avoided or reversed, hope is not lost. The key is to significantly and consistently reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. How can individuals and countries accomplish this goal?
Individuals: Adjust your transportation choices
Transportation, which includes vehicles and planes, releases a huge amount of greenhouse gases. Individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by adjusting how they travel. If possible, you can leave your cars at home and walk, bike or take public transport. Switching to an electric vehicle is another way to reduce air pollution and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Countries: Invest in climate-resilient infrastructure
Even if the world cut its greenhouse gas emissions down to nearly nothing tomorrow, there would still be climate change impacts. Countries need to invest in infrastructure that can survive extreme weather shocks. That includes bridges, power lines, roads, water systems and so on. It may seem expensive now, but dealing with the aftermath of extreme weather is much more costly and deadly.
Individuals: Watch your energy usage at home
In many places, fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil power a home’s electricity and heat. Individuals can reduce their impact by using more energy-efficient appliances, washing laundry in cold water, always turning off lights when not in use and insulating their homes. You may also be able to switch your energy source from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Countries: Enforce regulations on polluting corporations
There are dozens of climate laws and treaties countries have signed, but few of the world’s biggest polluters are on track to hit their goals. Corporations could be holding the world back. According to a report from 2017, just 100 companies have been responsible for more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. The companies include ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron. In 2023, another report found that most of the world’s biggest companies have “done almost nothing” to cut back greenhouse gas emissions since 2018. Until governments enforce more aggressive regulations, corporations will continue to emit dangerous levels of greenhouse gases.
