Climate and Global Change

Warm near the equator and cold at the poles, our planet is able to support a variety of living things because of its diverse regional climates. The average of all these regions makes up Earth's global climate. Climate has cooled and warmed throughout Earth history for various reasons. Rapid warming like we see today is unusual in the history of our planet. The scientific consensus is that climate is warming as a result of the addition of heat-trapping greenhouse gases which are increasing dramatically in the atmosphere as a result of human activities.

Earth's global average surface <a href="/earth/climate/ipcc_feb2007.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">warming</a> relative to the 1980-1999 average over the past 100 years is shown in the black line. Predictions of the amount of warming in the future are shown by the red, green, and purple lines. These predictions, developed with <a href="/earth/climate/cli_models.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">computer models</a>, make different assumptions about how many <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">greenhouse gases</a> we release into the atmosphere in the future.<p><small><em> A Windows to the Universe image based on a graph from the IPCC 4th Assessment Report</em></small></p><a href="/earth/climate/cli_define.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">Regional climate</a> is the average weather pattern in a place over more than thirty years, including the variations in <a href="/earth/climate/cli_seasons.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">seasons</a>. The climate of a region depends on many factors including sunlight, altitude, topography, and proximity to oceans. Since the equatorial regions receive more sunlight than the poles, climate varies with <a href="/earth/climate/cli_latitude.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">latitude</a>. This image shows how sea surface temperatures change at different latitudes.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NOAA. Public domain.</em></small></p>Many forms of air pollution are human-made. Industrial plants, power plants and vehicles with internal combustion engines produce <a href="/earth/climate/nitrogen_airpollution.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">nitrogen oxides</a>, <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/vocs.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">VOCs</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_monoxide.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">carbon monoxide</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">carbon dioxide</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/sulfur_oxides.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">sulfur dioxide</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/particulates.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">particulates</a>. Some of these gases are <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">greenhouse gases</a>, meaning that they retain heat in the Earth's atmosphere, due to the Earth's <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">greenhouse effect</a>.<p><small><em>Image copyright UCAR</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">Droughts</a> accompanied by increased temperatures can lead to famine, social and political disruptions. Scientists are helping with early identification of drought that might trigger food shortages. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/withering_crops_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">Changing Planet: Withering Crops</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image taken by Tomas Castelazo, Creative Commons <a href=&quot;http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en&quot;>Attribution 3.0 Unported</a> license.</em></small></p>On November 7, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) made landfall, with imated wind speeds of ~315 km/hr - the strongest <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/intensity.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">tropical cyclone</a> to make landfall in recorded history. As Haiyan moved across the Philippines before reaching Vietnam and China, its <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/wind.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">winds</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/surge.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">storm surge</a> left devastation in its wake, leading to massive loss of life, destruction of homes, and hundreds of thousands of displaced inhabitants. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/index.html">How to Help</a><p><small><em>Image courtesy of COMS-1, SSEC, University of Wisconsin-Madison</em></small></p>Scientists at the University of Michigan have found that <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">permafrost</a> in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">Arctic</a> is extremely sensitive to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight releases carbon gases trapped in the permafrost, including <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">climate-warming</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">carbon dioxide</a>, to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=elem&dev=1/copyright.html">atmosphere</a> much faster than previously thought.<p><small><em>George Kling, The University of Michigan</em></small></p>

Explore Climate and Global Change

What Is Climate?

How do you know to pack your bathing suit and sunhat for a trip to a tropical island or pack ...Read more

What Controls the Climate System?

The Sun Climate can change if there is a change in the amount of solar energy that gets to ...Read more

Climates of the Past (Paleoclimates)

The climate of Earth has been changing for billions of years! It warmed and cooled many times ...Read more

Our Changing Planet

Our planet is changing rapidly. Check out videos and lesson plans for key climate change indicators ...Read more

Effects of Climate Change Today

Have you ever taken your temperature to see if you are getting sick? Scientists have been taking ...Read more

Climate Change in Polar Regions

Some parts of the world are warming faster than others. The Arctic is warming twice as fast ...Read more

El Nino and Other Climate Events

Sometimes the way the air moves around in the atmosphere changes.The way water moves through ...Read more

The Role of Clouds in Climate

Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather and climate. Scientists use computer models ...Read more

Energy Choices and Climate Change

The choices we make about the sources of the energy we use and the amount of energy we use affect ...Read more

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC is a group of hundreds of experts from more than 100 countries ...Read more

Tackling the Global Warming Challenge

By sending greenhouse gases into the air, we have made Earth’s greenhouse effect stronger.  ...Read more

More about Climate and Global Change

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Did you know?

Did you know that the Arctic is warming?

Do you know what caused the "Year Without a Summer"?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Magnetic polarity reversal
xMagnetic polarity reversal : A magnetic polarity reversal is a change of the earth's magnetic field to the opposite polarity. This has occurred at irregular intervals during geologic time.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Gulf Oil Spill: Mississippi River Hydrology May Help Reduce Oil Onshore

Scientists are currently tracking the effects of the oil spill on the wetlands of the Louisiana coast. Robert Twilley and Guerry Holm, scientists from Louisiana State University (LSU), want to learn about...Read more


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