Climate change is the significant variation of weather patterns over long periods.
Here are some key climate change statistics gathered by NASA:
Over the last two centuries, the global average temperature of the earth’s surface has risen by 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius).
Between 1993 and 2019, there was an annual loss of 279 billion tons of ice in Greenland and 148 billion tons of ice in Antarctica, as ice sheets break off and eventually melt.
There has been a 0.6 degree Fahrenheit (0.33 degree Celsius) rise in the temperature of the top 100 meters of the ocean since 1969.
These are some of the numerous examples of climate change, which don’t include its impact upon plant, animal, and insect life. While climate change science mostly reflects global shifts, it can also be useful for tracking changes in smaller geographical locations, including storms, droughts, flooding, and more.
What Is the Difference Between Weather and Climate?
Climate change deniers frequently confuse weather and climate. If you’ve ever heard someone say that global warming doesn’t exist because of a recent extended cold snap that brought record low temperatures, you know what we mean.
For the sake of clarity, here’s how we define these two terms:
Weather: The local meteorological conditions experienced over short periods of time, including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, humidity, and visibility.
Climate: The long-term average of patterns and trends in weather, including day-to-day, year-to-year, and even longer time periods.
Global Warming and Climate Change
The two most popular terms used to describe the earth's increasing temperatures are global warming and climate change. These relate to both short-term and long-term trends for both weather and climate. While they're often used interchangeably, there's a slight difference between them:
Global Warming: The rising average temperature of the earth's lower layers, including the ocean and atmosphere. Such warming occurs from the heat being trapped in the earth's atmosphere due to greenhouse gases.
Climate Change: The varying environmental conditions that influence the planet's weather patterns.
Although used in conjunction with global warming, climate change doesn't specifically refer to warming or its causes. Thus, environmentalists often prefer this term because of its broader consideration of all the changes happening on the planet in addition to rising temperatures.
For more in-depth information, read our “What is Global Warming?” article.
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