Overview: Weather, Global Warming and Climate Change

Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth's climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, ... Resources GraphicsandMultimedia ForEducators ForMedia ClimateKids GlobalWarmingvs.ClimateChange Enespañol GraphicsandMultimedia ForEducators ForMedia ClimateKids GlobalWarmingvs.ClimateChange Enespañol “Climatechange”and“globalwarming”areoftenusedinterchangeablybuthavedistinctmeanings.Similarly,theterms"weather"and"climate"aresometimesconfused,thoughtheyrefertoeventswithbroadlydifferentspatial-andtimescales. Weathervs.Climate “Ifyoudon’tliketheweatherinNewEngland,justwaitafewminutes.” Weatherreferstoatmosphericconditionsthatoccurlocallyovershortperiodsoftime—fromminutestohoursordays.Familiarexamplesincluderain,snow,clouds,winds,floodsorthunderstorms. Climate,ontheotherhand,referstothelong-termregionalorevenglobalaverageoftemperature,humidityandrainfallpatternsoverseasons,yearsordecades. WhatisGlobalWarming? Thisgraphillustratesthechangeinglobalsurfacetemperaturerelativeto1951-1980averagetemperatures,withtheyear2020tyingwith2016forwarmestonrecord(Source:NASA'sGoddardInstituteforSpaceStudies).Learnmoreaboutglobalsurfacetemperaturehere.Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech Globalwarmingisthelong-termheatingofEarth’sclimatesystemobservedsincethepre-industrialperiod(between1850and1900)duetohumanactivities,primarilyfossilfuelburning,whichincreasesheat-trappinggreenhousegaslevelsinEarth’satmosphere.Thetermisfrequentlyusedinterchangeablywiththetermclimatechange,thoughthelatterreferstobothhuman-andnaturallyproducedwarmingandtheeffectsithasonourplanet.ItismostcommonlymeasuredastheaverageincreaseinEarth’sglobalsurfacetemperature. Sincethepre-industrialperiod,humanactivitiesareestimatedtohaveincreasedEarth’sglobalaveragetemperaturebyabout1degreeCelsius(1.8degreesFahrenheit),anumberthatiscurrentlyincreasingby0.2degreesCelsius(0.36degreesFahrenheit)perdecade.Itisunequivocalthathumaninfluencehaswarmedtheatmosphere,ocean,andland. WhatisClimateChange? Climatechangeisalong-termchangeintheaverageweatherpatternsthathavecometodefineEarth’slocal,regionalandglobalclimates.Thesechangeshaveabroadrangeofobservedeffectsthataresynonymouswiththeterm. ChangesobservedinEarth’sclimatesincetheearly20thcenturyareprimarilydrivenbyhumanactivities,particularlyfossilfuelburning,whichincreasesheat-trappinggreenhousegaslevelsinEarth’satmosphere,raisingEarth’saveragesurfacetemperature.Thesehuman-producedtemperatureincreasesarecommonlyreferredtoasglobalwarming.Naturalprocessescanalsocontributetoclimatechange,includinginternalvariability(e.g.,cyclicaloceanpatternslikeElNiño,LaNiñaandthePacificDecadalOscillation)andexternalforcings(e.g.,volcanicactivity,changesintheSun’senergyoutput,variationsinEarth’sorbit). Scientistsuseobservationsfromtheground,airandspace,alongwiththeoreticalmodels,tomonitorandstudypast,presentandfutureclimatechange.Climatedatarecordsprovideevidenceofclimatechangekeyindicators,suchasgloballandandoceantemperatureincreases;risingsealevels;icelossatEarth’spolesandinmountainglaciers;frequencyandseveritychangesinextremeweathersuchashurricanes,heatwaves,wildfires,droughts,floodsandprecipitation;andcloudandvegetationcoverchanges,tonamebutafew. FindOutMore:AGuidetoNASA’sGlobalClimateChangeWebsite Thiswebsiteprovidesahigh-leveloverviewofsomeoftheknowncauses,effectsandindicationsofglobalclimatechange: Evidence.Briefdescriptionsofsomeofthekeyscientificobservationsthatourplanetisundergoingabruptclimatechange. Causes.Aconcisediscussionoftheprimaryclimatechangecausesonourplanet. Effects.Alookatsomeofthelikelyfutureeffectsofclimatechange,includingU.S.regionaleffects. VitalSigns.Graphsandanimatedtimeseriesshowingreal-timeclimatechangedata,includingatmosphericcarbondioxide,globaltemperature,seaiceextentandicesheetvolume. EarthMinute.ThisfunvideoseriesexplainsvariousEarthsciencetopics,includingsomeclimatechangetopics. OtherNASAResources GoddardScientificVisualizationStudio.AnextensivecollectionofanimatedclimatechangeandEarthsciencevisualizations. SeaLevelChangePortal.NASA'sportalforanin-depthlookatthesciencebehindsealevelchange. NASA’sEarthObservatory.Satelliteimagery,featurearticlesandscientificinformationaboutourhomeplanet,withafocusonEarth’sclimateandenvironmentalchange. Shutterstockcredits:wandee007(left),AmyJohansson(middle),Avatar_023(right). Latestresources Video:GlobalWarmingfrom1880to2020 Video:OzoneWatch2018 Earth360Video:TheCallofScience ImagesofChange Exploreastunninggalleryofbefore-and-afterimagesofEarthfromlandandspacethatrevealourhomeplanetinastateofflux. ClimateTimeMachine TravelthroughEarth'srecentclimatehistoryandseehowincreasingcarbondioxide,globaltemperatureandseaicehavechangedovertime. EyesontheEarth TrackEarth'svitalsignsfromspaceandflyalongwithNASA'sEarth-observingsatellitesinaninteractive3Dvisualization. GlobalIceViewer Earth'sicecoverisshrinking.Seehowclimatechangehasaffectedglaciers,seaice,andcontinentalicesheets.