Is climate change real?

I'll gather the scientific evidence on climate change for you.

Yes, climate change is real - this is established fact supported by overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus.

Scientific Consensus

> Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth's surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth's climate.

Major scientific assessments converge on this conclusion:

> "Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver."

•The American Association for the Advancement of Science states: "Based on well-established evidence, about 97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening."

•A joint statement by 11 international science academies: "Climate change is real. There will always be uncertainty in understanding a system as complex as the world's climate. However there is now strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring."

•The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which synthesizes peer-reviewed climate science for policymakers, states: “It is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere."

The IPCC further notes that: "Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact."

There is described as a strong scientific consensus that climate change is real and primarily caused by human activities.

Evidence That The Climate Is Changing

While Earth's climate has changed throughout its history, the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years.

The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia.

Key lines of evidence collected from natural sources such as ice cores, rocks, and tree rings and from modern equipment like satellites and instruments all show the signs of a changing climate:

•Global Temperature Is Rising: The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities. Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years.

•Other observed changes include:

•The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat - Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean

•Ice sheets are shrinking - Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019

•Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world

•Sea level is rising - Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century with rate nearly doubling in last two decades

•Arctic sea ice is declining, snow cover decreasing, extreme events increasing, and ocean acidification increasing by about 30% since the Industrial Revolution.

In short, while natural climate variability exists, the rapid warming observed since the mid-20th century cannot be explained by natural factors alone and is extremely likely due to human activities, with no alternative explanation supported by convincing evidence.

Citations (1)

1nasa.govGovernment
Scientific Consensus - NASA Science
Backs: “Yes, climate change is real - this is established fact supported by overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus. Scientific Consensus. Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth's surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have…”