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&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.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&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">computer models</a>, make different assumptions about how many <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.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/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Permafrost</a> is ground that is below the freezing point of water (0C or 32F) for two or more years. Permafrost is found at high latitudes like the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Arctic</a> and <a href="/earth/polar/polar_south.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Antarctic</a>. It is also common at high altitudes - like mountainous areas wherever the <a href="/earth/climate/cli_define.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">climate</a> is cold. Permafrost has been thawing relatively quickly in recent years. Scientists have found that the rate of permafrost thaw has increased because of <a href="/earth/climate/cli_effects.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">global warming</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the USGS</em></small></p>Scientists at the University of Michigan have found that <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">permafrost</a> in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.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&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">climate-warming</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">carbon dioxide</a>, to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">atmosphere</a> much faster than previously thought.<p><small><em>George Kling, The University of Michigan</em></small></p>How did life evolve on <a href="/earth/earth.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Earth</a> during the <a href="/earth/past/Archean.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Archean</a>, when the <a href="/sun/sun.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">Sun</a> was about 25% weaker than today? The Earth should have been <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">glaciated</a>, if <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">greenhouse</a> gas concentration was the same as today. <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=10798">Researchers</a> studying the <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/isotope.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">isotopic</a> signatures of Earth's early atmosphere in <a href="/earth/geology/rocks_intro.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">rocks</a> from Northern Australia have ruled out high levels of <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/nitrogen_molecular.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">nitrogen</a> as a possible way to increase warming from <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">atmospheric</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">carbon dioxide</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Manchester University</em></small></p>A <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article">study</a> of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/interior/eruptions.html">volcanic eruptions</a> and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period, from 431 to 1649. During this time up to 48 volcanic eruptions were identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. Find out more about <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/geosphere_volcanoes_influence_on_climate.html">volcanoes and climate</a>.<p><small><em>Image Courtesy of Marco Fulle</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.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&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/cli_greengas.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>

Explore Climate and Global Change

What Is Climate?

The climate where you live is called regional climate. It is the average weather in a place ...Read more

What Controls the Climate System?

Some of the factors that have an affect on climate, like volcanic eruptions and changes in ...Read more

Climates of the Past (Paleoclimates)

Earth's climate has been changing for billions of years. It warmed and cooled many times long ...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

Over 100 years ago, people worldwide began burning more coal and oil for homes, factories, ...Read more

Climate Change in Polar Regions

The effects of climate change are not the same in all parts of the world. While Earth’s average ...Read more

El Nino and Other Climate Events

Sometimes there is a change in the way air moves through parts of the atmosphere. And there ...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

Earth’s climate is warming and we humans are mostly to blame.  By releasing greenhouse gases ...Read more

More about Climate and Global Change

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Did you know?

Did you know that the Arctic is warming?

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Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Pleistocene
xPleistocene : The time period between about 10,000 years before present and about 1,650,000 years before present.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Marine Scientists, Students Find Widespread Floating Plastic Debris in North Atlantic Ocean

A team of researchers from the Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) has conducted a study of plastic debris in the ocean based...Read more


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