What Is Climate Change? 1. Climate change can be a natural process where tempera

What Is Climate Change?
1. Climate change can be a natural process where temperature, rainfall, wind and
other elements vary over decades or more. In millions of years, our world has been
warmer and colder than it is now. But today we are experiencing rapid warming from
human activities, primarily due to burning fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gas
emissions.
2. Increasing greenhouse gas emissions from human activity act like a blanket
wrapped around the earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
3. Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include
carbon dioxide and methane. These come from burning fossil fuels such as gasoline
for driving a car or coal for heating a building. Clearing land and forests can also
release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are another source. Energy, industry,
agriculture and waste disposal are among the major emitters.
4. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years and
continue to rise. As a result, the earth is about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the 1800s.
The last decade was the warmest on record.
5. 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