Climate Change

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns

• Consequences

  Rising global temperatures, extreme weather events (storms, droughts, heatwaves, severe fires), sea-level rise, melting glaciers, ocean acidification, water scarcity, declining biodiversity, species extinction, impacts on agriculture, human health, poverty, displacement

• Primary Driver

  Human activities, especially burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

• Rate of Warming

  Faster than at any point in recorded history

• Health Threat Level

  Single biggest health threat facing humanity

• Main Greenhouse Gases

  Carbon dioxide, methane

• CO2 Atmospheric Persistence

  Lingers for many thousands of years

• Onset of Major Human Impact

  Since the 1800s

• Historical Climate Stability

  Earth's climate relatively stable for the past 10,000 years

• Economic Threat View (Chris Wright)

  Often overstated

Timeline

• The Industrial Revolution began, marking a significant shift to machine-based production and increased use of fossil fuels, laying groundwork for human-driven climate change. (Source: Web Search: NOAA)

  1700s (mid)

• Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, became the main driver of climate change. (Source: Summary, Web Search: UN)

  1800s

• The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. (Source: Web Search: NASA)

  2014

Web Search Results

• Climate Change | United Nations

  Climate change is one of the major challenges of our time. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.   

• What Is Climate Change? | United Nations

  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.

• Climate change - Wikipedia

  Toggle the table of contentsClimate change112 languagesAfrikaansAlemannischالعربيةԱրեւմտահայերէնAsturianuAzərbaycancaتۆرکجهবাংলাБеларускаяभोजपुरीBikol CentralБългарскиབོད་ཡིགBosanskiCatalàČeštinaCymraegDagbanliDanskالدارجةDeutschडोटेलीEestiΕλληνικάEs...

• Causes of climate change

  Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth’s temperature.

• Causes and Effects of Climate Change | United Nations

  Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.

• Causes and Effects of Climate Change | United Nations

  Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Climate impacts are already harming health, through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, pressures on mental health, and increased hunger and poor nutrition in places where people cannot grow or find sufficient food. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of around 13 million people. Changing weather patterns are expanding diseases, and extreme weather events increase deaths and make it [...] Climate change is changing water availability, making it scarcer in more regions. Global warming exacerbates water shortages in already water-stressed regions and is leading to an increased risk of agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems. Droughts can also stir destructive sand and dust storms that can move billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food. Many people now face the [...] Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks increase as temperatures climb. Exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history. One million species are at risk of becoming extinct within the next few decades. Forest fires, extreme weather, and invasive pests and diseases are among many threats related to climate change. Some species will be able to relocate and

• What Is Climate Change? - the United Nations

  Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. Image 3: The Earth is asking for help. [...] Climate change can affect our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of people displaced by weather-related events is expected to [...] Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing required adjustments.

• The Effects of Climate Change - NASA Science

  Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns. [...] Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner. [...] Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves. The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• Mitigation and Adaptation - NASA Science

  Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics, and moral and ethical questions – and is a global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for thousands of years. Carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is the primary driver of recent global warming, lingers in the atmosphere for many thousands of years, and the planet (especially the ocean) takes a while to respond to warming. So even [...] Throughout history, people and societies have adjusted to and coped with changes in climate and extremes with varying degrees of success. Climate change (drought in particular) has been at least partly responsible for the rise and fall of civilizations. Earth’s climate has been relatively stable for the past 10,000 years, and this stability has allowed for the development of our modern civilization and agriculture. Our modern life is tailored to that stable climate and not the much warmer [...] According to the 2014 report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (page 8) from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, governments at various levels are also getting better at adaptation. Climate change is being included into development plans: how to manage the increasingly extreme disasters we are seeing, how to protect coastlines and deal with sea-level rise, how to best manage land and forests, how to deal with and plan for drought, how to develop

• Climate change impacts

  Carbon cycle Climate change affects the environment in many different ways, including rising temperatures, sea level rise, drought, flooding, and more. These events affect things that we depend upon and value, like water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health. Our changing climate [...] Climate change impacts our society in many different ways. Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to spread of disease, death, and damage ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues that result from drought, flooding, and other weather conditions increase the death rate, change food availability, and limit how much a worker can get done, and ultimately the productivity of our economy. Hope for the future [...] In the context of climate change, refers to the release of greenhouse gasses by human activities. ### Geographic range The geographic area over which a species lives. ### Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution began in the mid-1700s and marks the time during which production of goods transitioned from being mostly handmade to produced with the aid of machines in factories.6 ### Heatstroke

• Instance Of

  Q7725634