Global Warming | National Geographic Society

Global warming describes the current rise in the average temperature of Earth's air and oceans. Global warming is often described as the most ... Skiptocontent Donate Account Menu Close Account Image TennesseePowerPlant Ashspewsfromacoal-fueledpowerplantinNewJohnsonville,Tennessee. PhotographbyEmoryKristof/NationalGeographic Twitter Facebook Pinterest GoogleClassroom Email Print EncyclopedicEntry Vocabulary Globalwarmingisthelong-termwarmingoftheplanet’soveralltemperature.Thoughthiswarmingtrendhasbeengoingonforalongtime,itspacehassignificantlyincreasedinthelasthundredyearsduetotheburningoffossilfuels.Asthehumanpopulationhasincreased,sohasthevolumeoffossilfuelsburned.Fossilfuelsincludecoal,oil,andnaturalgas,andburningthemcauseswhatisknownasthe“greenhouseeffect”inEarth’satmosphere.  ThegreenhouseeffectiswhentheSun’srayspenetratetheatmosphere,butwhenthatheatisreflectedoffthesurfacecannotescapebackintospace.Gasesproducedbytheburningoffossilfuelspreventtheheatfromleavingtheatmosphere.Thesegreenhousegassesarecarbondioxide,chlorofluorocarbons,watervapor,methane,andnitrousoxide.Theexcessheatintheatmospherehascausedtheaverageglobaltemperaturetoriseovertime,otherwiseknownasglobalwarming. Globalwarminghaspresentedanotherissuecalledclimatechange.Sometimesthesephrasesareusedinterchangeably,however,theyaredifferent.Climatechangereferstochangesinweatherpatternsandgrowingseasonsaroundtheworld.Italsoreferstosealevelrisecausedbytheexpansionofwarmerseasandmeltingicesheetsandglaciers.Globalwarmingcausesclimatechange,whichposesaseriousthreattolifeonearthintheformsofwidespreadfloodingandextremeweather.ScientistscontinuetostudyglobalwarminganditsimpactonEarth.   Ashspewsfromacoal-fueledpowerplantinNewJohnsonville,Tennessee. PhotographbyEmoryKristof/NationalGeographic carbondioxide Noun greenhousegasproducedbyanimalsduringrespirationandusedbyplantsduringphotosynthesis.Carbondioxideisalsothebyproductofburningfossilfuels. chlorofluorocarbon(CFC) Noun chemicalcompoundmostlyusedinrefrigerantsandflame-retardants.SomeCFCshavedestructiveeffectsontheozonelayer. fossilfuel Noun coal,oil,ornaturalgas.Fossilfuelsformedfromtheremainsofancientplantsandanimals. glacier Noun massoficethatmovesslowlyoverland. methane Noun chemicalcompoundthatisthebasicingredientofnaturalgas. nitrousoxide Noun greenhousegasusedinmedicineandthemanufactureofrockets.Alsoknownaslaughinggasorhappygas. vapor Noun visibleliquidsuspendedintheair,suchasfog. Credits MediaCredits Theaudio,illustrations,photos,andvideosarecreditedbeneaththemediaasset,exceptforpromotionalimages,whichgenerallylinktoanotherpagethatcontainsthemediacredit.TheRightsHolderformediaisthepersonorgroupcredited. Director TysonBrown,NationalGeographicSociety Author NationalGeographicSociety ProductionManagers GinaBorgia,NationalGeographicSociety JeannaSullivan,NationalGeographicSociety ProgramSpecialists SarahAppleton,NationalGeographicSociety MargotWillis,NationalGeographicSociety LastUpdated March28,2019 UserPermissions Forinformationonuserpermissions,pleasereadourTermsofService.Ifyouhavequestionsabouthowtociteanythingonourwebsiteinyourprojectorclassroompresentation,pleasecontactyourteacher.Theywillbestknowthepreferredformat.Whenyoureachouttothem,youwillneedthepagetitle,URL,andthedateyouaccessedtheresource. Media Ifamediaassetisdownloadable,adownloadbuttonappearsinthecornerofthemediaviewer.Ifnobuttonappears,youcannotdownloadorsavethemedia. Text TextonthispageisprintableandcanbeusedaccordingtoourTermsofService. Interactives Anyinteractivesonthispagecanonlybeplayedwhileyouarevisitingourwebsite.Youcannotdownloadinteractives. RelatedResources ClimateChange Globaltemperaturesandsealevelsarerising,andpossiblycontributingtolargermoredevastatingstorms.This canall becontributedtoclimatechange.Climatechangeisdefinedasgradualchangesinalltheinterconnectedweatherelementsonourplanetoverapproximately30years.ThedatashowstheEarthiswarmingandit'suptoustomakethechangesnecessaryforahealthierplanet. Usetheseresourcesinyourclassroomtohelpyourstudentsunderstandandtakeactionon climatechange. ViewCollection GreenhouseEffect GlobalwarmingdescribesthecurrentriseintheaveragetemperatureofEarth’sairandoceans.Globalwarmingisoftendescribedasthemostrecentexampleofclimatechange. ViewArticle ClimateRefugees Climatechangeischangingthewayweinteractwithourenvironments.WithachangingclimatecomepotentialconsequencesforlifeonEarth. ViewArticle MaybeIt’sColdOutside Blizzardsarepredictedtobecomemoreintenseinthefaceofclimatechange,despiteshorterwintersandrisingglobaltemperatures. ViewleveledArticle RelatedResources ClimateChange Globaltemperaturesandsealevelsarerising,andpossiblycontributingtolargermoredevastatingstorms.This canall becontributedtoclimatechange.Climatechangeisdefinedasgradualchangesinalltheinterconnectedweatherelementsonourplanetoverapproximately30years.ThedatashowstheEarthiswarmingandit'suptoustomakethechangesnecessaryforahealthierplanet. Usetheseresourcesinyourclassroomtohelpyourstudentsunderstandandtakeactionon climatechange. ViewCollection GreenhouseEffect GlobalwarmingdescribesthecurrentriseintheaveragetemperatureofEarth’sairandoceans.Globalwarmingisoftendescribedasthemostrecentexampleofclimatechange. ViewArticle ClimateRefugees Climatechangeischangingthewayweinteractwithourenvironments.WithachangingclimatecomepotentialconsequencesforlifeonEarth. ViewArticle MaybeIt’sColdOutside Blizzardsarepredictedtobecomemoreintenseinthefaceofclimatechange,despiteshorterwintersandrisingglobaltemperatures. ViewleveledArticle EducationalResourcesinYourInbox JoinourcommunityofeducatorsandreceivethelatestinformationonNationalGeographic'sresourcesforyouandyourstudents. signup EducationalResourcesinYourInbox JoinourcommunityofeducatorsandreceivethelatestinformationonNationalGeographic'sresourcesforyouandyourstudents. signup