Climate change
Global warming and changes to weather patterns could have drastic consequences for future generations - here's everything you need to know about climate change.
What is climate change?
There is no simple definition of climate change, but people often use this term and ‘global warming’ to describe the same phenomenon: an increase in average global temperatures, caused by humans adding heat-trapping greenhouse gases into our planet’s atmosphere.
The effects of climate change differ around the world, so whilst some places are getting warmer as a result, other parts of the globe are becoming cooler.
Ocean or atmospheric temperatures aren’t the only thing changing: so, too, are weather patterns and sea levels.
Some people therefore prefer to use the term ‘climate change’ rather than global warming as it covers the full range of predicted impacts.
‘Climate crisis’, ‘climate catastrophe’, ‘climate breakdown’ and ‘global heating’ are other terms you might hear.
What is the evidence for climate change?
Temperature records show that our planet’s average surface temperature has risen by about 1°C since 1850.
Most of this warming has taken place in the past 35 years, and the five warmest years on record have all occurred since 2015.
There’s a growing body of evidence for rising temperatures and their effects. As ocean water warms, it expands, causing global sea levels to creep higher.
Island nations are “likely to become uninhabitable” if climate change continues at its current pace © Getty Images